Godspell is what The Passion of The Christ would have looked like if it was performed by the cast of Glee. The 1971 musical is written by John Michael Tebelak and Steven Schwartz, the later going on to write the Broadway juggernaut Wicked as well several Disney films including Pocahontas and Enchanted. Based on the life of Jesus, who converts people into being his followers through the use of parables and power ballads, Godspell is brought to the Oxford Playhouse this week by the Musical Youth Company of Oxford (MYCO), a performance company for those aged 12-19.
Having seen this production, it is worth saying from the outset that MYCO are an incredibly impressive outfit. The cast are a talented ensemble who clearly take a disciplined and serious approach to their craft. Credit is due to a couple of standout performances. Zakkai Goriely is on charismatic form as Jesus and Issac Jackson brings a wonderful dour bitchiness to Judas. As for vocal performances, Amber Potter gives a beautiful soft vocal on 'Day by Day' and Saffi Needham has sassiness aplenty when performing 'Turn Back, O Man' at the start of Act Two. But the standout moment of the night comes from Ellis Lovett who makes easy work of some punishingly high notes on 'Bless The Lord'.
The design and look of this show is also incredibly cool. Dawn Parson’s costume design progresses the characters slowly from a post-apocalyptic Mad Max world into a more hippyish tie-dye look as they become followers of Jesus. Guy Brigg and Liz Nicholson’s set design creates a lovely split of levels and Ashley Bale's lighting design brings out an incredible moment of crucifixion foreshadowing. Guy Brigg ties this all together with some flashy choreography and perfect management of a sixty-five-person cast.
Whilst I left the Playhouse last night a big fan of MYCO, I cannot say the same for Godspell itself. It’s fair to say the musical is more influential than it is good. Godspell was groundbreaking upon its first release and clearly paved the way for other rock operas of its kind. Today, its lack of narrative structure and clear characters could alienate some audience members. It also has some incredibly silly moments. The end of Act One has a song called 'Light of the World' which reminded me a Family Guy joke about musicals always having a 'if more people join in, the song will get better' song. I also defy anyone not to listen to the song 'Finale' without laughing ('Oh God, I’m bleeding' 'Oh God, he’s bleeding' 'Oh God, I’m dying' 'Oh God, he’s dying'). The whole thing essentially feels like a cross between Rent and Life of Brian.
Whilst Godspell has its faults I would recommend you go and see not only this, but any MYCO production to see what this talented group of young people can do.