"Godspell" —a big hit at teeny-bopper level?

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33252, 15 June 1973, Page 10

"Godspell" —a big hit at teeny-bopper level?

“Godspell,” by JohnMichael Tebelak and Stephen Schwartz. Directed by Sammy Bayes. Theatre Royal. Running time: Two hours. It was a bit of a shock to come out of the Theatre! Royal last evening to find a crowd of Jesus people noisily! advertising themselves outside. Whether they knew it or not, they were just like an, outdoors extension of the' show — and my first thought j was that the cast was getting, some overtime, or perhaps doing a charity performance for late-night newspaper workers. Then a young man thrust a Jesus paper into my hand; I suddenly felt like Anti-Christ.

■and crept off. It was the first [religious thought I had had I since the show began. I The big news: “Godspell” [is not religiously offensive. There is a lot of clowning, a little bit of mild iconoclasm, and a good deal of mindless time-wasting, but only the hyper-sensitive could get upset. On the other hand, it is ■ not exhilarating either, in any sense—religiously, musically, i or dramatically. Basically, it [is rather like a very good [cabaret act, entertaining, but I without any kind of resonance or even much stylistic [coherence. Clowning strikes at the essence of theatre, at basic truths and gut responses. [Some of the clowning in “Godspell” does just this:;

t acting out the parables is an 1 excellent idea, and was very popular with the audience, ’ but at other times the show . seemed to be rushing from i one kind of slapstick to an- , [other in a way that one > would not expect in a show ■ well-tested overseas. The one thing a clown does ; not need is a compere, and ‘lit wasn’t long before I started . loathing Rod Dunbar’s : handling of the big pan A I cool, caddish schoolteacher ;with an I.Q. of 75. continual ■ spoiling the games of his - pupils (average I.Q. 55) and threatening to report them to ■ Big Brother upstairs. On the credit side. I was , very impressed with most of [the female cast, who were [responsible for the best of the short sketches, and Chris Sheil made splendid work of numerous secondary parts, as [well as John the Baptist. The [audience certainly seemed to [enjoy much of the comic work, but its response to the music was often, I thought, rather cool. Day by day by day by day [by day over the last six | weeks or so 1 have been | increasingly irritated by a I certain lyric which seems to dominate the commercial [stations, and I went along to [“Godspell” prepared for a 'grand catharsis, expecting a powerful visual counter-point [to the banality of the lyrics: plenty of stage athletics and perhaps strobe lighting to indicate passage of days In this. I was disappointed: only [about four of the musical [numbers get enough stage dynamics to make them dramatically interesting, and they are the ones which appeal most on record. The only real musical surprise is in Neil Bryant's “We beseech thee;’’ the show only really gets moving with “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” and it has to return to it for the ending. “Godspell” will probably be a big hit at the teeny-bopper level, and has good chances as a sort of fake broadmindedness exercise for i older people. There is no [great drama or music offered anywhere, but it is good ephemeral entertainment. I —