Review: 'Godspell' Fills The Heart With Joy And Sorrow
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
But by the time they're done with you, you will have laughed and cried until your heart is content.
Directed by Tony Humrichouser, with choreography by Lesa Dencklau, this company works so well together in this musical that whether you're a Christian or not, you will be swept up into the love onstage. It's vibrant and flows into the audience, full of energy and radiance.
"Godspell" mostly covers the parables found in the Book of Matthew in the Bible.
In the Wagon Wheel version, the show starts off with "Prologue" and "Tower of Babble" by eight members of company. They are all wearing university attire, representing the different schools of thought.
The company sheds those hoodies and sweatshirts and t-shirts of those schools as John the Baptist (Jake Klinkhammer) helps "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord".
Klinkhammer has been amazing all summer long at the Wagon Wheel. Whether he's in a smaller role in "The Music Man" or the lead role of Chad in "All Shook Up", Klinkhammer has left no doubt to his talent. As John the Baptist and Judas in "Godspell", Klinkhammer shines the brightest yet of this season.
After John the Baptist has started the baptisms, Jesus (Benjamin Maters) asks John to baptize him. In "The Music Man", Maters had a smaller, but important role. I believed he had some talent then, and playing the role of Christ, Maters doesn't disappoint.
Maters will captivate you with his performance. On top of his amazing acting ability, Maters also proves he can sing in such songs as "Save the People", "All for the Best" and "Alas for You".
In "All for the Best", Klinkhammer and Maters perform the number like a vaudeville act. They make it work as if vaudeville was their side job.
Klinkhammer and Maters work really well together. They have an abundance of chemistry together on stage that pushes "Godspell" to work that much more. It's unfortunate that this is Maters' second and final show this season, but let's hope he returns in future seasons that may let him work alongside Klinkhammer onstage again.
Of course, what also makes Wagon Wheel's production of "Godspell" work so effectively is the other cast members and the pop culture references.
"Godspell" is a contemporary or modern telling of the Book of Matthew. While the Broadway version came out in the 1970s, the Wagon Wheel version could have taken place last year, today or tomorrow.
Among the pop culture references is "Peanuts" by Charles Schultz. This was done so effectively, and the cast is spot on, that you'll just clamor for more.
Then there are nods to wrestling, "Law & Order", "The Godfather", the "Looney Tunes", Wal-Mart, "Chariots of Fire", Check Into Cash and Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah Winfrey's couch. Brilliant, all of them.
Sometimes fiddling with arrangements of well-known songs works and sometimes it doesn't. For "Day by Day", Ashley Travis and the company take it to the club. It thumps and it drives and it's totally different than the original arrangement. For some, it won't work. For me, it did.
"Learn Your Lessons Well" is another song whose arrangement was manipulated, and even to greater extent. Erica Wilpon brings out her best Tina Turner and adds some "Proud Mary" spin to "Lessons". Even the dance moves will take you back to Turner's heyday. Dencklau must have done her homework, and for that she gets an "A".
Of course, Wilpon can sing really well. In Act II she is joined by the talented Caitlin Mesiano for "By My Side". They make a very fine duet, and when the company joins in, the song is glorified to the next level.
The whole company works well as a singing group. Zachary McConnell beautifully starts the song "All Good Gifts" with his impeccable voice. Then as the company backs him up, it's better than any reworked song the cast of "Glee" can do.
Katie McCreary has some hilarious moments in "Godspell". She also can sing like no other. Her featured song in "Godspell" is "O Bless the Lord", and when she was done, I simply wrote in my notebook "Love her!" She knows how to entertain, whether acting or belting out a number.
It is after "O Bless the Lord" where Judas first hints at the coming persecution of Jesus. The way Klinkhammer delivers that hint, it begins edging the production into the dramatic side of the musical, but not too quickly. He knows how to deliver his lines, just as Humrichouser knows how to collaborate with his actors to get at their best performance.
