Crossroads Repertory Theatre
Home | 2011 Season | A History | Tickets | Contact Ushome.htmlseason.htmlhistory.htmltickets.htmlcontact.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1shapeimage_3_link_2shapeimage_3_link_3shapeimage_3_link_4
 

GODSPELL


Conceived and originally Directed by John-Michael Tebelak

Music and New Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Originally Produced on the New York Stage by

Edgar Lansbury/Stuart Duncan/Joseph Beruh


A Diana Stewart Memorial Production


OPENS FRIDAY, JUNE 17th


Our version of the award-winning musical Godspell takes place in an abandoned bus station in the city, where eleven young seekers gather and re-embody key events of the Gospel According to St. Matthew and, in the process, discover a sense of community and a profound self-awareness of themselves as individuals of faith.  One of the most exciting scores in the musical theater repertoire, Godspell features some of Stephen Schwartz’s most memorable songs -- ones that entertain even as they lift the heart and spirit – including:  “Prepare Ye,”  “Day by Day,” “All Good Gifts,”  “Bless the Lord,” “Light of the World,” and “We Beseech Thee.”

Design Team Director ............................................................................................................................Arthur Feinsod Assistant Director……….......…………………………………….………………...............……………….Eli Van Sickel Musical Director/Conductor ..............................................................................................Gerald Moshell Tour and Repertory Musical Director/Conductor .....................................................................David Gibbs Choreographer .......................................................................................................... Teresa McCullough Scenic Designer ...............................................................................................................Dana M. Harrell Scenic Artist .....................................................................................................................Elizabeth Goble Costume Design .................................................................................................................. Clair Hummel Lighting Design ........................................................................................................... Porsche McGovern Sound Designer ..................................................................................................................... Jeff O’Brien Property Designer ................................................................................................Rachelle Martin Wilburn THE CAST Jesus .................................................................................................................................. Jason Bowen The Ensemble Judas ..................................................................................................................................Andrew Todd John the Baptist/Lamar .................................................................................................... Michael Finchum Joanne ................................................................................................................................Ashley Dillard Gilmer ..................................................................................................................................... Betsy Baer Sonia .....................................................................................................................................Whitney Kos Robin....................................................................................................................................... Clara Butts Peggy/Herb .......................................................................................................................Amanda Miller Herb/Peggy ...................................................................................................................... Jennifer McVey Jeffry ..................................................................................................................................Neil Carpenter Disabled Man .................................................................................................................... Preston Dildine Musicians Pianist/Musical Director ...................................................................................................Gerald Moshell Pianist/Musical Director after first weekend and tour................................................................David Gibbs Guitar ................................................................................................................................ Brent McPike Percussion ...........................................................................................................................Travis Morris Bass ...............................................................................................................................Todd Gallagher Place An abandoned bus station in an American city. Time Contemporary times. There will be a 15 minute intermission. This production is sponsored by Phyllis and Ned Turner. The tour of Godspell is sponsored by the Indiana Arts Commission and Arts Illiana. Join us on June 19 around 6:00 p.m. (ten minutes following the 4:00 p.m. Sunday matinee) for a Sunday Talk with Dr. Richard Walsh, professor of religion at Methodist College and author of Reading the Gospels in the Dark and Screening Scripture. He will join us to discuss the significance and history behind the portrayals of Jesus and the Gospels in pop culture. Godspell is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019; Phone: 212-541-4684; Fax: 212-397-4684; www.MTIShows.com Production Staff Stage Manager .................................................................................................................. Kevin Ward Assistant Stage