Could Godspell work on broadway?

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 8:45pm

What do you think? I'm not sure...it's a small musical...

[Unknown User]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 8:53pm

i think it could. it might kinda water down the who intimacy
of the overall production, and they it might be too "broadway-ized" if that makes any sense at all. sometimes i make up my own words :]

[i*heart*fame]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 8:54pm

It already did...

Plus, when has size really been a factor? It's expected to have flashy shows but plenty of minimalist shows have been doing well.

Isn't it a bit soon for a revival?

[Johnnytoc]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:02pm

Godspell's never officially been On Broadway.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:08pm

It's never been on broadway has it?

Yeah it is to soon but I was just wondering. And other small musicals have been on broadway (You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Spelling Bee, Avenue Q, etc.)

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:08pm

Uh, Yes. Yes it has.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:10pm

Really? Did it transfer during it's original run? (in the 60s I beleive)

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:12pm

"Yeah it is to soon but I was just wondering. And other small musicals have been on broadway (You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Spelling Bee, Avenue Q, etc.)"

you said "have been on broadway", and you have Spelling Bee and Avenue Q there: they're still on broadway! they haven't closed yet so they haven't "been on broadway" as in the past term, they're still there!

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:13pm

Well, I just mean they have transferd from off-broadway. I know they haven't closed! :)

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:15pm

haha, okay, just checking

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:21pm

Godspell opened off-Broadway in '71 and ran over 2000 performances. It later transferred to Broadway in 1976 and ran for 527 performances (and Schwartz's score for nominated for the Tony in 1977, losing to Annie that year).

It strikes me that the show might be a too bit dated to have a successful run on Broadway again -- the last time it played in New York back in 2000, it only managed a two month run at the tiny York Theatre (with a cast that included several now-prominent then-unknowns including Barret Foa, Shoshana Bean, Chad Kimball, Leslie Kritzer and Capathia Jenkins).

Updated On: 12/3/06 at 09:21 PM

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:23pm

See if IBDB were up I'd know that! lol

I heard of the revival and I have the cast recording...I don't like it to much. Barrett Foa was a dissapointment on it for me.

I LOVE the movie though!

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:27pm

i have to disagree a lot...i thought the off-way revival cast was amazing. shoshana sang her ass off.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:29pm

the 2000 revival is my favorite recording. I think it worked well with the "updates" and that if it were going to play Broadway again it would have been that production that transferred. if they revived it with the same cast Barret Foa, Shoshana Bean and Chad Kimball, it might actually do better now just because they each have a "league" of fans that follow them from show to show now. I believe the two month run was a limited engagement was it not?

Updated On: 12/3/06 at 09:29 PM

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:30pm

Well, I didn't see it...I just have the cast recording...it's good but it's just not my favorite. I REALLY didn't like who ever it was playing John The Baptist.......

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:33pm

>>"shoshana sang her ass off."<<

I'm getting an incredibly vivid image here.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:36pm

LMAO

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:49pm

Will Erat played John the Baptist in the 2000 production.

The show had to close to make way for the rest of the York Theatre's season that year. I believe the production was supposed to transfer from St. Peters Church to another space, but that never happened. I can't recall why exactly (though I imagine money was a factor).

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:53pm

Did you see it Margo? What did you think of it?

[dancinfan]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 10:25pm

The York production was good but not particularly special beyond good casting. I remember thinking the direction was mostly okay but lacked clarity in key transitional moments (i.e. why certain characters were making certain choices at certain moments seemed vague or random).

[Jon]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 10:35pm

I always thopught it would be nice to do a production of GODSPELL using a "reverse John Doyle" approach. Instead of having the actors play instruments, have the musicians on stage and let them participate in the play - let them line up to get baptised, act in the parables, etc. Then they could also sing along during the songs. I know many productions have had "On The Willows" sung by the musicians, rather than "cast mebmers".

[roquat]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 11:16pm

The script indicates that the musicians are supposed to sing "On the Willows" (the cast is usually in tears by that time, anyway.) It doesn't really make sense for the cast to sing that song at that time; they don't know what's going to happen. I think it's meant to be going on in Jesus' mind.

The glory of GODSPELL is that it isn't a finished production; it's a structure for actors and directors to build on through improvisation and experimentation (or it should be). That's why it's such a good show for high schools and colleges; it demonstrates the collaborative process theatre is supposed to be. I think a revival could do very well if it had a strong concept and was really workshopped and rehearsed in the way the original was. Yes, the "homeless clowns in a playground" concept (most people's image of the show) is dated, but the last time I checked, man's inhumanity to man and the hunger for spirituality and meaning in life were still kicking around.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 11:21pm

they actually did a john doyle production last year at the Walnut Street Theater...it was wonderful...very very cool. The show got great reviews and extended a few extra weeks...and yes that image of shoshana is happening..."OH BLESS THE LORD MY SOUL>"

[roquat]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 11:32pm

I saw a wonderful production in which the cast were all in their 30s and 40s (not the usual flower children) and they started the show wearing tight black business suits. Each sang his or her solo in "Tower of Babel" into a cell phone (one was pretending to sniff cocaine during his vocal rests). Then Jesus showed up, and as the show went on, they gradually relaxed, unbuttoned their collars, removed their blazers, etc. They had obviously done a lot of workshopping and rehearsing--there were pop-culture references aplenty--and the show was a lot less "skit put on by overage children" and a lot more "Mad TV". It blew away my former image of the show (not to mention that awful movie) and I can't picture doing GODSPELL any other way now.

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 11:35pm

We're doing this show here at my college next year and im really excited..