Monthly Archives: May 2011

Godspell announces opening dates and previews

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Producer Ken Davenport is pleased to announce that the 40th Anniversary production and first-ever Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz’s landmark rock musical GODSPELL is scheduled to begin preview performances on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre (1633 Broadway at 50th Street).

Directed by Daniel Goldstein and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Christopher Gattelli (South Pacific), Opening Night is Monday, November 7 (7 p.m.).

GODSPELL reunites Daniel Goldstein – making his Broadway directorial debut – and the designers of their critically-acclaimed 2006 Paper Mill Playhouse conception in a new production that has been completely re-imagined for the Circle in the Square, one of Broadway’s most intimate, unique and versatile houses.

GODSPELL features scenic design by David Korins (Passing Strange, Bridge and Tunnel), costume design by Miranda Hoffman (Well), lighting design by Ben Stanton (Angels in America) and orchestrations by Michael Holland (Hurricane).

Conceived and originally directed by John-Michael Tebelak with music and new lyrics by Academy and Grammy Award winner Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin), GODSPELL has continued to electrify audiences throughout the country since its original New York premiere in May 1971.

GODSPELL’s Tony-nominated score features instantly recognizable hits including “Day by Day,” “Turn Back, O Man,” “Learn Your Lessons Well, “Prepare Ye the Way,” “Light of the World” and many more.

One of the most popular musicals in the world, GODSPELL originally ran for more than 2,600 performances in New York and spawned successful touring productions in major U.S. cities, a 1973 motion picture adaptation and countless international engagements for the past 40 years.

The new Broadway revival of GODSPELL is produced by Ken Davenport and The People of Godspell.  Complete casting will be announced soon.

How Stephen Schwartz came to Godspell

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Stephen Schwartz describes Godspell’s early development and how he became involved with the original project.

“GODSPELL began at Carnegie-Mellon University as a directing project for John-Michael Tebelak, who was in the theatre department there.  John-Michael, who had thoughts of becoming an Episcopal minister before he decided to become a theatre director, had recently attended an Easter service in Pittsburgh and was struck by the lack of joy and celebration in the service, as well as by the personal hostility he felt from some of his fellow churchgoers because of his youth and long hair (it was during the height of the Vietnam War and its accompanying “Generation Gap”).  The show was presented at Carnegie, where it included interpolated pop songs and Episcopal hymns set to music written by cast members, as well as the song “By My Side,” written by CMU students Jay Hamburger and Peggy Gordon (a member of the cast).  Being very well-received, it was presented the following year in New York City at an off-off-Broadway theatre called the Cafe la Mama.  This was in February and March of 1971.  There, it was seen by producers Edgar Lansbury and Joseph Beruh (brought there by former CMU student Charles Haid, who became the associate producer of the show).  They became interested in giving the show a commercial production at an off-Broadway theatre.  At that time, I was contacted by the producers, who had heard me audition my score for PIPPIN, and I signed on to write music and new lyrics.  We retained the song “By My Side,” and the rest of the score–except for the song “Learn Your Lessons Well,” which was added during rehearsals–was written in time for the start of rehearsals on April 11, 1971.  The show opened May 17, 1971.”

Meet the Director: Daniel Goldstein

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Daniel Goldstein’s recent projects include Clear (O’Neill National Musical Theater Conference),True West (Williamstown Theater Festival), Miss Margarida’s Way (Bay Street Theater, with Julie Halston), Annie (St. Louis MUNY), A New Brain at the Toho Theater in Tokyo, The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown (Broadway Across America developmental production), Mary’s Wedding at the Two Rivers Theater, a highly praised revival of Godspell at the Papermill Playhouse, Sinan Unel’s The Cry of the Red at Huntington Theatre Company, Beau Willimon’s Lower Ninth at the Flea and SPF, the Off-Broadway commercial production of the hit Fringe Festival musicalWalmartopia, Kenny Finkle’s Indoor/Outdoor at the DR2 and SPF, Falsettos and Les Liaisons Dangerouses at the Huntington, But I’m a Cheerleader at the New York Musical Theater Festival and Bathsheba Doran’s Living Room in Africa at Gloucester Stage. He has served as the Associate Director for All Shook Up! and Fully Committed, and the Resident Director for the First National Tour of Mamma Mia! Daniel has developed the work of playwrights Peter Morris, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Rob Handel, John Shea, Bathsheba Doran, Janet Neipris, Eliza Jane Scheider and Jesse Eisenberg at the O’Neill Playwright’s Conference, PlayPenn, and elsewhere. As a writer, he was the recipient of an inaugural Calderwood Commission from the Huntington Theater Company, for which he is writing an original musical with Michael Friedman calledUnknown Soldier. He is a graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Performance Studies.

