Godspell Analysis

Jesus of Nazareth is most likely the most influential man of all time. The majority of events in the common era- which began with his birth- can be considered a result of his life. As the founder of Christianity, he has had billions of followers throughout the past 2000 years. The Bible- which contains four accounts of his biography- has been published more than any other book. His life and influence has lead to the founding of nations, the composition of songs, and the writing of many, many prayers. More recently, though, Jesus has influenced something very different: musical theater. Jesus has been the subject of many other performances in the past, but these recent productions heavily differentiate themselves from anything else. That is …show more content…
The story of Godspell was written by John-Michael Tebelak. He wrote Godspell as his masters thesis at Carnegie Mellon University. With nearly two weeks until the deadline, Tebelak attended the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Paul’s Cathedral, fell in love with the Gospels, and was immediately influenced to write the storyline of Godspell. The music, however, was written by Stephen Schwartz. As Godspell was one of Schwartz’s earliest and most famous productions, he also worked on the composition and lyrics of the stage productions of Pippin, Working, Children of Eden, and Wicked, along with the cinematic Disney classics of Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The show was originally produced in 1970 on a smaller scale under the direction of Tebelak. Eventually, the producers hired Schwartz to write a new composition, which consisted of many genres, including early 70’s pop, folk rock, and gospel. After the new composition, the show made its off-Broadway debut in 1971. The show has had many other productions, including London in 1971, Toronto in 1972, South Africa in 1973, on Broadway in 1976 and 2011, and off Broadway in 1988 and 2000. The stage production was also adapted for the cinematic universe in the 1973 movie. It has since become one of the most well known musicals in the past fifty …show more content…
One way in which they are different is the plot. Godspell starts out with ten people who eventually get baptized by John the Baptist, who then baptized Jesus. The twelve then go around together, most of the time singing and telling the parables of St. Matthew’s gospel in a new way. After the Last Supper, Judas- who is the same character as John the Baptist- goes to betray Jesus. Instead of Jesus being crucified in the traditional manor, he is tied upon a fence. He dies, the disciples are very gloomy. There is no apparent Resurrection, but the disciples do begin to rejoice through song after they take down