University of Virginia Library

Rocking With St. Matt

every performance, but with
strong, popular tunes such as
"I Don't Know How To Love
Him," "Everything's Alright,"
and the title number being
hummed by everybody, that's
inevitable.

What O'Horgan has done
then is exploit the subject
matter, put everything on a
sensationalist basis. And, in
so doing, he has castrated the
original work: robbed it of
feeling and replaced it with
superficiality, destroyed its
sincerity and wrapped it in
cellophane.

But if the Broadway "JC
Superstar" doesn't do much
for the image of religious
musicals, an off-Broadway hit
called "Godspell" proves that
it is possible to write of Christ
in rock terms, stage it
thoughtfully, and wind up with
a thoroughly delightful evening
of theatre.

"Godspell" is based on the
Gospel According To St.
Matthew and depicts Christ as
a modern-day freak who wears
a Superman shirt and has a
heart painted on his forehead.
If you think this is sacrilegious,
I can only tell you that you are
wrong, for "Godspell" is a very
reverent work which, instead
of subjugating Christ to stage
and scenic effects, portrays
Him as a human,
compassionate, and very
likeable person through
a contemporary idiom.

But "Godspell" is more
concerned with entertaining
than converting. And that it
does - consistently. What we
have here is a musical
potpourri; not only is
"Godspell" a rock musical, it is
also alternately a magic show,
burlesque, vaudeville, mime,
and a puppet show. It was
conceived and directed by
John-Michael Tebelak, who
owes much to Paul Sills'
"Story Theatre" technique,
but who works with that
technique better than Mr. Sills
ever has, making this a very
humorous show.

His staging is not only
spirited, but very imaginative.
For instance, the musical
begins with an assortment of
young adults wearing drab
shirts with the names of
famous philosophers and
prophets on them, whose
beliefs they recite in a very
subdued, restrained manner.
Then Christ enters and bedlam
breaks loose, with singing,
dancing, total freedom from
symbolic imprisonment, and
shirts flying every which way
to be replaced by bright
clown-show costumes.

Stephen Schwartz' score has
an infectious bounce to it and
is a joy to listen to; it's fresh,
alive, and (something unusual
for a rock musical) all the
music doesn't sound alike. It is
both frivolous and serious, and
it always establishes just the
right mood as it accompanies
the narrative through the
apostles' acceptance of Christ,
the teaching of parables. His
betrayal and crucifixion, and
finally the promised
resurrection of Christ and the
spirit.

The cast is youthful and
enthusiastic and mingles with
you, serves you wine in paper
cups, talks with you during
intermission, and gives the
impression of really enjoying
its work. In fact, there is
nothing pretentious about
"Godspell." Not only is it the
best rock musical I've ever
encountered, it's also the best
time I've had in a theatre in the
last few years.