The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lorain Community Music Theater presents ‘Godspell’
Lorain Community Music Theater will take the stage from July 27-30 for “Godspell.”
The 1970s-flavored spectacular is less of a musical and more of a “rock concert with vignettes,” according to director Luke Scattergood.
The community group’s run will include performances at 7:30 p.m. July 27-29 and a matinee at 2 p.m., July 30, at Lorain Performing Arts Center at Lorain High School, 2600 Ashland Ave.
Originally written by musical theater visionary Stephen Schwartz in 1973, “Godspell” since has been adapted for modern audiences, Scattergood said.
“The music is by Stephen Schwartz who is, you know, a pretty popular musical theater guy,” Scattergood said. “He’s done the music for ‘Wicked’ (and) some other well-known musicals. (‘Godspell’) was one of his earlier shows.”
In choosing the show for this year, the Lorain Community Music Theater wanted to bring something fun to the table.
A rock and pop-inspired show like “Godspell,” Scattergood said, was the perfect choice.
“It’s just a fun, like, celebration show,” he said. “We were looking for something that was going to be fun, that had some familiarity with people.
“People know some of the songs. One of the songs, actually, when it came out in the ‘70s, made it on the Billboard charts.”
Scattergood called the musical “non traditional” but something that can be enjoyed by all audiences.
While it contains messages based in the Christian faith, the musical mostly is secular, he said.
“It was basically a loose retelling of the parables of the book of Matthew,” Scattergood said. “It has some really awesome songs that are lyrics from traditional hymns that have been put into a rock score.
“It’s basically like a rock concert, with these short little vignettes kind of storytelling the parables of Jesus throughout the show.”
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the production, Scattergood said, is the exceptionally small cast.
With only 12 people in the cast, “Godspell” is less than a third of a typical musical cast.
“This one is a smaller cast … we wanted to try something a little different and, you know, still put on a great show,” Scattergood said. “(It’s) not super different, you’re dealing with less people.
“It’s been easier, as far as working around cast conflicts.”
With the small cast, Scattergood said his group has been able to present the strongest group of actors, singers and dancers for this show.
The show also gives cast members their own special moment, he said.
“I would say that the nice thing about it is, everyone gets their moment to kind of shine in the show,” Scattergood said. “Most folks have their own solo number.
“It’s not like a traditional musical where … you have your main characters and then your ensemble.”
Scattergood said he looked forward to putting it all together for audiences.
He also noted that audiences can expect some light crowd interaction.
“It moves very fast … there is audience interaction, we go out and dance in the aisles,” Scattergood said. “It’s just a joyful musical. It really is.
“The music is fun; it’s mostly upbeat. I have three kids; I’m planning on taking them. There’s no controversial material, really.”
Tickets for “Godspell” are available online at loraincommunitymusictheater.com.
General reserved tickets are $18 each, while student and senior tickets are $16.