Manager .....................................................................................................Ian Marshall Lighting Board Operator ..................................................................................................... Andrew Law Sound Operator ..........................................................................................................David Del Colletti Wardrobe Head .............................................................................................................. Aaron Owens Dresser ...................................................................................................................... Savannah Stevens Run Crew ...................................................................................................................... Brian Kogut Tour Manager. ...........................................................................................................David Del Colletti House Manager ............................................................................................................................. Eric Wilburn Musical Numbers ACT ONE Tower of Babble ...................................................................................... Ensemble (dance/mime only) Prepare Ye (the Way of the Lord) ................................ Michael Finchum as John the Baptist*/Ensemble Save the People ............................................................................... Jason Bowen as Jesus*/Ensemble Day by Day ......................................................................................... Clara Butts as Robin/Ensemble Learn Your Lessons Well ................................... Betsy Baer as Gilmer, Jason Bowen as Jesus/Ensemble O, Bless the Lord, My Soul ............................................................ Amanda Miller as Peggy/Ensemble All for the Best ...............................................Jason Bowen as Jesus/Andrew Todd as Judas/Ensemble All Good Gifts ........................................................................... Michael Finchum as Lamar/Ensemble Light of the World ........................................................................ Ashley Dillard as Joanne/Ensemble ACT TWO Learn your Lessons Well (reprise) ............................................... Michael Finchum as Lamar/Ensemble Turn Back, O Man..............................................................................Whitney Kos as Sonia/Ensemble Alas for You ..................................................................................................... Jason Bowen as Jesus By My Side* .......................................... Jennifer McVey as Peggy and Clara Butts as Robin/Ensemble We Beseech Thee .......................................................................... Neil Carpenter as Jeffry/Ensemble Day by Day (reprise) .................................................................... Ashley Dillard as Joanne/Ensemble On the Willows ................... Michael Finchum as Lamar, Betsy Baer as Gilmer, Ashley Dillard as Joanne Finale .................................................................................................Jason Bowen as Jesus/Ensemble Day by Day (Curtain call reprise) ..........................................................................................Ensemble *Music written by Peggy Godon, Lyrics by Jay Hamburger About Diana Stewart With Crossroads Repertory Theatre’s annual Diana Stewart Memorial Production, we recognize that the company continues to thrive today in part due to the consistent and unwavering contribution of Diana Stewart—a world-renowned writer and wife of long-time SummerStage artistic director, Gary Stewart. She published nine novels that have sold millions across the globe and wrote 15 children’s books, four of which are part of the Folger’s Classic Series. The largest of her contributions to SummerStage involved over 20 “cabarets” that she wrote and directed—ranging from murder mysteries to comedies and musical revues. On March 3, 2001, Diana died due to complication from multiple sclerosis. Due to her influence and the many strong friendships she established with the SummerStage community, the Terre Haute community, and beyond, it has become a tradition to include a Diana Stewart Memorial Production every summer season. Even in her death, she still contributes to Indiana State University theater through a scholarship known as the Theater Angel Fund, which assists exceptional theater students in becoming professional theater artists. This year, Crossroads Repertory Theatre is proud to present Godspell to honor the memory of this great artist. All for the best: How trial and triumph led Stephen Schwartz to Godspell and beyond Stephen Schwartz is one of the most important American songwriters working today. Known for such beloved musicals as Wicked and the newly revived Working, Schwartz has been nominated for six Tony awards. He has also successfully crossed over to the world of film, winning Oscars for the Disney films Pocahontas and Prince of Egypt. But the musical that introduced a larger public to the work of Stephen Schwartz was the timeless classic Godspell. When he was only a boy, Stephen penned his first original piece, “Little Lullaby,” for the musical Hi Dog. Unfortunately, the only people lucky enough to hear that song live were his parents and his sister Marge, who was in the show. Stephen “was always writing songs and putting on little musicals,” and, as fortune would have it, this young artist happened to live next to George Kleinsinger, who wrote the musical Shinbone Alley, which would be the first Broadway musical Stephen ever saw. It was love at first sight, and after that night, Stephen decided to learn all he could about the American musical. Even at a young age, Stephen showed some of the perseverance he would need to be a successful theatre artist: after being rejected by Harvard, Yale, and