New Theater Group Takes on Godspell the Musical

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Monday, November 08, 2010

Michelle Nguyen, GoLocalProv Lifestyles Contributor

The new nonprofit theater company, East Bay Players, is debuting its production of the famous musical, Godspell, in Providence this Friday, November 12th. By mixing biblical tales with a pop and rock soundtrack, this production promises to engage audiences in a modern retelling of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

"The stories may be over 2,000 years old, but the message is human and just as relevant today," said Alex Tirrell, founder and president of East Bay Players. "I think the show's pop/rock score by Stephen Schwartz (also known for the shows Children of Eden and Wicked) is also a driving force in connecting with an audience."

The Story is in the Actors

Tirrell and the director of the show, Roger Machado-Fournier, have agreed that while many parts of the original production will be maintained, the show takes on a life of its own due to the free creativity of their actors.

"Anyone who knows the traditional version of Godspell will see certain aspects that they would expect to see, from a Superman T-shirt on Jesus, to the clown makeup, and the fence creating the urban junkyard," said Machado-Fournier. "But the cast has made the characters their own." Godspell was originally written by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak in 1970, and the duo based the musical on parables from the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke, intermixing religious topics with popular music.

"The great thing about this show is that the actors are encouraged to put a lot of themselves into it. All but two actors use their own names in the show, and the audience gets to see their unique personalities, interpretations and associations with each other," said Tirrell. The theater group has also decided to sprinkle in some modern, local pop culture references to further engage Rhode Island audiences in the production.

Bringing Theater to Community

East Bay Players is a local nonprofit theater company that was recently founded by Tirrell. Its mission is to produce high-quality local theater productions and to foster an appreciation for theater and music in the East Bay community. The choice to produce Godspell as the company's first official production reflects this value of community. "The true message of the show is community," said Machado-Fournier, "and the actors and production team that I have assembled have truly built a community, and we function as a unit."

East Bay Players is also working on a theater workshop program for local youth (K-12). The workshop, which will begin this month, will provide kids with experience in all aspects of theater production, including acting, choreography, singing, costume design and stage production.

Godspell, The Auditorium in Gaige Hall, Rhode Island College, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave, Providence, 1-800-838-3006, November 12th & 13th 7:30 pm, November 14th 2 pm. Tickets $15 general admission, $10 students/seniors.

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