Originally posted here.
Last Wednesday, “the gang” (we need to come up with a better name than that) went to the Muny in St. Louis to see Godspell. We were all still a little gun shy from our last Muny experience, but I was determined to see the show because I was in it my senior year in high school.
Godspell is basically the gospel according to Matthew. It came about around 1971 and its populatity grew along with the “Jesus movement.” The first act shows many of the parables and then an explanation from Jesus of the parable. The second continues with the teachings of Jesus and end with the death of Jesus on the cross. Godspell is often associated with hippies (mostly because of the movie based off the stage show), however, the Muny’s production updated the look and feel of the show using a modern day look and using a myriad pop culture (references from The Matrix, Bring it On, and music from Nelly, just to name a few) references throughout the show. The changes were good ones and made the show more interesting for younger theater goers. The cast even did a rap about the free seats in the Muny, quite funny. What impressed me the most was the cast seemed like they were having the time of their life. That energy gave the show a feeling of spontaneity and freshness which helped connect the audience to what was happening on stage. The man who played Jesus seemed to have occasional problems with his lines, which for me was distracting but it didn’t seem to bother anyone else. The other problem that I had was the ending. The show ended with Jesus’ body being carried off the stage and that was it. I of course was waiting for the return of Jesus to the stage but that was not to be except during the the bows. I guess adding a little more postmodern idology to the show, what ever you think happened to Jesus is what you make it. The whole thing made the show end on a sour note for me.
While watching the show and how the parables were presented and then watching the young children that happened to be sitting in the same area made me realize that sometimes, Christians can make the Gospell kinda boring. Last week was also bible school. While taking video of each class, there were some classes in which the kids would have a glazed over look in their eyes that seemed to say, “I’ve been through this a thousand times.” In contrast, at Godspell, I saw the kids around me trying to get in a better position to see what was going on on stage. When the kids first sat down, I was a little worried that they would be a distraction, but they weren’t. They sat there eagerly soaking in the parables and teachings of Jesus and they were more than a little disappointed when it was over. One child I over heard wanted to come back and see the show again. It was exciting to see kids who were excited about these stories and I was sad to think that not all the kids in Bible school shared the same excitement.
Of course my thoughts were focused on how children reacted to it but Pressed, brought another point of view that I found interesting. He likened Jesus and his followers on stage to that of a youth group. The youth leader trying to teach the youth something all they while the youth were not always paying attention, playing around, sometimes getting it right and at other times getting it wrong. I thought it was interesting analogy.
Our new youth miniter also went with us and he commented on how so many of the worship styles that were seen in the 70’s could be found and even originated from the show. Another interesting perspective.
After the show, we were all happy to see that our automobile was still out in the parking lot after the show. Whew.
Class dismissed!
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