Oberlin, a family friend convinced him to apply to Carnegie Mellon University, where he was accepted as a playwriting major. While at Carnegie, he started writing musicals for the “Scotch ‘n Soda Club.” One of these musicals was a collaboration effort about Charlemagne’s son Prince Pepin, called Pippin Pippin. Late, Stephen would completely rework the story into the beloved musical Pippin. He would also find key collaborators in two of his fellow students: Nina Faso, who would work with him on several future projects, including Godspell, and the creator of Godspell himself, John-Michael Tebelak. After college, Stephen found his first agent, Leonard Bernstein’s sister, Shirley. She would prove an invaluable asset in his quest to have a successful Broadway career. After a failed initial attempt to sell Pippin, those same producers (who had been impressed with Stephen’s skill), asked him to attend a production of Godspell. Although Jewish in his own faith, Stephen instantly loved the show and was thrilled to find several familiar faces from Carnegie in the cast. Schwartz reworked the songs, keeping only“By My Side,” and helped Tebelak to make the structure more dramatically compelling. When Tebelak began to strain under the pressure of mounting the show, Schwartz took over rehearsals. While the atmosphere of play which had permeated much of the process still existed, Stephen worked to strip the show down to a more cohesive whole. Finally, on May 17, 1971, Godspell opened at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village. When audiences and critics (except The New York Times) loved the show, Schwartz and his collaborators knew they had a hit. A film version starring Victor Garber as Jesus was released in 1973. The show eventually opened on Broadway in 1976, where it ran for 527 performances. While he has gone on to enjoy many other successful projects, the score, which took 23 year-old Stephen Schwartz only five weeks to write, still remains a favorite of many. Godspell, the Gospel, and the Communion of the Commonplace When Godspell creator John-Michael Tebelak attended Easter service at the Anglican Cathedral in Pittsburgh in 1970, he did not find the vibrant spirit he was looking for. Rather, he found an uninspired congregation who mumbled instead of rejoiced. Because of his appearance, Tebelak was even asked to be frisked for drugs by a policeman who sat a few pews in front of him. Tebelak later confessed, “It angered me so much that I went home and realized what I wanted to do with the Gospels: I wanted to make it the simple, joyful message that I felt the first time I read them and re-create the sense of community, which I did not share when I went to that service." In the dictionary, the first definition of the word “church” reads: “a building for public and especially Christian worship.” Further down the list is the definition “the whole body of Christians.” However, the Gospels do not depict Jesus and his disciples meeting at a designated building every Sunday morning. Their church is a countryside, a house, even the beach. After learning of John the Baptist’s death, Jesus “withdrew by boat to a solitary place” (Matthew 14:13). When crowds of people followed him to hear his message, he landed his boat out of compassion for the congregation. This was where he famously fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. Rather than a building, it was a sense of community that held Christ’s followers together and made them a church. More than that, it made them a family. When Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, he pointed to his disciples and said, “Here are my mother and brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:49-50). It is no mistake that, throughout the Gospels, Jesus continuously uses familial terms to describe the church. The church invites a closeness Jesus wants his followers to achieve, a bond that often only exists among family members. The most notable reference of Jesus actually being in a temple in the book of Matthew occurs in chapter 21, where we find him tossing aside the tables and benches of those buying and selling. The building did not sanctify their acts. It is the actions themselves that make the building sacred. When we consider this, it is not hard to imagine an abandoned bus station as a sacred place, if those who frequent the building treat it as such. Finally, Tebelak mentioned his desire to let the joyful message of the Gospel shine through his work. When we realize the building itself is not sacred, the act of worship is no longer constrained to solemn reverence. Throughout the Bible, the call for singing and dancing is constant. Both are certainly found in Godspell, and it is an overall sense of play, an eagerness to share these wonderful stories, that makes this musical as powerful as it is. Here is a place where sacred and sport coexist. Here is a sense of innocence as we explore a great mystery in search of destination. Here “we can build a beautiful city… and call it the city of man.” The Celebrity of Christ For centuries, the great story of Jesus has been recreated through every artistic medium. Countless interpretations of Christ and the Gospels have been produced by musicians, painters, sculptors, playwrights, and film and animation studios, and these creative variations of the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ have expressed our attitudes and concerns, reflected our spiritual and cultural consciousness, and influenced and enriched our understanding of and connection to this powerful figure. With over 2 billion people proclaiming their devotion to the teachings of Christ, Christianity represents the world’s largest religion. This global influence, present in churches and services ranging from humble to gigantic, has also established a presence in secular and popular venues, and the message, teachings and image of Christ have merged with popular culture for over