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August 1st-3rd
Dramaturge Packet
A Brief History
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz
Book by John-Michael Tebelak.
Schwartz(23 years old) had been a graduate of Carnegie Melon where Teblack
also went to school in 1970
Easter of 1970 John-Michael went to a service and was kicked out because of the
way he looked
Religion was respected the same was as it was hundreds of years ago
Generation Gap and interest of religion both inspired him to write Godspell
Godspell was a play based mostly on Jesus teachings in the book of St. Matthew
Show was a huge hit, was offered an extended run at the Caf La Mama in NYC
Cast members wrote their own songs and performed them in the show (Talent
Show)
By My Side by Peggy Gordon was the only song that made it into Schwartzs
score
Shows structure wasnt too cohesive so Schwartz was called in to write the score
The Godspell we know was that version that was at the Cherrylane Theatre
Then had a national tour and successful runs in Toronto and West End
The last revival before our version was the 2000 off-Broadway production, this
featured Shoshana Bean singing Bless the Lord and a modern more techno feel to
the show, also revamping the prologue Tower of Babble
His run at Papermill was a huge success and was brought to The Circle in The
Square Theatre on Broadway with open public auditions
TSITS is the only Broadway stage that is theatre in the round 365 days a year.
Goldstein brought Telly Leung along to sing AGG from Papermill, Cast Weeds
and Spring Awakening star Hunter Parish and long time Broadway beltress
Lindsay Mendez to round out a very talented cast with more than half being their
Broadway debuts
Halfway through the run, which played on Broadway from October 13, 2011, to
June 24, 2012, Hunter was replaced by Corbin Bleu
A year afterwards a national tour of Godspell went on for a few months and
recently closed this winter, starring Jake Stern as Jesus
That production strayed away from the recent Broadway revival script and score
to make it as organic as possible
I think the biggest thing you need to do (which we did with our cast) when doing
Godspell is emphasize "Community". The only way Godspell will work is if everyone on
and off stage literally become a community. Here are some ways you can accomplish
that. NO EGO... Make sure everyone understands that the only way you can do this show
is with everyone. Sit down with the Jesus and tell him that he is the most important part
of the show but he isnt the only part of he show. Make it a SAFE PLACE to work in. Go
through the parables (with a bible, we did that and it lead to some great convos and
helped everyone connect to the parables in there own ways.) and let people ask questions
and let everyone give answers. Encourage the cast to HANG OUT with each other. Our
show worked so well because we had a blast with each other on and off stage. And Just
HAVE FUN!!! Its such a fun show!
Now when it comes to Jesus, remember, everyone has a version of who they want Jesus
to be. So no matter what you're not going to please everyone. most People dont want
preachy Jesus. They want someone who really believes what he is saying and who is fun.
Its pretty simple. But extremely hard. But let the Jesus discover his character. Just make
sure he isnt preachy and he is enjoying being with his community.
Philosophers
Tower of Babble is the opening number and one of the hardest numbers, musically, in the
history of modern theatre. This number is about in chronological order the 8 most
influential enlightenment thinkers that challenged the teachings of Jesus Christ. Here is
the list of them:
Socrates
Thomas Aquinas
Galileo
Hegel
Gibbon
L. Ron Hubbard
Jean Paul Satre
Marianne Williamson
Mike will assign which Babbler you are based on vocal part and all that good stuff for
harmonies and the blend. From there on I will ask you to look up a little bit on your
thinker and
Disciples
The original cast defined the personalities of each character as the show was developed.
Most of the characters' names are simply the first name of the actor, so the characters are
more easily identified by the song they sing. The actor cast as John the Baptist doubles in
the show as Judas Iscariot.
In the most recent revival and original cast the chartacters were loosely based on these
descriptions
Anna Maria- A bit of a tomboy, but basically open and sweet. Perhaps the youngest of the
group. She is the first of the group to commit to following Jesus in the song "Day by Day."
Celisse- The female equivalent of the class clown. Goofy and a cut-up. In the 2012 Broadway
revival, she played several instruments, including conga, ukulele and guitar.
George- The comedian, the class clown. The guy who can do a hundred voices and
imitations
Jesus- Must be the most charismatic individual in the cast. High energy, charming, funny,
gentle but with strength. He is the sort of person others instinctively follow.
