Show: Godspell
Society: Cowes Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society
Venue: Trinity Theatre, The Grove, Cowes, Isle of Wight.
Credits: Conceived and originally directed by Johm-Michael Tebelak. Music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Type: Sardines
Performance Date: 10/05/2012
Godspell
Paul Johnson | 16 May 2012 21:45pm
After weeks and weeks of miserable, wet weather, I suddenly found myself on the Isle of Wight ferry in beautiful sunshine without a cloud in the sky. The purpose of my excursion was to see Godspell at the Trinity Theatre in Cowes. To the uninitiated, the story 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 songs containing modern music set primarily to lyrics from traditional hymns, with the passion of Christ treated very briefly near the end of the performance. The programme omitted the list of songs from the show, but it mentioned all the cast, with a little bit about each of the members. What it didn’t say was which parts the cast were playing which made it difficult to know who was who, the only ones listed were Paul Arnold representing Jesus and David Stradling who represented Judas. I was later informed that DS was also representing John the Baptist at the beginning of the show – but as he was wearing the same costume throughout, and with no mention of it in the programme, the audience were left unaware of this fact. The costumes were very good, being hippy and colourful. The set was well thought out and well lit, although the sound was very hit and miss. As this was a musical, the talents of the cast were quite a way off the mark, and the show could have benefitted by at least another week or so of rehearsal. It could have also benefitted by having a choreographer instead of letting the cast improvise their own dance moves. One member of the cast did shine out with his moves and good singing voice, even though he only had one number in the show. Going through the programme, and using my powers of elimination, I can say keep your eye on Dave Tickner, he is worthy of many musicals.
- : admin
- : 10/05/2012