Godspell - Garrick Theatre

Godspell must now be one of the most challenging musicals to pull off successfully. You need to be modern enough to be relevant, while at the same time embracing the spirit of a time and place unfortunately long gone (well the time and place aren't LONG gone, but the spirit certainly is!). In this I think Garrick's Godspell has succeeded admirably. The very simple and sparse set, combined with bright costumes help the audience to focus their attention exactly where they should be, with the actors! Luke Taafe gives his best performance yet as Jesus, maintaining an openness and childlikeness that can really only be compared to Alannis Morisette in Dogma. He exudes joy and wisdom, while avoiding the arrogance that can so easily creep in to this role. The entire ensemble also deserve kudos for their full on embracing of the innocence required to pull this show off successfully, which is very difficult in this all too cynical world. Special mention must go to Leesa Crosby, who seems like she was born to play this style of theatre... a flower child in real life perhaps?! Well done to all involved, especially director Carolyn, a difficult task achieved well.

The cast were very dynamic which made this work well. Very good ensemble work and solos, with only one song lost in the band when Jesus was up stage centre. Musicicians were very good. The opening number was done in torchlight to allow for individual solos, but the torches need to all have a wide beam and the actors need to ensure they can see the torch light in their eyes as we saw a lot of chins and only a few faces. The torch light can still come from underneath the face to keep the dark eye socket effect, just need to practice it. Lighting for the ensemble work was a good stage wash with no one in shadow, even when standing on a table and there were a few specials, but the musical could have had a lot more atmosphere for the solos. The Garrick stage could use borders to tidy up above the stage. Nice to see musicals back in the Garrick's repetoire as they do them well.

This is such a fantastic show that even an all-too-cynical one like myself enjoyed every minute of it. Well done to every member of the cast who are all on stage during the whole show. Must be an exhausting feat, but every single person maintained a high level of performance through the whole two hours. The band was fantastic and (yes, I was watching) also kept up their own stage presence, too. Technicality-wise, I agree with all the comments made in the first two reviews by the technical experts - so no need to repeat. Though many congratulations to Director Carolyn Latter for such effective staging. *Allegedly* there was a disgruntled walk-out or two during this particular performance, but it seems to be the flavour-of-the-month to have a strong personal reaction to plays in Perth with religious themes... Perhaps Garrick will end up with its own thread in the West online forums too..? If it does, it would definitely bode well to book as soon as you can to see this entertaining musical. Well worth the $20 ticket!!

I attended the Wednesday performance this week, and I must say that this was the most fun I have had watching theatre in a long time. I was at the opening night of Miss Saigon, which was fantastic, but I enjoyed Garrick's Godspell more! I walked into the theatre to an open stage - no flats, no curtain, all the warts showing, the stage strewn with newspaper and a linkmesh fence. I was a bit disappointed at the beginning. I thought Jesus's opening monologue to be rather rushed, and flat. Then the performers launched into "Tower of Babel" and I was blown away! The show flowed beautifully from song to well known song, interspersed with the parables of St Matthews version of the Gospel. The performers were enthusiastic and talented, and brought joy to the stage. Godspell is a real ensemble piece, so I won't pick out individuals. Suffice to say that I had a great time, and REALLY found it hard to stop myself singing along with the cast. I just wanted to jump up on the stage and join them. A couple of members of the cast were showing the signs of what is a very long season - a couple of croaky voices, though this was excused by this reviewer because of the energy that was delivered by all performers. To quote from the show "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak". I must question the decision to mic the stage. Garrick is a very small space - only 10 rows. I found the only time I noticed the amplification was in the very quiet moments, when the mics did a stirling job of amplifying the rustling of paper on the stage. All in all - I had a great night and would recommend it to all. Well done Garrick.