Godspell - First Preview Tonight — Page 2

There is no set really, just different props they bring on for the different parables. There are many trap doors in the stage floor that are lifted to expose various things.

The theater is decorated with chandeliers left over from Bloody, Bloody last season, why I'm not sure.

There is a piano on stage, but the rest of the band is spread out throughout the theater. Probably a reason they are having issues with balancing the sound right now.

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I actually very much enjoyed it. I thought that it was really put together quite nice. They do have some sound issues to work out, as I couldn't understand some of the things being sung. Lindsay Mendez and Telly Leung are absolute stand-outs. They have great characters throughout the entire show. The first song in the second act with the 2 of them and Wallace Smith, was absolutely mind-blowing! I also thought that Anna Maria Perez de Tagle did a fine job as well. I didn't find much problem with the casting, but I'm not sure how I feel about Hunter as of yet. I'm gonna go a couple more times before I make a consensus.

The sense that I got was the characters were ad-libbing some lines. There was a reference that this was the first preview. I can't imagine that Steve Jobs is a permanent part of the script, as his death happened only last week. I thought it will be like Spelling Bee where the news item of the week is inserted into the script. Not to defend the script in anyway...

Well the lines in "Turn Back, O Man" about it being the first preview and her "slipping" into our playbills were clearly ad-libed. (I actually thought the playbill line was cute.)

I felt like the Steve Jobs line was rehearsed. It felt too planned to be completely off the cuff. Perhaps those lines in "Turn Back, O Man" will be ad-libed differently every night, but I didn't get the sense that the rest of the script had any spontaneity in it.

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Well to be fair Godspell has never been a musical that has required a set. Especially since it is set in the round there is really no way they could effectively have a set that didn't block the view of some audience members.

Definitely. I was referring to the show sounding bad as a whole, not the set. Were the costumes just modern day clothes? How was the finale staged?

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Yeah, it was filled. U guys its Godspell NOT Hamlet. There is no right or wrong way to do it. U will never see the same production...ever. The cast is freakin stunning. Hunter Parrish & Wallace Smith have amazing chemistry...my opinion. The end of the show was very moving too. Telly, Anna, Lindsay etc they are incredible and having a ball up there....so it seemed.
It's going to do really well cause its a family show.

Well as to any of the changes--Schwartz and crew are involved, aren't they? Surely they're allowed to change it how they want... (Didn't the rece4nt tour use cell phones, etc, too)?

That said, it sounds dire. Whizzer's review was one of the best things I've read in a while. But I admit, I'm no Godspell fan--the odd movie holds some weird fascination to me, and I like some of the music, but it's probably my least fave Schwartz show--and yes that includes Magic Show. The show just rubs me the wrong way... Did Godspell ever really have a set? I've never seen pics of the full stage for the original Broadway production, but I know it opened first in a cafe or something.

EASY WHIZZER, sounds like someone needs to let go of those high school dreams, the 80s are over and you need to keep up with the times, as does the show. Sounds like the youg people at the show enjoyed it, so tell us, when is the show you wrote going to open?

I hope you shills are mining for pull quotes while you're in this thread, 'cause you won't get them from critics.

Here's one for ya, on the house: "AMAZEBALLS!! Simply be engulfed into some dumbness!!"

What are the costumes?
More important, does Hunter remove any (or all) of his?

mrl762- ha, I don't expect to see the same show I was in during high school. I would hope this one would be a lot better! Should the Hair revival "kept up with the times?" Maybe if Crissy had only tweeted where she was going to be in the city she would have met up with Frank Mills again! Guess that's the price she paid for not keeping current with today's culture.

Comparing the two revivals is actually helpful. I'm not crazy about Hair in general, but that revival was SO much more successful than this Godspell revival. Both have loose, episodic structures, and both are products of their time. Whereas Hair decided to stay true to the period, Godspell did not and I felt it backfired. Just my opinion.

I also don't have to be a playwright in order to know when I hear lines that are stinkers. I can't singer opera worth a lick, but I sure can tell the difference between an exhilarating performance at the Met and one that is merely mediocre. Surely you wouldn't suggest that I have to master an aria before I can critique anyone else singing it?

labwyfan- This first preview was not so good, but I don't think it had much to do with the fact it was the first preview. Sure there were some sound issues and missed lighting cues. That stuff can all be fixed and I wouldn't criticize those issues. Most shows have some issues like that at a first preview.

I paid for my ticket and feel like I can share my thoughts about the show in as little or as much detail as I please. If the production had been better I could have written ten paragraphs of praise. (After some other first previews I certainly have.)

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Updated On: 10/14/11 at 01:24 AM

Fair enough. But what's the point? Do you want to be the first to slam a bad show? Do you want the creators to know your opinion so they can change it? Do you want the actors to second-guess their performances? Why do it? You have every right to. And I have a right to think it's mean.