All New 'Godspell' Will Feature Plenty Of Surprises
Posted
Staff Report-
The Ramada Wagon Wheel Theatre presents its fourth show of the 2010 Summer Season, "Godspell", which runs July 21-31.
Single adult tickets are $30 for all shows. Tickets for students 13 through college are $16, and children 12 and under are $12. Opening Nights and matinees are $22 for seniors. Special rates are available for groups of 15 or more.
To order tickets or for more information about upcoming events at the Wagon Wheel Theatre in Warsaw, call the box office at 574-267-8041 or toll-free at 866-823-2618. You can also visit online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
Tony Humrichouser, a long-time Wagon Wheel actor and director, wanted to do something different this summer. Following recent, more traditional musical theatre fair, in his productions of "Brigadoon", "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and "Anything Goes", Humrichouser wanted to take on something with a more modern pop/rock flair. And it doesn't get any more modern than "Godspell".
When the show debuted on Broadway in 1971, audiences got a unique take on the Parable of Matthew's Gospel that include the story of "The Prodigal Son" and "Lazarus and the Rich Man," among others. For those that know their New Testament, the show will contain lots of familiar characters. The less Biblically familiar audience member will, no doubt, come to understand why Jesus' stories teach such profound and revolutionary lessons. The show also provides a brief treatment of the "Passion of Christ" in Act II.The music of "Godspell", written by Stephen Schwartz ("Wicked", "Children of Eden", Disney's "Pocahontas"), uses lyrics from traditional hymns set to modern music. The Wagon Wheel team will look to further modernize the musical themes with some updated scoring and orchestrations. For example, the hit song, "Day by Day," which rose to No. 11 on the Billboard charts, will feel more like a contemporary disco song than a flower child anthem.
Regional, school, community and church productions of the work are innumerable, but few have involved the kind of inventive staging found in the upcoming Wagon Wheel production. So, even if you think you've seen "Godspell", we invite you to experience it anew with us this summer.
