Godspell (1973)

It's probably not a stretch to say I grew up with Godspell.  The songs of the musical version, anyway.  My teachers at my Catholic grade school of St. Helena's in Centre Square, PA were big fans, apparently.  Growing up in the 80s, the decade of the 70s-in which the musical originates-was far from a distant memory.  So, in music class in those days, we learned all the classic songs.  In particular, "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord"; "Day by Day"; and "All Good Gifts" stand out as my favorites of the ones we had to learn as a class and perform. 

I'd only seen snippets here and there of the film version on tv, growing up.  It was only in more recent years that I actually sat down to watch the whole thing.  I find the songs just as entertaining now, as I did back then.  The film version is, for the most part, faithful to the original musical-though the movie does have the advantage of being filmed all around New York City at or near iconic landmarks.

Doing research I uncovered a number of interesting facts about the origin of the musical.  I had not realized that the genesis of the project was in fact, in my home state of Pennsylvania (this might also account for my teachers' love of it?)  Godspell, the musical, was the Master's thesis of the late John-Michael Tebelak at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.  A great majority of the book of the musical he based on the Gospel of Matthew, with additional material provided by Gospels of Luke and John (sorry, Mark.)  For the music, most of the lyrics were taken from the Episcopal hymnal (drawing on Tebelak's religious background) and supplemented with original material.  Godspell was first performed by students at Carnegie Mellon, later performed off-off-broadway, and taken to off-broadway in 1971.  

The play really took off when it first reached off-broadway.  Edgar Lansberry (Angela's brother) had a hand in bringing it off-broadway, as did a multitude of other producers, including Carnegie Mellon alumnus Charles Haid.  A big change was made in the move to off-broadway by hiring another Carnegie Mellon alumnus, Stephen Schwartz, to re-score the production.  Schwartz would go on to even greater fame and fortune as the composer and writer of lyrics for Broadway musicals Pippin (1972) and Wicked (2003); and contributing lyrics to a plethora of big-budget Disney films-like Hunchback for Notre Dame, 1996, and Enchanted, 2007.

In 1973, Godspell was adapted for the big screen.  It would be nominated for the Golden Palm at the prestigious 1973 Cannes Film Festival.  The film is directed by David Greene (later an Emmy-winner for Roots, 1977) and stars Victor Garber as Jesus and David Haskell as Judas/John the Baptist.  I must say, being more familiar with Garber for his performances in such fare as James Cameron's Titanic (1997) and the J.J. Abrams tv spy series Alias, it was a bit jarring at first to see him in such a different role as Christ in this movie. Eventually, that oddness dissipates, and one is left to marvel at Garber's performance in the central role.  So, too, can be said for one of the other roles, that of Lynne, the college student, played by the late great Lynne Thigpen.  Thigpen, to me, will always be "The Chief" from the original "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?"  tv series.

In large part, the movie is a faithful adaptation of the musical.  Basically, we have here the Gospel of Matthew, primarily a series of parables acted out by the performers.  A band of eight disciples are called from their various walks of life at the start of the film-in contemporary New York City-by John the Baptist, to follow Jesus around the town.  As in the stage play, the characters retain the same first names as the actors who play them.  One huge difference from stage to screen is the setting of the play-in the film, the director takes advantage of the grand canvas of the city.  We have dialogue and musical numbers performed in such places as the Brooklyn Bridge; Central Park; Times Square; The Andrew Carnegie Mansion; Lincoln Center; St. Patrick's Cathedral; and, my favorite, from atop the North Tower of the (almost completed, in those days) World Trade Center.

Staging the movie amongst the hustle and bustle of New York helps make scenes feel less long and tedious, and breaks up the monotony when there are no musical numbers.  However, I must admit that there are times when the pacing is a bit slow, and the action bogs down, particularly in the scenes where the cast acts out certain parables.  As modern-day moviegoers, we've been conditioned to not appreciate such long, dialogue-heavy scenes, unfortunately.  

Things that really stand out in the movie, as in the musical, are the cast's costumes, make-up, and the film's production design.  I had always assumed that they were modeled on the fashion of the "hippyish" 70s, but the truth is much more interesting and detailed than that.  Here is an excerpt from Inside Godspell by Scott Miller at http://www.newlinetheatre.com/godspellchapter.html, by way of explanation:

John-Michael Tebelek wrote Godspell in order to give people a "way in" to religion in general and the teachings of Christ specifically. The physical production must work toward that end as well, through the sets, costumes, staging, and acting style. The show's original concept was based on Harvey Cox's 1969 Feast of Fools, which argued that for religion to once again reach the people, it had to reclaim its festivity and fantasy. Much of organized religion had become so somber, so serious, that the joy had gone out of it. From this concept, Tebelek seized upon the idea of using clowns to recapture that lost feeling of celebration and revelry. The cast put on clown make-up and wild colorful costumes after being drawn together by Jesus. This concept was based not only on Cox's work, but also on the joy and freedom of the youth movement of the 1960s and early 1970s. The cast as ordinary people becoming clowns illustrated a dramatic change, a very visible kind of conversion. This hybrid of clowns and flower children was a familiar image to audiences of the early 70s. It is not, however, to audiences of the 90s.

All four of the original musicians from the off-broadway production and cast album were utilized again for this film.  The band includes Steve Reinhardt on keyboards, Jesse Cutler on acoustic and lead guitar and bass, Richard LaBonte on rhythm guitar and bass, and Ricky Shutter on drums and percussion.  Key studio musicians were also added, such as keyboardist Paul Shaffer (yes, that Paul Shaffer, longtime David Letterman associate.)

Watching Godspell, for me, has in recent years become a Holy Week tradition.  I added this to my already established tradition of watching Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) another film based on a "rock opera" that came about around the same time and is sometimes confused and/or compared with the other.  It probably doesn't help that Victor Garber, as Jesus, wears a "Superman" inspired shirt in his film.  Both films, unfortunately, omit any overt scene of the resurrection of Jesus.  However, it should be noted that the film version of Godspell included the new song "Beautiful City" written specifically for the film, that was later added to future stage productions.  In some of those subsequent productions, the curtain call at the end after "Beautiful City" is considered symbolic of the resurrection.  According to lyricist Schwartz:

Over the years, there has been comment from some about the lack of an apparent Resurrection in the show. Some choose to view the curtain call, in which JESUS appears, as symbolic of the resurrection; others point to the moment when the cast raise JESUS above their heads. While either view is valid, both miss the point. GODSPELL is about the formation of a community which carries on JESUS' teachings after he has gone. In other words, it is the effect JESUS has on the OTHERS which is the story of the show, not whether or not he himself is resurrected. Therefore, it is very important at the end of the show that it be clear that the OTHERS have come through the violence and pain of the crucifixion sequence and leave with a joyful determination to carry on the ideas and feelings they have learned during the course of the show.-Godspell Notes for Directors, Musical Directors, and musicians, Producers, 2018.

I can't say I agree with Schwartz's reasoning here, but, there it is.

Over the years, there have been a number of revivals of Godspell on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and touring productions all around the world.  I believe the time might be right, in the wake of the successful  NBC  Live tv production of Jesus Christ Superstar starring John Legend, for a live tv version of Godspell. I know I would watch :-)