Stage Review - Godspell (Lakewood Playhouse)
Stage Review - Godspell
Presented By: Lakewood Playhouse - Lakewood, WA
Show Run: September 13 - October 06, 2024
Date Reviewed: Friday, September 20, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
The career of Stephen Schwartz is sort of like our calendar, in that it can be broken up into two halves, or phases. Like BC and AD, one can look at Schwartz’ career as pre-Hunchback and post-Hunchback. Musicals like Wicked and films like Enchanted would never have had the composer’s fingerprints on them if it wasn’t for Alan Menken asking him to help out on Disney’s animated Hunchback of Notre Dame. And while many associate Schwartz with the record breaking Wicked, and deservedly so, his earlier career was perhaps even more impactful, influencing so many even to just fall in love with theatre, much less getting involved in it themselves. It would be hard to discern how many, but I know of a number of folks who developed their love of theatre through Pippin alone, and once they fall in love with something like Pippin, or Godspell, it becomes a lifelong relationship. One who has been inspired by the latter is Lakewood Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Joseph Walsh. So much was Godspell an influential musical to Joe, he decided to make it the opener in the theatre’s 86th season, and its theme of “Building Community”. He also is the director of Lakewood’s production of Godspell, which runs on stage through October 6.
As inspiring as shows like Pippin and Godspell are, they’re not for everyone. They tend to lend themselves to designs of the time they were originally produced, the early 1970s, their productions have a fair bit of chaos in their presentation, and there’s a lot of religious theming to them. On the other hand, these shows are big. They demand ensembles that have the ability to fill the halls in which the shows are being presented, musical numbers that start slow soon become anthems, and the shows build until they reach a climax that feels more like a spiritual experience than a night at the theatre. The challenge is to make sure that these characteristics are met, while also attempting to make a production that is not just nostalgic for those who may have grown up with it, but also accessible to new or younger audiences.
It’s clear from the start that this is not your parents’ Godspell. Even before the show starts, it’s hard to make out what is happening on stage. There are people walking around, hanging lights, moving things around, receiving instructions from the sound booth, and otherwise engaging in activities that look like they’re setting up for the show. My first thought was, “Did they have some event in here earlier and they’re only now setting it up?” Pretty quickly I understood what was happening, though. All of that is clearly purposeful, and with a floor, walls, and set pieces decorated with a fair share of graffiti, it’s also clear that Joe’s vision has been to provide a gritty, urban setting for his version of Godspell. He’s also filled the play with a ton of newer pop culture references, some that work, and some that seem a bit wedged in, or overly deliberate. Godspell is largely a presentation of parables, mostly taken from the book of Matthew in the Bible, and the cast, as non-Biblical characters, are the storytellers, speaking them and acting them out. It’s in the storytelling where these references are used, but the sheer amount of them tends to take a bit of sharpness from the show’s many lessons. There are also some other liberties taken with this version. The beginning removes the standard “voice of God” and “Tower of Babble” in which a series of philosophers express their thoughts and replaces it with a version where the philosophies are spoken. After that, the chaos and noise is broken by a booming voice, that of John the Baptist, and that’s when the more familiar agenda of Godspell begins. Once John the Baptist arrives and leads the cast in the familiar “Prepare Ye (the Way of the Lord)”, Jesus arrives and the parables begin, intermixed with many musical theatre favorites like “Save the People”, “Day by Day”, and “Light of the World”. It’s still chaotic throughout, perhaps it’s a product of the layout of the Lakewood Playhouse, in the round, where there has to be movement to make sure everyone has a satisfactory experience, but it does seem manic at times. The overall production has an informal feel, almost that of a rehearsal, which is also clearly part of the design.
As is traditional with many productions of Godspell, the non-Biblical characters, those other than Jesus (Mykahla George) and John, who also plays Judas in Act 2 (Melvin Rouse, Jr.), take the names of the actors playing them, in this case Brad Alemao, Austin Barnett, Alonna Hall, Brittany D. Henderson, Nia Marie, Courtnee Ramos, Adrian Roberto, and LaNita Hudson Walters. Each of these actors takes turns narrating and acting out the many lessons taught in Godspell. And vocally, it’s clear that there is some talent in this ensemble, in both the group numbers and individual pieces, Nia Marie and Austin Barnett stand out, but overall the characteristic that most accurately describes the musical delivery in this production is lack of volume. Godspell is rife with musical numbers, like the ones I mentioned above, that should blow the roof off of Lakewood Playhouse, but instead they feel like whispers in comparison. I don’t know whether the group is holding back, of if there’s another reason, but more volume would have surely made this piece more impactful, after all there are capable singers in the ensemble, and harmonies are generally good when they do sing together.
Volume is also an issue that Mykahla, as Jesus, ran into during the performance I saw. Mykahla is a soft spoken Jesus, and with a positive attitude that you’d expect from the character, but when that same soft voice is used to sing, with set pieces being dragged around the stage, it was often difficult to discern the vocals over the music and set movement, especially when Mykahla faced away from where I was sitting. Otherwise, though, I feel like Mykahla’s portrayal is consistent with the heart of what the piece is looking for from the Jesus character. Melvin, as John and later Judas, enters the scene with a booming voice, made even louder with a small megaphone, and I like his stage presence. He struggled a bit during “All for the Best”, as did the ensemble, with maintaining a tempo to match the live band, under the management of Musical Director Elijah Bellis, making it unintelligible at times. “All for the Best” is Godspell’s “Modern Major General”, it’s not an easy piece, especially as an ensemble. Otherwise, though, Melvin plays John the Baptist, and even more so Judas, very nicely.
Creatively, I do like the way the show is presented. Jeremy Gregory’s set design clearly depicts Joe’s vision for this production of Godspell. That gritty, urban feel that I mentioned previously, is at the heart of the design, and Jeremy’s set pieces, which are really just a table and some boxes, are creatively used throughout, whether as a platform to preach from, or as the famous wailing wall during a very well done Passion of the Christ scene in Act 2. It’s only when the moving of the pieces overwhelm the singing that there is any issue, or at times when the pieces are pushed to the edge of the seats, right up against the audience. There’s a good chance of contact between the set pieces and the legs off the audience there, as I witnessed during Friday’s performance. And while the set and overall scenic design is good, the best parts of this production of Godspell comes with the lighting and sound. Michelle Weingarden-Bandes’ lighting design is just excellent, using lights and color to drive home the parable lessons or, when the time comes, representing the passing of Jesus. Michelle’s lighting is exactly what this show needs to provide the drama and mood, while Gloria Bacon’s sound acts as a nice complement to Michelle’s work. Rounding out the creative design team is DeShawn Morton, the Choreographer and Jane W. Davie, the Costume Designer. DeShawn’s work in choreography accentuates the avant garde aspects of the production while Jane’s costumes match the grittiness of the overall scenic design, though for my part some of the costumes could have been a little more suitable for the amount of movement that Godspell has.
The Lakewood Playhouse production of Godspell may not be the Godspell that you or your parents have grown up with, but the heart of the story is still here, the parables and their lessons are presented, they just may be a little harder to get to. Presented by a cast that clearly has talent, with a little more volume and a little less chaos, I feel like this has the potential to shine, it just need to get there.
Godspell runs onstage at Lakewood Playhouse through October 6. For more information, including tickets, visit https://www.lakewoodplayhouse.org.