**He was Jesus (to a Judas played by Zach Braff, of TV’s “Scrubs”) in a 1988 production at the famous Catskills theater camp, Stage Door Manor.

Godspell through the years

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Since its debut 40 years ago, Godspell has delighted and inspired audiences. Here is a small look at Godspell in 1971…

 

The upright piano used by Stephen Schwartz to compose Godspell.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Nathan and David Haskell

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left to right: Jeff Mylett; back row: David Haskell, Steve Nathan, Lamar Alford; second row: Peggy Gordon, Herb Braha, Gilmer McCormick; front row: Robin Lamont, Sonia Manzano, Joanne Jonas

 

 

 

Steve Nathan

Upcoming May Godspell Productions

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HOLMES JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
DAVIS, CA  US		 From 05/05/2011
Until 05/07/2011
TAFT UNION HIGH SCHOOL
TAFT, CA  US 		From 05/05/2011
Until 05/08/2011
ROSS HIGH SCHOOL
HAMILTON, OH  US		 From 05/05/2011
Until 05/07/2011
MT HOPE HIGH SCHOOL
BRISTOL, RI  US		 From 05/05/2011
Until 05/08/2011
ARTSLINK INC
NEW MARTINSVILLE, WV  US 		From 05/05/2011
Until 05/15/2011
BLACK RIVER HIGH SCHOOL
SULLIVAN, OH  US		 From 05/06/2011
Until 05/08/2011
ST DAVIDS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
WAYNE, PA  US 		From 05/06/2011
Until 05/07/2011
CASTAWAYS REPERTORY THEATRE
WOODBRIDGE, VA  US		 From 05/06/2011
Until 05/21/2011
FT WAYNE CIVIC THEATRE
FORT WAYNE, IN  US 		From 05/07/2011
Until 05/22/2011
PEABODY HIGH SCHOOL
PEABODY, MA  US		 From 05/12/2011
Until 05/14/2011
BELLEVUE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
CLYDE HILL, WA  US 		From 05/12/2011
Until 05/14/2011
BAGGY PANTS THEATER
ORLANDO, FL  US		 From 05/13/2011
Until 05/22/2011
GOULD ACADEMY
BETHEL, ME  US 		From 05/13/2011
Until 05/14/2011
GEORGETOWN JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL
GEORGETOWN, OH  US		 From 05/13/2011
Until 05/14/2011
FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH OF CLEVELAND
CLEVELAND, OH  US 		From 05/13/2011
Until 05/15/2011
ST PATRICK CATHOLIC SCHOOL
NORFOLK, VA  US 		From 05/13/2011
Until 05/15/2011
SCHOOL OF CREATIVE ARTS
FRAMINGHAM, MA  US		 From 05/14/2011
Until 06/05/2011
NEW ROCHELLE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS
NEW ROCHELLE, NY  US 		From 05/15/2011
Until 05/29/2011
GREENWICH HIGH SCHOOL
GREENWICH, CT  US		 From 05/19/2011
Until 05/21/2011
PEACHTREE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
ATLANTA, GA  US		 From 05/19/2011
Until 05/20/2011
TULIP FESTIVAL STEERING COMM
ORANGE CITY, IA  US 		From 05/19/2011
Until 05/21/2011
ST ANTHONY HIGH SCHOOL
JERSEY CITY, NJ  US		 From 05/19/2011
Until 05/19/2011
BROOKE POINTE HIGH SCHOOL
STAFFORD, VA  US		 From 05/19/2011
Until 05/21/2011
SOUTH HADLEY HIGH SCHOOL
SOUTH HADLEY, MA  US		 From 05/20/2011
Until 05/21/2011
PORTSMOUTH LITTLE THEATRE
PORTSMOUTH, OH  US 		From 05/20/2011
Until 05/29/2011
WOONSOCKET HIGH SCHOOL
WOONSOCKET, RI  US 		From 05/20/2011
Until 05/21/2011
BACKSTAGE PRODUCTIONS
WILLIAMSBURG, VA  US 		From 05/21/2011
Until 05/22/2011
KINGS ACADEMY
SUNNYVALE, CA  US 		From 05/23/2011
Until 05/24/2011
HOPEWELL HIGH SCHOOL
HUNTERSVILLE, NC  US

Go here for more!

