Local church brings professional equity performance to Malibu.
By Vicki GodaL/Special to The Malibu Times
“Godspell,” the acclaimed rock musical, cult classic based on the “Gospel According to Matthew,” will make its debut this weekend at Malibu Presbyterian Church.
Along with Stephen Schwartz’s original musical score, which included such well-known international hit songs as “Day by Day” and “Prepare Ye,” this production adds new arrangements integrating what director Valerie Mayhew describes as “a little humor with a fresh edge.”
One of the biggest off-Broadway and Broadway successes of all time, “Godspell” opened at the Broadway Transfer in New York City on May 17, 1971 and ran for 2,124 performances as well as 527 performances on Broadway. “Godspell,” with its comical, improvisational style, appealed to diverse audiences. Perhaps the greatest tribute to “Godspell’s” popularity is the fact that its religious subject matter has not stopped it from countless productions in worldwide venues.
For this production, Mayhew urbanizes the story, setting it in 2004 at Hollywood and Vine. In the original “Godspell,” the prologue took place at the tower of Babel with a group of philosophers conversing. In this version, the intersection of Hollywood and Vine is the modern-day epiphany of the tower of Babel. “By setting it at Hollywood and Vine, you get the perfect cross section of people as well as the Southern California mythos,” Mayhew said. “The lie of celebrity is perfectly illustrated at that crossroads. You have the Capital Records Building that tells people that they can be rock stars. You have Mann’s Chinese Theater telling people that they can be movie stars. But if you really look at it, at Hollywood and Vine, in reality, it’s a very dirty, grungy place to be.”
Dropping the original concept of the show’s characters as clown-like flower children in favor of something more edgy, this “Godspell” features everyday people-waitresses, students and businesspeople that hear the call to community over the sounds and distractions of modern life. “Especially in this election year, it’s been a very angry, divisive time in our country,” Mayhew said. “‘Godspell’ is based on the gospel of Matthew, which is all about hearing the call, prepare ye … through the business and busy-ness of our lives … to put all that aside and come together as a community. It’s about people at the crossroads or turning points in life. I hope that everyone that comes will recognize himself or herself here.”
“It is a story for today … here … now,” Mayhew added. “And you don’t have to know the story of Matthew or be a Christian to dig this show.”
“‘Godspell’ sends a powerful message that’s as relevant today as it was in the 1970s,” said Malibu Presbyterian Church Pastor Greg Hughes. “And we are very excited to be bringing this professional production to the Malibu community.”
According to the official “Godspell” Web page, the inspiration for the play occurred on Easter Sunday, 1970, after sunrise services when creator John-Michael Tebelak, a student at Carnegie Mellon University, was stopped and frisked for drugs by a Pittsburgh policeman in the nave of St. Paul’s Cathedral (Tebelak blamed his long hair). For his master of fine arts degree, Tebelak was required to direct a production of a classic or period piece for his thesis. He asked to be allowed to write his own musical play for this exercise using his Easter Sunday experience and based on the Gospel according to St. Matthew. This exercise became “Godspell.”
“Godspell” performs at the Malibu Presbyterian Church in Malibu. Showtimes are Nov. 5 and Nov. 6 at 8 p.m., and Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 for students and seniors, $14 for adults. More information can be obtained by calling 310.456.1611, ext. 208 or by logging onto www.Godspell2004.com.