|
Spellbinding LCC musical production debuts this week [FEB. 22, 2000] Fourteen young people in colorful, outlandish costumes filter onto the stage. A piano starts beating out a catchy tune. A man with a script in his hand stands in front of the stage, calls out to a couple of people, gestures. Suddenly the auditorium fills with energy. |
|
|
It’s another rehearsal night for Lincoln Christian College’s upcoming production of Godspell, a contemporary musical based on the gospel according to Matthew. In two acts, Godspell (an old English form of the word Gospel) presents the life and teachings of Jesus set to pop-rock music and modern choreography. With an enthusiastic cast and a director with long experience in local theater, the Gospel story comes to life. The familiar teachings of Jesus—the seeds that fall on good and bad soil, the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, turning the other cheek and going the extra mile—are dramatized by LCC students under the direction of well-known Lincoln-area actor Tim Searby. Rehearsals are a cooperative, interactive experience. The actors are encouraged to develop their own interpretations and make suggestions about the way they think a scene should go. Searby listens and often agrees. "This is an ensemble show," he says. "It’s vital that the actors help with their interpretation, bring their own ideas to their parts. The playwright didn’t write in stage directions."
The cast knows that without Searby, whose full-time job is administrator of the Christian Village, the show might not go on. Assistant Director Jim Allison, an associate professor of music at LCC, points out, "We don’t have a drama major as such, but a lot of students come with drama experience from high school and a desire to do some theater in college. Having Tim in the community willing to direct makes it possible to do our productions." "I love doing it," says Searby, who has been directing plays at LCC for the last four years. "This entire area is blessed with talent. I am not telling them what to do, I am helping them realize their potential and abilities." Cast members describe Searby as "a fun, intense man who helps us get excited about the play." Both the cast and the director are making a substantial time commitment to put Godspell on the stage. Auditions were held before Christmas break and cast members were given their scripts to take home and study. And it wasn’t just one audition—cast members had to prove they could act, sing and learn the choreography. Rehearsals started Jan. 13, Mondays through Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. As the weeks passed, rehearsal time became "from 6 until whenever we needed it," cast member Jamie Elliott reported. "It means we don’t have a life, but it’s worth it." "I’ve got three papers due Friday, and I don’t know when I’m going to do them," says Matt Cloud. "It takes a lot of time but I love doing it. There’s nothing like it in the world," says another cast member, Renee Pim. The first thing cast learns is the music. Then they begin blocking out scenes, so they all know where they should be standing, when and where they will move, and what the cues are. Finally they learn the choreography, which was created by Gary Shull, a dance instructor from Millikin University who donated his time to help make the show a success. All but two of the cast members play a variety of roles, becoming kings, beggars, servants, masters, sheep and goats, Pharisees and fallen women, even the devils who tempt Jesus as the story move through the crucial events of his life, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. Most of the time, however, the cast members are seen as Jesus’ disciples.
|
Jesus himself, played by Ben Browning, is the only character who remains consistent throughout. He follows the tradition started by the original off-Broadway cast and wears a Superman T-shirt. John the Baptist and Judas are played by the same character, Nathan Hall. First produced in 1971, in New York’s off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theater, Godspell has the exuberance of the '60s youth culture. Based on a play by John-Michael Tebelak with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, its score includes everything from hand-clapping, foot-stomping songs of praise to moving ballads like the popular "Day by Day." "It’s definitely a high-energy show," Allison said. "Everybody’s onstage all the time." Godspell has been called many different things by the critics—naïve and childlike, modest and loving, fresh and original, part rock and part revival, both simple and profound. The young people in the LCC cast are unanimous in describing it as powerful. Cast member Sheralyn Bolton says, "Godspell gives a powerful message, but it doesn’t only feed the audience. It feeds us. We’ve heard these parables often, but now we are living them. The show makes the Gospel message even more real to me." "This is a really powerful family life musical," says Sherri Grissom. "The best thing about it is no one cast member is more important than any other, except of course the Jesus figure." For Nora Bishop, the only seminary student in the cast, the chance to act in Godspell fulfills a lifelong dream. "When I was three years old my brother talked my mom into letting me stay up to watch Godspell on television. He also taped it. I was so fascinated I watched the tape eight or nine times a day. When the tape stopped I would call Mom to rewind it, because I was too little to operate the VCR. I learned every word of every song, I danced every dance, I never forgot it and I always wanted to be in it. "As a seminary student I almost never read the announcements, but the notice of auditions for Godspell was posted and I was waiting for a friend, so I read it. I became so excited I called my mom and said, ‘God must want me to be in this play.’ This is my last semester so it was my last chance. I auditioned and I made it." Also in the cast are Tramaine Davis, Eric Gerdts, Thomas Layco, Erin Baker, Holly Overby and Benji Maurer. Providing the music are Linda Storm, piano; Michael Gowin, guitar; Nathan Davis, bass; J. D. Maddox, percussion; Emily Storm, keyboard; and a vocal trio of Hannah Peake, Becky Schneider and Dan Schneider. Performances are set for Feb. 24, 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Earl C Hargrove Chapel. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students through college. Group rates for 20 or more are available. For tickets and information, call 217-732-3168, extension 2254.
|
