Godspell

Last week I saw Godspell on Broadway. I didn’t know what it was about going into it, and though I should have had an idea with the title “Godspell,” I obliviously did not think it would be all religious….but it was, and I am not very religious. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it, but it was just a lot of religion. I agreed with my friend who went with me that the musical is kind of preachy. When I tuned out the fact that it was all about religion and focused on the having good morals and life

advice messages the musical conveys, it was okay. It helps that they incorporate some humor and make good use of props too.

The structure of the musical is that of a series of parables, based on the Gospel of Matthew (though three of the parables featured are recorded only in the Gospel of Luke). These are then interspersed with a variety of modern music set primarily to lyrics from traditional hymns, with the passion of Christ treated briefly near the end of the performance (Wikipedia).

Corbin Bleu on the far left

The show I went to also happened to be the first Godspell performance with Corbin Bleu, who apparently is a Disney star, playing Jesus. Corbin Bleu is in Disney’s High School Musical and Jump In! I’m too old for Disney so I actually did not know who Bleu was, but the other audience members sure did. The squealing girls behind me were excited to see him perform. He is a pretty good looking guy, especially now with his hair cut.

I also liked the theater Godspell is at, Circle in the Square. The circular stage is cool. With the circular stage, there really isn’t a bad seat in the theater, and it provides a sort of intimacy. Godspell isn’t the first musical I’d recommend, but if you can snag cheap tickets, it’s worth seeing.

Corbin Bleu on the set of Godspell