Godspell - April 2000


CAST LIST

 SOLOISTS:
GREG YATES - JESUS
CHRIS WOLVERSON - JOHN THE BAPTIST/JUDAS
MARINA BRAY
COLETTE EDWARDS
LIZ GILBERT
COLIN HUNT
NIKKI RAI
LYDIA SIMPKISS
LUKE SWATMAN
JOHN WETHERALL
JOHN WILEY

DANCERS

FIONA COLLINS, HELEN FISHER, CLARE GOODHEAD, SAMANTHA KING, KAY WHISTANCE, ALISON WILLIAMS

CHORUS

SARAH ARNOLD, HAYLEY BYRNE, DOROTHY COPSON, JAYNE CROWTHER, ANN-MARIE DOVE, TAMI DOWEN, KERENE ELLIOTT, CAROLINE HAMMOND, BARBARA KING, RUTH LEWIS, JENNI RULLAN, PAT SMALL, JENNY WASHBROOK, JAN WOLVERSON, JOHN ARNOLD, JAMES BECKETT, CHRIS DOWEN, TOM DUTTON, MARK FRIEDL, MAC HAMMOND, TREVOR LAW, CHRIS LEWIS, KEN LEWIS, ALAN POOLER, ALF RAI

RECORDER SOLOIST

KERENE ELLIOTT

NON-ACTING MEMBERS

Brenda Arnold, Barbara Barlow, Nora Butler, Julie Cooper, Kay Corbett, Carolyn Edwards, Val Goodfellow, Christine Hunt, Helen Jones, Sharon Johnson, Fiona Armstrong, Janet Nicklin, Dorothy Norris, Janet Painter, Judith Parry, Jenny Picken, Eileen Southa't. Cath Stone, Ros Tarbuck, Bridget Tait, Renee Till, Wendy White, Edna Wright, Hazel Wright

Peter Arnold, Matthew Arnold, Barry Bryant, Terry Corbett, Alan Crowther, Neil Jones, Tim Jones, Alan Nicklin, Adrian Nicklin, Philip Nicholls, Derek Painter, Bryan Smith, Peter Smith, Robert Smith, Graham Tarbuck, Stan Till, Brian White, Barry Wootton, Pat Wright, Terence Wright

MUSICAL NUMBERS

ACT I

 TOWER OF BABBLE - Principals
PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD - John the Baptist & Company
SAVE THE PEOPLE - Jesus & Company
DAY BY DAY - Marina & Company
LEARN YOUR LESSONS WELL - Lydia
BLESS THE LORD - Liz & Company
ALL FOR THE BEST - Jesus, Judas & Principals
ALL GOOD GIFTS - Luke & Company
LIGHT OF THE WORLD - Colette, John, Colin & Company

ACT II

TURN BACK 0 MAN - Colette & Company
ALAS FOR YOU - Jesus
BYMYSIDE - Liz, Nikki & Principals
WE BESEECH YOU - John Wetherall & Company
ON THE WILLOWS - Judas, Luke, John Wetherall & Principals
FINALE - Jesus & Company
BOWS - Company

THE STORY

A translation of the Gospel into modem music, Godspell opens with the soloists adopting the persona of famous prophets or thinkers. Their words span various ages of enlightenment and range from Aquinas' "God is apprehended by the imagination" to Sartre's "Man is a complex of pattern and processes".

John the Baptist then leads the company into "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord", a simple but hypnotic repetition of the same sentence. The leader of the group now assumes the role of Jesus and declares the purpose of God's mission on earth (Save The People). The group are ecstatic and pray to the Lord (Day By Day).

Various parables from Matthew and Luke follow and the dialogue emphasises the gulf between rich and poor. This is underlined in "All for the Best", one of two songs with original lyrics by Schwartz. We then move on to the parable of the sower and the seed (All Good Gifts). An enactment of the Prodigal Son leads us to the Act 1 finale (Light of the World).

The Second Act opens with "Turn Back, 0 Man", an invitation to the gathering to change their ways. When his authority is questioned, Jesus begins to act out his last days on Earth. When the Pharisees question him on whether the Jews should pay taxes to Rome he sidesteps them in "Alas for you". The next trap is set over the adulterous woman, but again Jesus outwits them and the woman becomes one of Christ's followers (By My Side).

As Jesus's inevitable fate approaches, we have the Company perform "We Beseech Thee". After the last supper Jesus bids his followers farewell (On The Willows).

Finally we have a reinactment of the crucifixion and the finale of the show.