THEATER REVIEW: ‘Godspell’ expands to fill stage

Those familiar with the musical “Godspell” will remember that the show features 13 characters, representing Jesus and the 12 disciples. So what happens when you have a significantly larger stage on which to present it?

Director Donna Inglima, who heads the Laguna Playhouse’s Youth Theater, has the answer — she has added eight more bodies, making a cast of 20 for her sprawling production, currently performing on the playhouse boards.

“Godspell,” a 1970 musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak, is a modern retelling of the biblical parables such as the prodigal son and the good Samaritan. Its New Testament message of love and tolerance encompasses the stage and overflows into the audience.

The show relates Jesus’ teachings in today’s terms, typically played against a modern, urban backdrop. The Laguna version features a panoramic, graffiti-laden back alley junkyard, meticulously designed by Joe Lauderdale, Inglima’s predecessor as Youth Theater director.

In the central role of Jesus, Andy Crisp is a benign, spiritual presence, so low key in his presentation that his tougher, more serious moments in the second act never really hit their mark. More effective is Silvie Zamora, who doubles fervently in the roles of John the Baptist and Judas — assignments usually filled by a male actor.

With such a huge cast, the opportunity for individual accomplishment is lessened. Nevertheless, a few standouts emerge, such as Ashley Nelson’s toe-tapping solo “Learn Your Lessons Well” and Victoria Hogan’s torchy “Turn Back, Oh Man,” which opens the second act.

A pair of adults — Charlie McClung and Claire Day — are mixed in with the young people, and we realize why late in the show when both strum guitars to accompany the kids’ “On the Willows” number.

Sophia Tupy heads up a spirited rendition of “We Beseech Thee” just before things get darker.

With choreographer Ellen Price instilling some fine, natural movement and musical director Roxanna Ward heading a three-piece combo offstage, Laguna’s young “Godspell” radiates energy and dedication. The show contains a prologue — a sort of tower of babble — in which the great thinkers of history, from Socrates to Buckminster Fuller, expound on their philosophies before John the Baptist scatters them with his opening number, “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord.” It may have seemed like a good idea to Schwartz and Tebelak at the time, but it’s both tedious and superfluous — and often discarded.

“Godspell” has nearly four decades on its odometer and is frequently revived. Yet the show continues to captivate whether its audience is religious or not.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Godspell”

WHERE: Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road

WHEN: Closing performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday

COST: $16 to $20

CALL: (949) 497-2787

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Coastline Pilot.