"GODSPELL" Stage vs. Movie

Jesus Christ! Post the clip.

I saw the last Broadway revival, it’s losing the hippie feeling

R1 Miss OP is ancient, she probably doesn't know how.

The movie uses NYC brilliantly and the caSt is good. However, it IS a very theatrical piece and really meant for the theatre. Love Lynn Thigpen!

I have always hated that stink-ass song "We Can Build A Beautiful City." What a shitty song.

And I agree that the last NYC production sucked big time. It's a difficult show to get right, but Broadway should be able to do it properly.

What the movie did well was establish at the beginning the call from "normal" life to disciples. The stage show has that long and atonal "Tower of Babble" song and then suddenly they are junkyard hobo clowns.

I agree, R6. It was written for the film and it doesn't sound like any of the other songs. Sounds like a Saturday Morning song for Kaptain Kool and the Kongs.

Tiny little stage show blown up to the size of the World Trade Center.

At best, it can be said that the film was received with great reservation.

No one can fault most of the performances, though. Jeffrey Mylett, an early loss to AIDS, is heartbreakingly sweet in the film. We lost much that was great in the 80's and 90's.

I thought the guy who played John the Baptist/Judas in the film, David Haskell, was hot.

Godspell didn't transfer to the screen as well as Hair did. Hair did it right. Even the lightweight songs were made to look good on screen. The constant motion of the car makes up visually for the feeling that there should be a red bouncing ball over the lyrics to this song.

"Hair" added a story to what was a bunch of vignettes. The film of "Godspell" keeps it in the "let's tell parables" mode and the actors are doing their best vaudeville schtick.

OMG this ending.

When they turn the corner.....and then you see the people walking.....*sob*

Didn't David Haskell play Jesus in the original NY production? And Victor Garber played Jesus in the first Canadian production?

IMHO the film is unbearable, a twee mess or a period piece that showcases the worst kind of sixties goofy self-indulgence.

It's the sort of movie that makes me feel deeply sorry for the performers. I mean, they've got real talent and they need to work, but THAT is the best they could do?

Hair and Godspell and a brief moment in college were the last times I felt positive about religion. Now when I see Gospell I think of the Manson family or the scene in Meet the Parents when Ben Stiller says grace. Kind of sad. Believing when I was younger kept me insulated and put some order in my life in a good way.. Now I pretty much hate the world and a whole subset of people which I never did before. As Ricky Gervais says I believe in dogs.

I saw that thing one summer when I was living in NYC and would see ANYTHING to be inside an air-conditioned theater.....Yes, it was that long ago. ANYTHING. Even "Godspell."

Day by Day is one of the earliest songs I ever remember learning.

Godspell only works if you lived through the time when hippies were a thing.

Wasn't Godspell originally supposed to be a satire of the life of Jesus? But because of the times and young people searching for some connection, it actually became more meaningful?

[quote]Didn't David Haskell play Jesus in the original NY production?

No, David played the Judas character in the original that played Cherry Lane Theatre.

Film came out the same year as "Jesus Christ Superstar." What a year.

It was people reaching for meaning after processing the horror of the last decade that preceded it. Multiple assassinations, the war, a breakdown of traditional society......people were SHOOK.

Why is ti called 'Godspell'? Is it a play on 'gospel'?

Yes, R24.

The iconic poster is beautiful and done by the same guy who did the original "Follies" poster.

Having gone to Catholic grade and high schools, Godspell was a staple. We all knew the songs well.

My favorite song of all is "By My Side" which was retained from the original, original production and not composed by Schwartz.