By JOSEPHINE NORRIS, Photo Editor.
When was the last time you went to see a musical and the venue had beautiful stain glass windows and you could see the pipes of an organ upstage? For most people, it doesn’t happen very often, but Westminster Presbyterian Church is working to provide its audience with this experience through the production of “Godspell” with music by Stephen Schwartz and directed by Brandon Severn Bierlein.
The musical opens with the cast, dressed in black, becoming confused and babbling over philosophy. Enter Jesus, in a vibrant white shirt and blond hair and the cast exchanges their confusion and black garb for costumes of every color of the rainbow. Blue, purple, yellow, green, and orange, red, and brown; they are all present onstage as the group of Jesus’ disciples assemble, pause for a selfie, and then begin to follow his teachings of love for all. The show moves from parable to parable of Jesus’ imagination, illustrating the way of life he desires his followers to lead. As the story progresses, Jesus’ (spoiler alert) death upon the cross becomes increasingly apparent and the disciples resolve to stand by him through it all and follow his teachings faithfully.
The set is comprised of crates and boxes turned on their side. Burlap cloth was draped over pews and stacks of old hymnals onstage and far upstage, a cross and the church’s organ pipes completed the picture of an old abandoned church where the cast performed. I loved how the set and props placed on the stage added to the “found space” feeling of the set; where the production team found a space and determined the best way to tell a story while still incorporating pieces of the venue into the show.
I love shows that have an ensemble with a large presence in the show, like in “Godspell.” The cast was comprised of Westminster Presbyterian church members and actors from around the Tri-city area. Every cast member was absolutely invaluable to the show and so unbelievably talented. I could not find a weak link anywhere in the cast. The life that each actor brought to their character was as vibrant as their rainbow hued costumes. The energy onstage reminded me of depictions of energetic Southern Baptist church services, complete with shouts of “Praise the Lord!” and hand clapping.
The score of “Godspell” is filled with songs with a rock flair so exciting and energetic that you want to get up and dance along with the cast onstage as well as powerfully beautiful songs with haunting melodies. The band for “Godspell” is very small, consisting of drums, guitar, bass, piano and a Clavinova. But, the small size was perfect for the show and sounded amazing.
The neat thing about Stephen Schwartz’s 1971 musical is that many lines from the script are taken right from the Gospel according to Matthew, chronicling Jesus’ ministry on earth. And the scenes consist of the ensemble acting out famous parables Jesus shared with his followers to “build a beautiful city.”
To be able to witness this energetic and vibrant production of “Godspell” right here in the Tri-city area, I have to say that I am “#blessed.”
“Godspell” runs April 2, 3 and 4 at 7 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian, 103 E. Midland St. in Bay City. Tickets are free and you can reserve tickets by calling the Westminster Presbyterian Church at 989-686-1360. Admission without tickets is available after 6:45 p.m. if space allows.