If it's sultry you want, look no further than Sophie Grimm's rendition of "Turn Back, O Man". Every actor gets one song where they are the "main" singing voice, and Grimm gets "Turn Back". Like the other actors in the musical, she doesn't waste the opportunity to make it hers. She sizzles.
Nick Laughlin gets his big singing moment with "We Beseech Thee", while Matthew Dailey does well on "Beautiful City". Together, with Klinkhammer, Dailey and Laughlin also provide great vocals on "On the Willows".
Here's my only gripe for this production. During the musical there are four screens around the theater showcasing different images. For "Alas for You", there are news headlines and photos of men whose characters are either questionable or downright evil. My problem during "Godspell", and perhaps this is due more to where I was sitting than anything, was that I couldn't always tell what the headlines said. The screens to my sides were too jagged, the one above me was facing the other direction, and the one across from me was blocked by something in the ceiling.
Of course, I really don't think the screens are necessary at all. Though I tried to take in everything opening night Wednesday, my main focus was on the stage and the actors. The things on the screens were just a distraction. For this production, less actually is more. If you're going to have the screens though, it would have been nice to actually tell what they were.
What really works well is the crucifixion of Jesus. By the time you see Maters "hanging" on the cross, you will be emotionally impacted. You might already be crying by the time it gets to The Last Supper scene. The company earns your love and when they weep (and, yes, some of them actually do cry because they are that moved), you will weep. And when that sorrow turns into joy, you will feel that rise. That is testament not only to Maters' skill, but to the skill of the full cast.
Screens aside, there is nothing really to dislike about this production of "Godspell". You don't have to be Christian to enjoy this production of love. It's just amazingly well done.[[In-content Ad]]While I feel like I'm forgetting something, I'll just leave you with these three words: Go see "Godspell".
My rating of "Godspell" (out of four): 4.
"Godspell" runs through July 31. For tickets, call the box office at 574-267-8041, toll free at 866-823-2618, or visit online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
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But by the time they're done with you, you will have laughed and cried until your heart is content.
Directed by Tony Humrichouser, with choreography by Lesa Dencklau, this company works so well together in this musical that whether you're a Christian or not, you will be swept up into the love onstage. It's vibrant and flows into the audience, full of energy and radiance.
"Godspell" mostly covers the parables found in the Book of Matthew in the Bible.
In the Wagon Wheel version, the show starts off with "Prologue" and "Tower of Babble" by eight members of company. They are all wearing university attire, representing the different schools of thought.
The company sheds those hoodies and sweatshirts and t-shirts of those schools as John the Baptist (Jake Klinkhammer) helps "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord".
Klinkhammer has been amazing all summer long at the Wagon Wheel. Whether he's in a smaller role in "The Music Man" or the lead role of Chad in "All Shook Up", Klinkhammer has left no doubt to his talent. As John the Baptist and Judas in "Godspell", Klinkhammer shines the brightest yet of this season.
After John the Baptist has started the baptisms, Jesus (Benjamin Maters) asks John to baptize him. In "The Music Man", Maters had a smaller, but important role. I believed he had some talent then, and playing the role of Christ, Maters doesn't disappoint.
Maters will captivate you with his performance. On top of his amazing acting ability, Maters also proves he can sing in such songs as "Save the People", "All for the Best" and "Alas for You".
In "All for the Best", Klinkhammer and Maters perform the number like a vaudeville act. They make it work as if vaudeville was their side job.
Klinkhammer and Maters work really well together. They have an abundance of chemistry together on stage that pushes "Godspell" to work that much more. It's unfortunate that this is Maters' second and final show this season, but let's hope he returns in future seasons that may let him work alongside Klinkhammer onstage again.
Of course, what also makes Wagon Wheel's production of "Godspell" work so effectively is the other cast members and the pop culture references.
