Saturday, March 14th marked the end of Emerson Theater’s production of Godspell, a humorous adaptation of the Gospel of Matthew told by Jesus (James Nienstedt) and Judas (Audrey Riquelme).
Godspell is often recognized for songs such as “Day by Day,” “All Good Gifts,” and “Prepare Ye The Way Of The Lord.”
This year’s cast has had some strong feelings about the production.
Freshman Sophia Rizzo stated, “Overall, in my opinion, this show was a really fun show to do. I was skeptical about the show at first and I felt a little under prepared, but in the end, I’m proud of the finished product. It was so fun and enjoyable due to the fact that it was really flexible with what we could do with the scenes and lines in comparison to prior years such as 1776 and Peter Pan, as they had a set a background and story, meanwhile this show you could just really add personality to, so I think that is one of the best parts about this show. Between the moments shared with the cast and performing overall, it was really fun to do.”
Jesus himself had a few words to share on the matter.
“Perhaps the most challenging and most rewarding aspect of performing this show was the fact that most of the story’s development is completely subtextual. The author’s note that came with our scripts even says as much. Following the fact that it even took me about a month of rehearsing to finally start to understand the essence of this show got me worrying, ‘Well then how on Earth are we going to get an audience to pick up all of that in only two hours?’”
He went on to say, “Ultimately, one of the biggest lessons I took away from Godspell is that if we do everything our directors tell us to do, the audience just gets it. Really, it’s like magic, it just works! In all seriousness, it really may just be more particular to me than to other people, but I had to learn during this show to just trust the process. Go figure, that acting a certain way while lit up on stage in front of a crowd of people watching you will somehow portray to them the things that you are doing. Yes, it sounds ridiculously obvious, but it still was a process for me, and one which was really special to experience!”
Madeline Kim described the show as “unique, vibrant and bittersweet” and said “[My] favorite scene or song would be ‘We Beseech Thee’ because of how in sync the cast is when they do the ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ line dance and clapping.”
Junior Jeffrey Adams said, “Well, now that it’s over I keep thinking about the songs (ALL of them, not just the ones I like the most) and how I want to do a run-thru of the songs with everyone again.”
He continued, “I definitely didn’t think I would be emotionally affected when it ended, but because of the bonds that had been created because of the musical, I’ve certainly been proven wrong. I wish I had joined theatre earlier.”
Theater director Mr. Ullman stated, “Audiences responded exceptionally well to the show. We told the stories with a lot of creativity but did not let the point of the stories get lost. People seemed to ‘get it.’ That is not easy for this show. Furthermore, people loved the improvisational feel and were, therefore, VERY surprised and moved when the serious portion of the 2nd Act hit.”
He went on, “Our friend Alyssa Fox (former EHS student, actress and singer in many of our shows and concerts and current theatre teacher in Ramsey at the elementary and middle schools) said that she was so impressed with the honesty and sincerity with which the cast performed. She was so moved by the fact that everyone was in it together and telling the story. She said it was clear that we were joyful theatre people spreading even more joy among the audience!”
Audrey Riquelme, senior, stated, “This year’s musical was different compared to other years because our cast had to convey the theme of community and what it means to ‘love thy neighbor’. I think we as a cast were able to do that by having our previous members spread kindness and compassion towards the new members who came in this year. Emphasizing our overall friendship and teamwork to a larger group so we can share those ideals with our audience.”
She followed up with, “When it comes to being a senior, I am sad that my time here at Emerson is over but I know this show is the one I will reflect on the most fondly. Theater has always been the place where I’ve felt the most valued in school but it wouldn’t be like that without our cast and directors.”
