By Elise Jones, blog editor
Prepare ye, the wait is over! Godspell has made its grand return to Broadway and this is a show that will entertain both young and old.
I was given tickets* to go see the revival of Godspell as part of MamaDrama NY and elected to take my 5 1/2 year old to see her first Broadway show. She is familiar with the score and has been to other smaller, theater performances so I felt it was going to be a good fit for her; it definitely was. The light in her eyes during and after the show was effusive and she has yet to stop talking about it!
The show is presented in a circle theater or theater in the round where the audience sits in a circle around the stage (and surprise! the orchestra/band in incorporated into the audience seats too). There isn’t a bad seat in the house and you feel just as much a part of the excitement as if you were in the show (and they do use audience members to interact with the actors too).
The set is simple: props brought onto the stage by the actors and floor panels that open to provide a pool and trampolines!!! The costumes are so creative and festive: each character is personified by their colorful frocks. The lighting creates the appropriate moods: playful and exciting during the first act/somber and foreboding in the second.
The characters, oh these perfectly selected actors, who draw you in and enchant you. Jesus, played by Hunter Parrish (of Weeds fame), is like the corn-fed Midwesterner who is so nice and whom you long to have his approval (apropos, no?). His ease and comfort in the role make it incredibly believable that he would create a group of followers that still follow him to this day.
And his followers, among whom you will find these standouts- Anna Maria Perez de Tagle (Hannah Montana,), Lindsay Menedez, George Salazar and Celisse Henderson- work together to create a perfectly balanced and harmonious group whose voices and energy have you begging for more. Their expression and talent (many play multiple instruments and do many amazing impressions) bring such enthusiasm and energy to the stage, it is hard to imagine a better show being shown on Broadway at this time. These guys are top-notch and make the show worth seeing many times over again.
Kudos to Stephen Schwartz for a fantastic revival filled with updated musical scores (multiple musical genres are incorporated), current political and pop culture references as well as new energy into this oft-staged show. I can’t wait to see it again and again.
If you would like to grab tickets at our special discount, go here and enter the code GSMDR79. $79.50 / $89.50 (Sat Eves); Certain black out dates apply; Valid through 12/23/11.
Godspell 411:
- Beloved classic from Stephen Schwartz, the Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer of WICKED and PIPPIN
- Tony-nominated score
- Appropriate for ages 6+
- Show time: about 2 hour 15 minutes plus 15 min intermission
- Location: Circle in the Square, 1633 Broadway @ 50th St.
- Show times: Starting Nov 15: Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday at 2pm; Thursday-Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2:30pm & 8pm; Sunday at 2:30pm & 7:30pm
- Tickets: http://www.godspell.com/tickets.html
- Ticket Lottery: There will be a pre-show ticket lottery and a post-show stage door lottery at Godspell. Click here for details.
- Show website: www.Godspell.com
For more blog posts on Broadway’s Godspell visit MamaDrama.
* Disclosure: I received tickets in exchange for a review of the show by MamaDrama NY. All thoughts and opinions expressed are solely mine.
** All photos courtesy of Godspell’s website and Facebook page.