"Godspell" is a contemporary or modern telling of the Book of Matthew. While the Broadway version came out in the 1970s, the Wagon Wheel version could have taken place last year, today or tomorrow.
Among the pop culture references is "Peanuts" by Charles Schultz. This was done so effectively, and the cast is spot on, that you'll just clamor for more.
Then there are nods to wrestling, "Law & Order", "The Godfather", the "Looney Tunes", Wal-Mart, "Chariots of Fire", Check Into Cash and Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah Winfrey's couch. Brilliant, all of them.
Sometimes fiddling with arrangements of well-known songs works and sometimes it doesn't. For "Day by Day", Ashley Travis and the company take it to the club. It thumps and it drives and it's totally different than the original arrangement. For some, it won't work. For me, it did.
"Learn Your Lessons Well" is another song whose arrangement was manipulated, and even to greater extent. Erica Wilpon brings out her best Tina Turner and adds some "Proud Mary" spin to "Lessons". Even the dance moves will take you back to Turner's heyday. Dencklau must have done her homework, and for that she gets an "A".
Of course, Wilpon can sing really well. In Act II she is joined by the talented Caitlin Mesiano for "By My Side". They make a very fine duet, and when the company joins in, the song is glorified to the next level.
The whole company works well as a singing group. Zachary McConnell beautifully starts the song "All Good Gifts" with his impeccable voice. Then as the company backs him up, it's better than any reworked song the cast of "Glee" can do.
Katie McCreary has some hilarious moments in "Godspell". She also can sing like no other. Her featured song in "Godspell" is "O Bless the Lord", and when she was done, I simply wrote in my notebook "Love her!" She knows how to entertain, whether acting or belting out a number.
It is after "O Bless the Lord" where Judas first hints at the coming persecution of Jesus. The way Klinkhammer delivers that hint, it begins edging the production into the dramatic side of the musical, but not too quickly. He knows how to deliver his lines, just as Humrichouser knows how to collaborate with his actors to get at their best performance.
If it's sultry you want, look no further than Sophie Grimm's rendition of "Turn Back, O Man". Every actor gets one song where they are the "main" singing voice, and Grimm gets "Turn Back". Like the other actors in the musical, she doesn't waste the opportunity to make it hers. She sizzles.
Nick Laughlin gets his big singing moment with "We Beseech Thee", while Matthew Dailey does well on "Beautiful City". Together, with Klinkhammer, Dailey and Laughlin also provide great vocals on "On the Willows".
Here's my only gripe for this production. During the musical there are four screens around the theater showcasing different images. For "Alas for You", there are news headlines and photos of men whose characters are either questionable or downright evil. My problem during "Godspell", and perhaps this is due more to where I was sitting than anything, was that I couldn't always tell what the headlines said. The screens to my sides were too jagged, the one above me was facing the other direction, and the one across from me was blocked by something in the ceiling.
Of course, I really don't think the screens are necessary at all. Though I tried to take in everything opening night Wednesday, my main focus was on the stage and the actors. The things on the screens were just a distraction. For this production, less actually is more. If you're going to have the screens though, it would have been nice to actually tell what they were.
What really works well is the crucifixion of Jesus. By the time you see Maters "hanging" on the cross, you will be emotionally impacted. You might already be crying by the time it gets to The Last Supper scene. The company earns your love and when they weep (and, yes, some of them actually do cry because they are that moved), you will weep. And when that sorrow turns into joy, you will feel that rise. That is testament not only to Maters' skill, but to the skill of the full cast.
Screens aside, there is nothing really to dislike about this production of "Godspell". You don't have to be Christian to enjoy this production of love. It's just amazingly well done.[[In-content Ad]]While I feel like I'm forgetting something, I'll just leave you with these three words: Go see "Godspell".
My rating of "Godspell" (out of four): 4.
"Godspell" runs through July 31. For tickets, call the box office at 574-267-8041, toll free at 866-823-2618, or visit online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
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