'Godspell' a fresh take on 2,000-year-old story

“Godspell,” the second show of Tibbits Summer Theatre, is on stage with an energetic cast of 11 young actors, most in college.

Written in the 1970s by Stephen Schwartz, it is a musical with a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew.

All actors go by their own names except for Jesus, played by Jack Hopewell and John the Baptist/Judas, played by Dominic Green.

Following the show, Gianna Branca, who was dressed in nurse scrubs for the show, shared her take on the production.

“I loved it,” Branca said. “I love any and all shows that are built around an ensemble of people. It’s easier to make the show a success if the cast likes each other. We all love each other. It’s so easy to put that energy on stage. I feel like ‘Godspell’ is just as much for the cast as it is for the audience.”

As a group, under the direction of Chad Tallon, the cast created the way they told the story beyond the basic script.

“You get some words and some songs,” she said.

But every production of “Godspell” is its own.

“No other production will be exactly like that,” Branca said.

Hopewell agreed.

“The script gives you a lot of freedom to do a lot of things. For me it was fun to be the leader and push them in a direction and then trust them.”

Branca jumped in.

“He’s being modest," she said. "We would have had no clue of what was going on if he didn’t know. Everything starts with Jesus. Every parable we do, every scene we set — he has to have the whole map in his head or we would have absolutely fallen apart if he was not leading us.”

Tibbits summer shows are stage-ready in 10 days or less. Because of that crunch time, Hopewell uses a system to memorize a script.

“Then it’s just repetition,” he said.

Once memorized, Hopewell can begin to lead the others. In this case, he passionately and flawlessly delivered a massive amount of narrative.

Green who played both John the Baptist and Judas, is from Queens, New York, but likes Coldwater.

“Everyone is so sweet and so welcoming," he said. "But beyond everyone being so sweet, this show ‘Godspell’ lends itself to form a community with your cast members. It’s such an ensemble-heavy show that you have to rely on the person next to you. It just naturally brings everybody together and we get emotional when it’s time to crucify you,” Green said to Hopewell.

That emotion was also delivered to the audience who went dead-silent during the scene.

Review

Don't take preconceived ideas into this production of “Godspell." It probably won’t fit your expectation.

Between the creative genius of Peter Riopelle, summer theatre artistic director, Chad Tallon, show director, and the cast, at times, it's a fresh post-pandemic take with a loose, impromptu feel.

At times, how they tell the parables or teachings is reminiscent of a friend's game night.

The musical lyrics have some King James “thees and thous,” but this show is set in a grocery store,"Save ur Lot," with a Superman-style logo and includes hand-sanitizer, aka baptism.

"Day by Day," one of the show's most well-known songs, may be running in your head for a while.

“Godspell” will be on stage 2 p.m. Sunday; 2 p.m. Wednesday; and 7:30 p.m. July 6-9. Tickets are available at Tibbits.org or by calling (517) 278-6029.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: 'Godspell': fresh take on a 50 year old show and 2,000 year old story