 From 05/24/2011
Until 05/26/2011

Answers to Godspell Study Guide Questions

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Q. How does the score heighten the basic storyline of GODSPELL?

A. What storyline? Contrary to what many people seem to think, GODSPELL is not a book musical. There are very few plot-related elements in the script by John-Michael Tebelak. They are the baptism, the confrontation with the Pharisees, the pardoning of the adulterous woman, the Last Supper, the arrest and the Crucifixion. And even these episodes are sketchy at best. One would only know what was going on if he or she attended the play knowing some version of the story already.

To consider GODSPELL a book musical is also problematic because many people bring their own brand of theology to the show. What’s going on during the baptism? What’s going on during the Last Supper? What’s going on during the Crucifixion? And by who’s authority is Jesus acting this way? There are many different answers to these questions. It depends on whether or not one goes to church. And if so, which one?

I have often read that GODSPELL is a retelling of the last seven days of the life of Jesus. Where is this evident? When did we start marking the calendar in Christ’s life during GODSPELL? If this is so, then it would seem that Jesus was baptized just one week prior to his death. The musical which depicts Christ’s last seven days is called JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. The synopsis by Tim Rice clearly maps out the last seven days of Christ’s life, and with little mention of anything remotely theological, tells the story of the political intrigue behind his arrest and demise.

And just when did the historical Jesus enter the picture? GODSPELL is an allegory. The role originally played by Stephen Nathan represents Jesus Christ, but he isn’t the actual Jesus. The role originally played by David Haskell is Stephen’s ‘deputy,’ or perhaps his best friend. At one point David is called upon to represent John the Baptist, at another apoint he is called upon to represent Judas Iscariot, and at another point he is called upon to represent all those who arrested and crucified Christ. At one point others in the cast represent famous philosophers, at one point they represent the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, at another point they represent Christ’s friends and followers, and all along they are simply playing themselves and forming a community based on a basic set of enlightened (in this case, Christian, but not exclusively so) ideas. [...]

Want to read more? Go here!

A letter from Producer Ken Davenport

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December 2, 2010

This coming year, hundreds, and potentially even thousands of people just like you could make history by coming together to produce the 40th Anniversary production and first ever Broadway revival of one of the most beloved musicals in the world . . . Godspell.

Many people have asked me why I have chosen to produce Godspell in this manner.  The answer is simple.  As Stephen Schwartz, the Academy® and Grammy Award®-winning composer of Wicked, Pippin and Godspell, once told me, “Godspell is essentially about a community of people coming together.”

So, what better way to produce it than by creating a community of its own.

As I’m sure you are aware, investing in Broadway musicals is usually only available to a very select group of individuals at very high investment thresholds.

However, I have always believed there were people all over the world who, despite the obvious risks, would love the thrill of becoming a Broadway Producer by investing in a Broadway show if the opportunity was made available to them at more affordable levels.

Therefore, inspired by the work of French entrepreneurs Guillaume Colboc and Benjamin Pommeraud, as well as Seth Godin’s Tribes, Kickstarter.org and, of course, the campaign of Barack Obama, I am proud to announce the first ever “Crowd-Funded” Broadway production.

Traditionally, the price of one investment unit in a Broadway show has been as high as $10,000, $25,000 and even $100,000.

The minimum investment in Godspell is only $1,000.

Each investor in Godspell shall receive a limited liability company interest in The Godspell, LLC.*

In addition, the name of every single investor that wishes it will be listed on a poster outside of our Broadway theater.

And, the name of every single investor that wishes it will be listed on a new website created exclusively for this community, PeopleOfGodspell.com, as well as his or her photo, hometown, a quote, and links to his or her Facebook and Twitter profiles.

Opportunities for opening night performance and gala tickets, complimentary tickets to previews, invitations to private cast functions and more may also be available.

If you would like to learn how you can participate in this pioneering theatrical event, please click here.

Godspell made history when it opened 40 years ago.

And now, thanks to all of you, we hope it’s going to make history again.

I look forward to having you as a member of our ‘People of Godspell’ community, and maybe even seeing you on Opening Night!

Sincerely,
Ken Davenport
Ken Davenport
Producer