Godspell on Broadway - My Review
I finally got to watch the Godspell revival on Broadway. The role of Jesus was played by Corbin Bleu taking the place of Hunter Parrish who left last April 17.
Corbin was good, but I suspect that Hunter may have been better. It looked like the show was staged around Hunter's Jesus, and it seemed that Corbin was trying to fit himself in. I was browsing around YouTube for Godspell stuff, and Hunter's "Beautiful City" recording was excellent, and better than Corbin's during the show.
The revival opened last November 7, 2011 but unfortunately six months in, the theater was already half-full when I watched. There were whole sections that were vacant, and the Circle on the Square is not a big theater at all. It always makes me sad to see a lot of empty seats at the start of the show. Hopefully ticket sales pick up during the summer.
As for the show itself, there were a few technical issues that I found very distracting. For one, the mics either weren't mixed right, or the cast simply did not know how to enunciate. I could hardly understand most of them -- and yes, it was a small theater. There was also a strange mix and match with the sound treatment as some numbers had singers using actual microphones to give the presentation a "concert" feel, some numbers given a magical "reverb" and the normal sound where as I mentioned, I could not understand anyone. Finally, due to the creative nature of this revival -- the cast members spent a lot of time "cleaning" the stage. I found it hard to concentrate on what was really going on as it was quite obvious that people were mopping and picking up debris while someone was singing a solo or whatnot.
There were still a lot of good parts though. This is a very creative production of Godspell. There was a water pool on the stage and trampolines -- and the band was scattered around the audience. There were also a lot of contemporary references in the dialogue incorporating personalities like Lindsay Lohan and Donald Trump. This helps in bringing the dated material to modern times (though just barely -- it's hard to escape the throwback nature of the music). Overall a very fun presentation of Godspell.
Terry Leung who had a solo for "All Good Gifts" was the standout of the show. In the beginning, he was just low key, but the moment he got the spotlight, it felt like he would steal the scene on every turn. He even did a highly spirited song during the intermission opening into Act II.
My favorite songs were "All Good Gifts," "By My Side," and "Beautiful City."
What suprised me was that I wasn't touched at all by the show as much as I thought I would be coming in. (I thought I would cry at some numbers.) It's probably due to the very fast and light staging of the show. When they finally nailed Jesus to the cross in the end, it felt hollow (and that's not the atheist in me talking here). It was more non-stop variety show as opposed to a steady build up to a satisfying end.
If you are curious to see how Broadway would stage a college and high school theater staple, then Godspell will not disappoint you. It's arguably the most professionally conceived college production ever. However, for the rest of us, I think exploring some of the other new shows this season or even some tried and true hits might be the better option.
Rating: 2/5
Hunter Parrish - Beautiful City
