Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
#0Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 3:09am
I just came back from a gawd-AWFUL production of GODSPELL. It was one of the most painful experiences I've ever had to endure in a theatre.
Anyway, since it was my first encounter with the material, I don't know if it was the bad direction or the musical itself, but is GODSPELL really that non-sensical and weird? It didn't seem like I was watching a piece of theatre; instead, the whole show felt more like a sunday school lesson on acid. Schwartz' score did not appeal to me in the least; I found it mediocre and unmemorable.
And I thought JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR was trippy.
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HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
Updated On: 2/4/05 at 03:09 AM
QHDramaQueen
Stand-by Joined: 2/3/05
#1re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 3:18am
I agree with you completely. Schwartz's lyrics have always been repetitive and non-sensical. Thats why writing the music for Wicked was so perfect for him. But getting back to Godspell, the show is just bizarre- i was in a production and lets just say the lyrics were very easy to learn
#2re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 8:27am
I love Godspell. I think it's a well told musical that is the teachings of The Gospel According to Matthew.
The thing with this show is that it is done differently every single time it is performed. There is no set way to do it, and you probably did see a weird "trippy" version of it.
A lot of the show is improvisational parable storytelling. Simple plot. But many a director or even the actor playing Jesus can mess up this production.
Schwartz had posted something on the Godspell website about how as simple as this show seems, it is not an easy show to put on.
If you want an updated version of the musical (and a great recording) I suggest hearing Godspell 2000. They changed the music to make it more "modern", even though I still find the original recordings to be very good.
I do not recommend seeing the movie, as it should have never been done. It's different when seeing adult's on stage act like kids, and you can respect the art of theatre. But when they are adult's acting like kids around the streets of NYC in the seventies, it really doesn't work, especially when a lot of the comedy is dated. (Although, Lynn Thigpen was great in it.)
"Do you know what pledge time is, Andrew"? said the PBS Executive.
"Yes", Lloyd Webber replied. "My 50th birthday special must be one program that gets done a lot."
"No", mused the man from PBS heedlessy. "Not so much. Our Stephen Sondheim Carnegie Hall concert. That's a big one."
Spoons, forks and knives seemed suddenly to suspend their motion in horror, all around the table.
#3re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 8:43amThe show has never appealed to me and I've seen several different incarnations - I believe it's the writing that ruins the show. If you want a good show in a similar vein - go see Jesus Christ Superstar - its one of the only Good things LLoyd Webber has ever written and it holds up so much better than Godspell (I just don't get the interest in Schwartz' music)
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
WindyCityActor
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/13/03
#4re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 10:40am
"Preee---eeee---eeeee---pare ye the way of the Lord!"
Gawd, I hope I never have to hear that song again.
junglered
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#5re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 11:23am"Godspell" is my least favorite show of all time. With the exception of the song "Day by Day", it is trash.
Jwaa
Broadway Star Joined: 11/28/04
#6re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 12:59pmMy performing arts college did an all-female cast of it, and i thought it was amazing.
#7re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 1:01pmIt is not trash - it's one of the most amazing experiences (religious or no, as I am not) if it is directed correctly. It's like HAIR - it can be brilliant, or terrible, or "gawd" (?) awful as y
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
#8re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 1:01pmIt is not trash - it's one of the most amazing experiences (religious or no, as I am not) if it is directed correctly. It's like HAIR - it can be brilliant, or terrible, or "gawd" (?) awful as you like to say...
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
carpal
Swing Joined: 2/4/05
#9re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 1:53pmI've always liked Godspell when done right. The movie obviously doesn't hold up well. I watched it not too long ago and became EXTREMELY uncomfortable at the end of "All For The Best" when it wraps up with a song and dance on the roof of a still-under-construction World Trade Center. That alone sucked all the life out of the movie.
Swing Joined: 12/31/69
#10re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 2:14pm
I saw a wonderful version of it and I saw a crap version of it. I think it is what you make of the show.
We did a really fun version in college and I thought it went over well.
bjivie2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/04
#11re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 2:24pmThe few reasons I don't like Godspell is because of the repetetive lyrics, which has already been discussed, and also because when I see it I feel like I'm at church. I don't like being preached at for 2 hours, when I think I'm going to see a fun pop-rock musical. It's like going to Sunday school. And the fact that there is almost no plot until the last half just bugs me.
Eeeeeeyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaannnnnddddd aaaaaaaiiiiiiiiyyyyyyaaaaaammmmmmmm teeeeeeeelllllliiiiiinnngg yyyyooooooouuuuuuuwwwaaaahh...
WindyCityActor
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/13/03
#12re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 3:05pm
The "Cuteness-Factor"...clown-make-up, rummage sale spangly clothes, overly perky performances - can really make it an impossibly sweet pill to swallow.
Maybe a darker, grittier interpretation.
Derek
Broadway Star Joined: 9/14/03
#13re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 3:31pmI love it! We did a production at my High School. It was said to have been the best show we have ever done. We set it in a junk yard, with the band playing on a pile of junk. We all wore regular outfits. True, it is very weird and doesnt always make sense. It's not supposed to though. It takes both the parables and Jesus's death and puts them together in one show. I think it just has to be done and performed right. It can be a very powerful experience. In our version we set some scenes in the audience, balcony and stage. We even danced with and invited the audience on stage for the Act One Finale. My dad taped it (even though that isnt "legal") and the death scene was amazing. We had a wall of graffiti that (at the end) lit of with x-mas lights in the shape of a cross. With that, mixed with the powerful music, I could see the people on the tape actually move back in their seats. It was like a wave. It was awesome. When we took Jesus off the cross, we began to carry him through the audience and out the door of the theatre. Before it even ended we got a standing ovation. We then began to sing a reprise of Day By Day out on the street. It is such powerful material. The music can be so beautiful. It is confusing if you go expecting to see "the bible" on stage lol, but it isnt if you go expecting to see lessons and life. I know that sounds weird. It can be such a fun experience. You should just see other versions.
#14re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 3:41pmGODSPELL is very dated now, but it can still be an effective piece of theater if it is directed and performed well. You almost have to look at it as a period piece to get the point across. Trying to make it more contemporary or "modern" is, in my opinion, a mistake.
Derek
Broadway Star Joined: 9/14/03
#15re: Godspell -- is it really that trippy?
Posted: 2/4/05 at 4:14pmyeah, what we did in our show was instead of using face paint, we each wore a bead necklace around our neck that Jesus handed out in the beginning and took away before he died. It was very effective, but a pain to dance with lol. I also think the show works better in a small space with a smaller cast
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