Sold-out crowds take in a 'Godspell' worthy of praise
Kate Giglio
Issue date: 2/10/05 Section: Entertainment
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Jesus then sang "Alas for You," coming to terms with his bleak future. Grosskreuz was convinc-ingly emotional, if somewhat more wistful than I would think a man who knows he is condemned to death would typically be.
Alyssa Ciampaglio and Yzquierdo sang a really lovely duet on "By My Side." Their voices worked really well together and both demonstrated skillful vocal control. Justin Zacek and the ensemble sang "We Beseech Thee," which I think may have needed a bit more polishing, but was not out of place in the overall excellent program.
John Norton, Defoe and Henderson sang "On the Willows," which segued into the finale. Unfortunately, the finale consisted of a rather disturbing scene that seemed like a grotesque mix of dying zombies and a scene from "Fosse." The cast members clung to various pieces of the set and writhed as Jesus was put on the cross and died. Jesus' death was mostly painful to watch only because it .
A general grievance I had was that some of the characters' identities were hard to pinpoint. Sometimes they seemed like perhaps they were playing a different role from one song to the next, while other characters remained the same, personality-wise, throughout the whole play. This was somewhat confusing to me-I think more clarification was needed here.
Other high points of the show included the cast's solid grasp of physical comedy and their general chemistry. And not to be overlooked is the G-Spell Band, with conductor Liz Toleno on keyboards, Lauren M. Jackson on electric and acoustic guitars, Chris Wasilewski on bass, Meghan O'Neil on drums, and Jessica McNamara on flute. They adeptly kept the pace of the show going, feverishly exercising the muscle that is their craft.
Director Matt Andrews should be proud of his cast-they put on a generally tight, well-performed show, even if a few bits were off. The School of Liberal Arts should continue to produce musicals, and I would also put money on its success at a play, whether comedic or dramatic. For the most part, "Godspell" cast a level-five charm spell on me.
Alyssa Ciampaglio and Yzquierdo sang a really lovely duet on "By My Side." Their voices worked really well together and both demonstrated skillful vocal control. Justin Zacek and the ensemble sang "We Beseech Thee," which I think may have needed a bit more polishing, but was not out of place in the overall excellent program.
John Norton, Defoe and Henderson sang "On the Willows," which segued into the finale. Unfortunately, the finale consisted of a rather disturbing scene that seemed like a grotesque mix of dying zombies and a scene from "Fosse." The cast members clung to various pieces of the set and writhed as Jesus was put on the cross and died. Jesus' death was mostly painful to watch only because it .
A general grievance I had was that some of the characters' identities were hard to pinpoint. Sometimes they seemed like perhaps they were playing a different role from one song to the next, while other characters remained the same, personality-wise, throughout the whole play. This was somewhat confusing to me-I think more clarification was needed here.
Other high points of the show included the cast's solid grasp of physical comedy and their general chemistry. And not to be overlooked is the G-Spell Band, with conductor Liz Toleno on keyboards, Lauren M. Jackson on electric and acoustic guitars, Chris Wasilewski on bass, Meghan O'Neil on drums, and Jessica McNamara on flute. They adeptly kept the pace of the show going, feverishly exercising the muscle that is their craft.
Director Matt Andrews should be proud of his cast-they put on a generally tight, well-performed show, even if a few bits were off. The School of Liberal Arts should continue to produce musicals, and I would also put money on its success at a play, whether comedic or dramatic. For the most part, "Godspell" cast a level-five charm spell on me.