Lucas: Review — ‘Godspell’ will cast a spell on you

If you’re looking for the 1970s movie adaptation of “Godspell” you may want to set that version, heavy on the flower power, aside, before you attend the one now running at the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Center for the Arts.

The one that opened at the center Saturday night, while true to form, took on a decidedly more Lowcountry bent from its extraordinarily designed set featuring a shrimp boat and fishing docks to its “regular guy” Jesus, who frankly looks more like an insurance salesman who plays golf on the weekends than any long-haired, flowing-robe savior of the world you might be expecting.

But that’s Ok. Because that’s the point. Jesus could very well be the guy next door.

Written by Grammy and Academy-Award winning composer Stephen Schwartz who went on to such hits as “Wicked” and “Pippin,” “Godspell” first opened off Broadway in 1971. A film version, set in New York City, was released in 1973 and, as I mentioned, had a more counterculture look and feel to it.

The Beaufort Theatre Company’s version opens with their Jesus casting a fishing line off a dock taking the “fishers of men” metaphor to an entirely new level.

And while part of me couldn’t help but miss 1973 Jesus, Noah Krepps, who stepped in after another cast member dropped out, did a fine job of taking his flock through the parables according to the Gospel of Matthew.

“Every man who exalts himself shall be be humbled” we are told in Act One and, “Every man who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

Those words seem almost quaint in the political season we find ourselves in now, but setting those ironies aside, there’s much to be gained from the message behind the musical. And “Godspell’s” cast and crew seems to have drawn the same conclusion.

The theater company kicked off the production in February with a four-part lecture series featuring clergy and spiritual leaders from the community. The series was meant to spark conversation and I’m sure that conversation will continue well after “Godspell” has left the stage.

As for its musical performances, quite a few were outstanding — from numbers that had a more swinging ‘60s feel to them like “Day by Day” or “Light of the World” to those that offered a more high-energy gospel feel like “O, Bless the Lord, My Soul.”

On the other hand, the opening number “The Tower of Babble” seemed to lack energy, as if cast members had not quite found their footing yet. Perhaps this was done deliberately to better contrast with the next number “Prepare Ye The Way of the Lord” in which cast members “come alive” after their baptism by John the Baptist. Here the energy picked up quite a bit and continued to soar for some time.

Also, some of the singing wasn’t quite clear at times, but again this was opening night and could be attributed to issues with the production’s sound system. Whatever the case, I’m sure those have been worked out since.

Other nice touches included the cast’s eye-rolling and sometimes humorous reactions to Jesus’s teachings. For example, when Jesus commands his disciples to “Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors” he gets a “You’re kidding.”

Overall, “Godspell” was a rollicking good time — spiritually and musically — that may have you examining not only your faith but your place in the world. And, while he may not look like the one you had envisioned, just remember that guy teeing off across from you may very well be the man himself.

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Lucas: Review — ‘Godspell’ will cast a spell on you."