Godspell lgbtq

Where is Jesus?

I asked myself this as I watched 9th Hour Theatre Company’s show of Godspell on a snowy evening in Ottawa last week. I know Godspell well, having sung and danced my way across Florida as a teenager with a carrying out arts group doing this very demonstrate . And I knew that somewhere on that stage should be a person playing the role of Jesus.

Godspell is a quirky Broadway musical based on the New Testament book of Matthew. It is not driven by a plot in the way we predict from musical theatre, but rather focuses on bringing to life the stories told by Jesus. The cast is simply an ensemble, with one person designated as John the Baptist and another as Jesus. Traditionally, the present opens with the ensemble in disarray until, one ballad in, Jesus brings them together and their journey begins. But as two songs went by, then three, I realized no Jesus figure was going to come bursting on stage.

Instead, the lines that would have been spoken by his ethics are read by the ensemble from a newspaper entitled “Good News Today.” As my initial confusion wore off, I found this choice created a different relationship between the actors and the authority of Jesus. The
godspell lgbtq

overview

Opened in 1921, the Ambassador Theater has staged multiple productions involving major LGBT performers and creators, including Mulatto by Langston Hughes and Bring in ‘Da Noise, Take in ‘Da Funk, for which George C. Wolfe earned Best Direction of a Musical Tony Award.

A sampling of other LGBT names associated with the Ambassador include George Cukor, William Ritman, Tom Eyen, Ethel Waters, and Anthony Rapp.

Header Photo

Credit: Christopher D. Brazee/NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, 2022.

Postcard for Mulatto, 1936. Source: cabinetcardgallery.com

Playbill cover for Me and Bessie, 1975.

Poster for Godspell, 1977.

Playbill cover for Eubie!, 1978.

Playbill cover for Your Arms Too Limited to Box with God, 1980.

Playbill cover for Dreamgirls, 1987.

History

The biggest theater hits with LGBT associations at the Ambassador Theater were:

  • Mulatto (1936) by Langston Hughes (opened at the Vanderbilt Theater)
  • You Know I Can’t Overhear You When the Water’s Running (1967-68), with scenic blueprint by Ed Wittstein, and with actor George Grizzard
  • Me and B

    Steven Schwartz
    Photo: Stephen Schwartz

    With Wicked Awesome, the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus will celebrate the music of one of the most influential contemporary Broadway composers ever to sit down at a piano: Stephen Schwartz. Even excel, the man behind the music of Broadway blockbusters (and Tony winners) Godspell, Pippin, and Wicked will join the chorus onstage to sing a rare songs from his voluminous catalog, which also includes songs from the beloved films Enchanted, Pocahontas, The Prince of Egypt, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Without a doubt, a main attraction of Wicked Wonderful will be the performance of “Testimony” in which Schwartz weaves together the words of participants in the “It Gets Better Project” to create a powerful and moving portrait of the LGBT community’s energy and resilience. We recently conducted an email interview with Schwartz, who discussed what it’s appreciate to perform with gay men’s choruses, Wicked’s Box-office-busting achievement, the emotional process of writing “Testimony,” and how to write a ballad that will strike a chord in a million hearts: “Tell the truthfulness and make it rhyme.”

    Q: You’ve performed with the San Francisco and Los Angeles gay men’s ch

    ‘Godspell’ composer Schwartz allows Mormon students to use works; but Showbiz LDS feeling the heat over Prop 8 [video]

    ”I have not withdrawn the use of my songs by the BYU Young Ambassadors and do not intend to do so.They are a student singing group….. fair-minded Mormons to reconsider their position and come to support the right of homosexuals to marry the person they love … I continue to think that the most key tenet of any religion is ‘Do unto others as you would possess them do unto you.”’

    Portion of an email from composer Stephen Schwartz who, it has been rumored, had been considering pulling licensed rights to his music from Mormon organizations such as those at Brigham Young University because of the Mormon church’s leading role in the overturning of gay marriages in California through Proposition 8. Schwartz work includes the stage musicals ‘Wicked,’ ‘Godspell,’ ‘Pippin’ and a number of animated films including ‘The Prince of Egypt.’ (Salt Lake Tribune)

    ”I was really fearful when I came back to the theater after the election,” said Natalie Hill,

    Pandora Productions To Host GODSPELL Community Discussion On LGBTQ Issues

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    Pandora Productions, one of the country's longest running, Kentucky's oldest and Louisville's only theatre company dedicated and most trusted to tell the stories of the Queer community continues the 2022-2023 Season with GODSPELL.

    Based on the book of Matthew GODSPELL has a novel by John Michael Tebelak, music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Pandora proposals a production unlike most traditional theatrical experiences, borrowing from a variety of styles that break down the fourth wall and create an immersive late hours of entertainment and reflection.

    On Friday, March 24th, Pandora is hosting a Community Conversation about the opportunity theatre creates to influence the local people, with several exciting extraordinary guests including Chris Hartman from the Fairness Campaign, Kentucky House Representatives Cher Stevenson and Nima Kulkarni, Gilmer McCormick (pending) from the original Broadway film of Godspell, local ministers and more.

    GODSPELL is about community. Pandora has revived this 1971 classic in a way that speaks directly to the Louisvi