If you're going into "Godspell" looking for another "Jesus
Christ Superstar" -- as I was -- you are bound to be disappointed. While both revel in their 1970s aura, and both
display undeniably hippie tendencies, "Godspell" manages to
convince you it's really about religion, while "JC Superstar"
has a greater tendency to explore the frailties of human beings,
without the piousness of quoting chapter and verse, as
"Godspell" does so overtly. In other words, "Superstar" is great
musical theater, with stirring songs to accompany one of the
world's great dramatic stories. "Godspell" is a bit more like
going to church.
David Greene's take on the musical by Stephen Schwartz starts
well enough. It's an incredible dose of hippie wish fulfillment
as nine troubled New Yorkers, each of whom desires to break out
of the humdrum qualities of workaday existence, are lured away
from their frustrating 9 to 5 tasks to a fountain in Central
Park. Their Pied Piper is John the Baptist (David Haskell), who
appears in full hippie regalia, a briefly flashing illusion to
the nine, tooting his flute in an attempt to call them away. At
the fountain, they rush through the cool water in a symbolic
baptism. Then, appearing from some other place altogether, is
Jesus (Victor Garber), the last to take baptism from John, and
the first to lead them through the city to an old junkyard,
where they dress up like hooligans and paint each other's faces.
It's a nice idea, dropping everything you have to do and
stepping outside proper society to sing and dance with kindred
spirits. But the "plot," as it were, soon becomes tedious, as
the group -- employing all manner of goofy expressions and
cartoon voices -- begin acting out parables from the book of
Matthew, with Garber's Jesus there to correct them at any moment
they threaten to go astray, and with a different familiar New
York City setting as a backdrop for each parable. With the
possible exception of chronological Biblical order, there's
neither rhyme, reason nor logical progression to their skits,
and the viewer soon finds himself looking at the clock and
calculating how much time might be remaining.
The action eventually culminates in a last supper and crucifixion sequence back at the junkyard, with John the Baptist
inexplicably stepping into the role of Judas. This signal that
the credits might soon role is, unfortunately, a welcome one.
However, Schwartz's songs are certainly catchy, and they will
stick with you afterward, most notably "Day by Day," which I'm
told won some awards. While the score does not, I think, rival
"Superstar"'s either, it might come close if it were not in the
service of such unabashedly Christian material. While I don't
know what Schwartz's particular religious agenda was, I'd like
to think he could have inserted more of an arched eyebrow at the
proceedings. If you're talking about John the Baptist, isn't it
more fun to use a line like Andrew Lloyd Webber's from
"Superstar": "Like John was when John did his baptism thing."
But I suppose there are many reactions to Greene's approach,
depending on your own level of religious fervor. Mine just
happens to be pretty low. "Godspell" works on enough levels to
recommend it, but its relentless high-mindedness keeps it from
ever ascending to the heights of "Superstar," to
Christ Superstar" -- as I was -- you are bound to be disappointed. While both revel in their 1970s aura, and both
display undeniably hippie tendencies, "Godspell" manages to
convince you it's really about religion, while "JC Superstar"
has a greater tendency to explore the frailties of human beings,
without the piousness of quoting chapter and verse, as
"Godspell" does so overtly. In other words, "Superstar" is great
musical theater, with stirring songs to accompany one of the
world's great dramatic stories. "Godspell" is a bit more like
going to church.
David Greene's take on the musical by Stephen Schwartz starts
well enough. It's an incredible dose of hippie wish fulfillment
as nine troubled New Yorkers, each of whom desires to break out
of the humdrum qualities of workaday existence, are lured away
from their frustrating 9 to 5 tasks to a fountain in Central
Park. Their Pied Piper is John the Baptist (David Haskell), who
appears in full hippie regalia, a briefly flashing illusion to
the nine, tooting his flute in an attempt to call them away. At
the fountain, they rush through the cool water in a symbolic
baptism. Then, appearing from some other place altogether, is
Jesus (Victor Garber), the last to take baptism from John, and
the first to lead them through the city to an old junkyard,
where they dress up like hooligans and paint each other's faces.
It's a nice idea, dropping everything you have to do and
stepping outside proper society to sing and dance with kindred
spirits. But the "plot," as it were, soon becomes tedious, as
the group -- employing all manner of goofy expressions and
cartoon voices -- begin acting out parables from the book of
Matthew, with Garber's Jesus there to correct them at any moment
they threaten to go astray, and with a different familiar New
York City setting as a backdrop for each parable. With the
possible exception of chronological Biblical order, there's
neither rhyme, reason nor logical progression to their skits,
and the viewer soon finds himself looking at the clock and
calculating how much time might be remaining.
The action eventually culminates in a last supper and crucifixion sequence back at the junkyard, with John the Baptist
inexplicably stepping into the role of Judas. This signal that
the credits might soon role is, unfortunately, a welcome one.
However, Schwartz's songs are certainly catchy, and they will
stick with you afterward, most notably "Day by Day," which I'm
told won some awards. While the score does not, I think, rival
"Superstar"'s either, it might come close if it were not in the
service of such unabashedly Christian material. While I don't
know what Schwartz's particular religious agenda was, I'd like
to think he could have inserted more of an arched eyebrow at the
proceedings. If you're talking about John the Baptist, isn't it
more fun to use a line like Andrew Lloyd Webber's from
"Superstar": "Like John was when John did his baptism thing."
But I suppose there are many reactions to Greene's approach,
depending on your own level of religious fervor. Mine just
happens to be pretty low. "Godspell" works on enough levels to
recommend it, but its relentless high-mindedness keeps it from
ever ascending to the heights of "Superstar," to