Prepare Ye Way to "Godspell"

Few shows are more popular among theater groups than “Godspell,” so it’s no surprise that Plays in the Park is closing its summer season with Stephen Schwartz’s New Testament rock musical.

What’s unexpected is that Plays in the Park has never performed the show before as part of its main stage series. There was a 1983 co-production with Middlesex County College and a staging at the State Theatre in 1994, but never before have Jesus and company sang and danced their way into the hearts of crowds at Roosevelt Park in Edison.

“It’s an interesting piece that is deceptively difficult to do right, and to that end, we’re recreating it as close as possible, the way it was originally done,” said Gary P. Cohen, who’s producing and also designed the sets. “Because it’s so unstructured, it’s the kind of vehicle that so many directors feel they’ll reinvent it and set it in a different time period or a different location. And the director (Art Neill) and I agree that it works best when it’s done the way it was originally done.”

That means setting it near a chain link fence that could be a city playground or a junk yard, and 10 young performers sharing parables from the Gospel According to Matthew through clownish antics and singing classics like “Day By Day” “All Good Gifts” and “All for the Best.”

Songs like those have helped make “Godspell” so popular, even though it’s an unconventional show that was quite controversial when it debuted off-Broadway in 1971 because of its perceived mix of hippie culture and Jesus. But it was a smash and went on to a Broadway run and has been performed all over the world.

Cohen attributes the show’s appeal to the fact that it’s fun. “You really aren’t challenged — and I don’t mean that in a bad sense. You’re just presented with an enjoyable song and dance production for two hours, I think that’s why it’s very popular,” he says.

The cast includes Brian Michael Hart as Jesus and Danny Arnold as Judas. The rest of Jesus’ followers are played by Josh Cohen, Dennis Connors, Shannen Doyle, Adewonu-Ola-Ogunfowora, Katie Riley, Sandy Taylor, Marissa Ur and Timothy Walton.

The challenge for the performers, Cohen says, is performing the parables, which even though they’re rehearsed, need to come off as playful and improvised. 

“The songs play themselves, but it’s the scene work, translating the parable in a story-theater flavor, that’s the most challenging,” Cohen says. “You want it to be child-like without it being childish.”

One slight difference from the original production is the inclusion of more musicians in the orchestra, or more accurately, band. “Godspell” normally features four musicians playing keyboard, guitar, drums and bass. Plays in the Park is adding an extra guitarist and keyboard player.

That’s being done, Cohen says, so that the show, which is often performed in small venues, can be played in Plays in the Park’s larger, outdoor space. To maintain the show’s intimacy, the orchestra is on stage behind the chain link fence and an extension from the front of the stage brings much of the action closer to the audience.

“That sort of brings it out and doesn’t have an orchestra as a divide between the audience and the stage,” Cohen says.

Though “Godspell” is based on the teachings of Jesus, the show has been pleasing crowds of all faiths for decades. When asked if he thinks the show appeals to non-Christians, Cohen is quick to reply, “Well it was written by a Jew, so there you have it.”

Plays in the Park is presenting “Godspell” in Roosevelt Park, off Route 1 next to the Menlo Park Mall in Edison, through Aug. 13. Performances are at 8:30 p.m. every night except Mondays. Tickets go on sale at the box office each day at 5:30 p.m. (No advance sales.) Bring a chair to sit on. Tickets cost $7, $5 seniors, free for children 12 and under. For information, go to www.playsinthepark.com.