a century. America’s film industry has lead the way in motion pictures portraying the life and death of Jesus, but France, Mexico, Italy, Canada, and others have also left their cinematic mark on the Gospels. One of the earliest films depicting the suffering of Christ is The Passion Play of Oberammergau, a black and white, silent film produced in 1898, and over the next 30 years, over a dozen silent films were made highlighting the life of Christ. With the power of Hollywood’s major film studios, like MGM and 20th Century Fox, Biblical epics dominated the silver screen in the 1950s and 60s, the most popular being Paramount Pictures and Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 classic, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston and featuring “a cast of thousands.” Films like King of Kings (1961) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) were born out of this cinematic era. Powerhouse director, Martin Scorsese, applied his gritty filmmaking style to the controversial 1988 film, The Last Temptation of Christ, which caused uproar for its portrayal of Christ as a flawed human, tempted by lust and tormented by guilt and doubt. The popular 1989 Canadian film, Jesus of Montreal, offers a modern, theatrical interpretation of Jesus. As recently as 2004, Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ, revealing a violent and visceral telling of the crucifixion, fascinated religious and secular moviegoers worldwide, even as it, too, generated its share of controversy. In addition to films which strive to offer a realistic interpretation of the Gospels, some films, like Monty Python’s The Life of Brian (1979) or Mel Brook’s The History of the World: Part 1 (1981) reinvent the figure of Jesus from a satirical and humorous perspective. These comedic films have gained equal popularity among audiences and continue to be rediscovered by contemporary viewers. Television has also explored the story of Jesus in the form of made-for-TV movies, miniseries, documentaries, and episodic programs. Even popular adult cartoons like Family Guy, South Park, and The Simpsons often portray Jesus in everyday situations, usually as a peace-loving hippie or a rock n’ roller character. Whether inspired by the Church or of secular origin, countless songs and musical pieces have also been written to honor Christ. Sacred music composed by history’s most famous musicians, speak to the love and suffering of Christ and reveal the faith of millions of Christian followers, and this trend continues in modern, popular music. In the late 1960s and early 70s, “the Jesus Movement” began on the West Coast and spread throughout the country in a huge, evangelical youth and cultural movement combining a new, contemporary spin on Christianity with the folk music of the hippie subculture. Huge Christian organizations, youth centers, and fellowship houses sprang up all over the county, and their message of redemption through Christ was spread largely through music. The first Christian rock label was launched in 1971. Musicals based on the life of Christ were also born at about this time. The two most popular musical retellings of the teachings and passion of Jesus are Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell (1970) and Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar (1971). Both of these theatrical productions were quickly made into equally popular film versions, released in the same decade. The albums for both these shows, with all their recordings and revivals, have sold millions of copies. Godspell’s “Day by Day” spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Top 100 chart in 1972, peaking at #13, and Rice and Webber’s powerful album reached #1 on the Billboard chart in 1971. While the Jesus Movement lost momentum in the early 1980s, contemporary interpretations of the teachings of Christ continue to impact popular music. From rock music to hip-hop, secular artists like DMX, Everclear, Billy Idol, Ben Folds, Bruce Springsteen, R. Kelly, Marilyn Manson, and Nirvana have all produced songs interpreting Christ and his message. While some songs offer a cynical point of view (like Nine Inch Nails’ 1994 song, Heresy), most offer either a positive message (like Bruce Springsteen’s 2005, Jesus was an Only Son) or they simply comment on the role of religion and the figure of Jesus in the contemporary world (like Ben Folds’ 2005 hit, Jesusland). Evolving from the historic sculptures of Madonna and Child, as well as the countless paintings in museums and churches throughout the world, images of Christ in the manger, with his followers, and on the cross have inspired artists for centuries. Today, the commercialism of the modern age has capitalized on this iconic figure. Jesus bumper stickers, hats, t-shirts, even action figures permeate popular culture. It is safe to say that no other figure in history has gained so much worldwide celebrity as this humble man from Galilee who invited us all to love one another in peace, mercy, forgiveness, and love. Director’s Note What initially caught my attention about Godspell was that John-Michael Tebelak created it for a masters thesis assignment at Carnegie Mellon to do an adaptation based on a “great work,” much like the kind of assignments I have used over the years in my directing and playwriting classes. It is significant to me, then, that Godspell originates in a desire among theater artists to capture the spirit of one of the world’s great books. I see it as a piece about eleven individuals, who, in attempting to make the gospels personally meaningful, re-enact them for themselves and for everyone in the room. In search of a place where these young seekers would want to meet for this exploration, my mind found its way to an abandoned urban bus station, a space haunted by a past in which people once awaited departure to their own personal destinations. -- Arthur Feinsod http://www.MTIShows.comshapeimage_7_link_0