Review: Cast Aside Productions Re-Imagines GODSPELL

Portland's Cast Aside Productions has mounted a staging that re-imagines the 1971 Stephen Schwartz musical, based on the Gospel of Matthew, Godspell, setting the entire piece as a rock concert. The production is exuberant, animated, peopled with excellent musicians and a fine cast, but also beset by concept and technical difficulties.

The co-directors' (Celeste Green and David Surkin) decision to imagine the ten-person ensemble as musicians in a rock band and to set the entire production on a stage outfitted with numerous standing microphones, a small central playing area and overhead projections is visually attractive, especially with David Surkin's colorful lighting and Celeste Green's quirky costumes, but it leaves very little room both physically and conceptually for the cast to become the characters, and it reduces "choreography" to free-form rocking to the beat. Instead, the actors become narrators recounting the various parables, and this produces a kind of theatrical detachment from the heart of the work. Moreover, the tone, especially of the first act, tends to frequent flippant comedic touches (pink piggy balloons for swine, for example), that may hope to suggest urbane wit, but actually detract from the simplicity of the message. By the time the dynamic turns to a moving sincerity in the final scenes of Christ's passion, though welcome, the shift is a touch jarring. Certain touches like the projected images of discordant philosophers in the sometimes omitted "Tower of Babbel" prelude sequence are insightful and would have played to better effect had the Portland Ballet Studio Theater's acoustic been far better than it is.

The one-hundred seat proscenium style little theatre has problematic sight lines and a garbled acoustic, exacerbated by the unbalanced sound design that allowed the upstage band to drown out the lyrics of virtually every song, except in the a cappella moments. This was a pity because the five-person band, comprised of keyboards, viola, guitar, bass, and drums (amplified by actors with instruments), under the excellent direction of Jenna Guiggey, brought the score to life with a vibrancy that was thrilling at times, and the singer-actors all possessed strong voices and a fine sense of style.

A skilled vocalist and guitarist, J.D. Raines made an especially affecting Jesus, managing to avoid any hint of the saccharine and capturing an inner luminosity. As John the Baptist and Judas, Tommy Waltz turned in an electric performance - mesmerizing and a little dangerous. Mo Nichols also brought an openness and depth of emotion to his moments, while Kyle Aarons was especially convincing in the prodigal son segment. Sophie Urey enjoyed a strong moment in "Day by Day," with Suzie Assam singing an effective "Turn Back O Man." Rachel Jane Henry, Kelly Mosher, Sarah Flagg, and Alison Bogannan rounded out the ensemble stylishly.

Despite the issues with the venue and the quibbles with the concept, what this production of Godspell does do is to showcase Maine's musicians and theatre talent is an energetic account of a show that manages to continue to resonate almost a half century after its creation.

Photos courtesy of Cast Aside Productions

Godspell runs from February 23-March 3, 2018 at the Portland Ballet Studio Theater, 517 Forrest Ave, Portland, ME www.castasideproductions.com 207-619-2270

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