John the Baptist/Judas- He has attributes of both Biblical figures: He is both Jesus' lieutenant
and most ardent disciple and the doubter who begins to question and rebel. Like Jesus, he is
also charismatic, but in more of an overt revolutionary way. Usually played by someone
handsome and masculine, with an undertone of sexuality. He is the most "serious" and
intellectual of the group, though as with all the actors, he must still possess a good sense of
physical comedy.
Lindsay- The confident one, the show-off. The first one to vonunteer, sometimes she jumps in
before she really understands what's going on.
Morgan- Sassy and slightly cynical, the most urban of the group. Also the "sexy" one, but her
sexiness contains a large element of put-on, in the manner of Mae West or Madonna (who in
fact once played this role.)
Nick- Very high energy. Impish and playful. In the original, he played several musical
instruments, including concertina, recorder and guitar.
Telly- Not the brightest in the bunch, he is a little slow on the uptake. But there is a great
sweetness and innocense about him. Because he sings "All Good Gifts" he must be a very
good singer.
Uzo- The shy one. Sometimes a little slow to get things, but when she does, she commits all
the way. Has an "earth mother" kind of warmth to her.
detract from the impromptu of Godspell. Since the setting is never explicitly stated in the
text, directors frequently see this show as a chance to show off their creative abilities.
Parables
Taking this directly from the bible, Jesus understood that many people do not have
interest or regard for the message He was conveying. To those with a hunger for God,
with genuine interest, the parable was an effective and memorable way to communicate
Jesus message.
Jesus warns against the teachers of the law and Pharisees
I will be sending you a write-up of each parable in advance to explain what we are doing
page-by-page before I explain it in person below is an example of how Godspell takes
direct passages from the bible and explains them in the show also, I have a breakdown
of my favorite parable, The Prodigal son, which usually steals the show.
The Good Seed
"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message
about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away
what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received
the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it
with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution
comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell
among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the
deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed
that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a
crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown" (Matthew 13:18-23).
to money.
It comes from Latin roots that mean "forth" (pro-) and "to
drive" (agere). It indicates the quality of a person who
drives forth his money--who wastes it by spending with
reckless abandon.
That's what the prodigal son does in this story.
2. Why does Jesus tell this parable?
This question is answered at the beginning of Luke 15,
where we read:
[1] Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing
near to hear him [Jesus]. [2] And the Pharisees and the
scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and
eats with them." [3] So he told them this parable . . .
Actually, Jesus tells three parables:
The parable of the lost sheep
The parable of the lost coin
The parable of the lost son (or, as we know it,
the parable of the prodigal son)
All three parables are on the subject of recovering the
lost, which is the implicit explanation of why Jesus
receives sinners and eats with them: They are lost, and he
wants to recover them.
Interestingly, the parable of the prodigal son (and the
parable of the lost coin) occur only in Luke.
3. What's happening in the parable?
Jesus' parables are based on real-life situations, though
they often veer off from the expected course of events in
surprising ways. Those surprises teach us lessons.
Here, Jesus relates the situation of a father who has two
sons, one of whom can't wait for his inheritance.
In Jewish society, there were laws regarding how
inheritances were typically divided. The oldest brother got
a double share (cf. Deut. 21:17), while the other brothers
got a single share.
When there were two brothers (as here), the older brother
would get 2/3rds of the estate, and the younger brother
would get 1/3rd.
4. What is the prodigal son asking for?
In this parable, the younger son demands "the share of
property that falls to me" (v. 12).
That means he is asking for the 1/3rd of the father's
possessions that he would ordinarily get when the father
dies.
Think about that.
He's asking his father to give him 1/3rd of everything that
he owns right now, before the father is dead, when his
father would still have use for these possessions.
How many fathers would receive that suggestion well
today? How many would comply with it if one of their
children asked it?
Not many!
This is a truly astonishing request, and it would have been
even more astonishing in the ancient world.
In a society that highly reverenced parents, it would have
been equivalent to saying: "Father, I can't even wait for
you to die. Give me 1/3rd of everything you have right
now."
Jess Schaffer
Choreographer
Jschafferperform@aol.com
631-617-4227
Jesus
Jake Derobertis
jakederobertis@gmail.com
631-384-1938
By My Side - Uzo
Breanna Pariti
B.pariti@gmail.com
631-942-9187
Ethan Felizzari
Producer
efelizzari@yahoo.com ckprodshows@gmail.com
631-255-3590