God Put a Spell On Me

In one simple word, I would describe Godspell as awesome.

It was hilarious. It was spontaneous. It was moving. And it brought me to tears. Godspell is probably one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.

For those who don’t know, Godspell is essentially the parables, the last supper, and the crucifixion in two and a half hours. It’s a primarily comedic musical with improv thrown in throughout the show.

Theatre-in-the-round

Top 10 reasons I loved Godspell and you should see it on Broadway:

1. It's performed in a theatre-in-the-round (aka arena theatre), making the retrieval of props interesting. (Actors opened up doors in the stage floor to pull out all sorts of props throughout the show.

2. Baptismal water fell from the ceiling and into a baptismal tank in (yes, in) the stage.

3. Ancient philosophers were baptized and jumped up and down with joy, as if they were worshipping the God they just accepted. It was so powerful it gave me goosebumps.

4. Parables were creatively presented through pictionary, skits, and charades. Audience members close to the stage were pulled on stage to help the actors a couple of times.

Confetti by my feet

5. It was improvisational and current, with references to Occupy Wall Street ("Occupy 50th Street! Occupy 50th Street!") and the quality of understudy ("You're just an understudy, what do you know?").

6. Confetti and props were thrown into the audience a few times, and the actors were constantly wandering the aisles and interacting with the audience.

"Wine" on stage

7. At intermission, Jesus invited the audience to "have some wine" on stage. Several actors stayed on stage and chatted with the audience.

8. The Last Supper, Judas's betrayal of Jesus, and the crucifixion were powerful and moving scenes.

9. Overall acting and singing was good...although, let's be honest, some had better, stronger voices than others.

10. It was hilarious, interactive, and engaging, but it did a great job of introducing the Gospel to anyone in the audience who had no idea what was in the Bible.

Tickets provided as a courtesy

Intermission. Audience on stage with actors.

Post-Intermission, Pre-Act 2. A few actors singing and having fun on stage.
One actor  sat at the piano that's in (yes, in) the stage.