Godspell original cast

"Godspell [Original Off-Off-Broadway Cast]" (1990) Pop Vocal Original Cast, Arista Records (USA)Cast: Lamar Alford (vocals, piano), Peggy Gordon (vocals, guitar), David Haskel (vocals, shofar), Joanne Jonas, Robin Lamont, Sonia Manzano (vocals), Gilmer McCormick (vocals, guitar), Jeffery Mylett (vocals, recorder, guitar), Stephen Nathan (vocals, ukulele), Herb Braha (vocals). The Band: Steve Reinhardt (keyboards), Jesse Cutler (guitars, bass), Richard LaBonte (guitar, bass) and Ricky Shutter (drums, percussion). Composed by Stephen Schwartz, except "By My Side" (Jay Hamburger/Peggy Gordon). Digitally Remastered by Bill Inglot & Ken Perry at K Disc in L.A. Jesus Christ made a big comeback at the start of 1970s in the guise of a rock star. Perhaps it was the general disillusionment of the late '60s that sent people back to that old-time religion, or maybe it was just that, with his scraggly beard and sandals, Jesus was suddenly identifiable as the prototype of the anti-materialist hippie. In any case, his (or His) return to prominence was heralded by the success of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, which topped the American charts in February 1971. Lloyd Webber and Rice had always intended Superstar to be a stage musical, only recording the album when they failed to find the funds for a production, and they wasted little time in putting it on Broadway, opening the following October. But in between, another stage show about Jesus appeared, Godspell. It was the brainchild of John-Michael Tebelak, who had written the text as a college exercise at Carnegie-Mellon University. Tebelak brought in 23-year-old fellow alumnus Stephen Schwartz to write the music and the "new" lyrics, which, like the book, were adapted from the gospel according to St. Matthew, along with some borrowings from Mark, Luke, and John. Tebelak repeated Christ's teachings and retraced his last days in contemporary language and style, and Schwartz's songs were catchy pop/rock numbers. Though Godspell could be thought of as copying Jesus Christ Superstar, there was a crucial difference in viewpoint between the two works -- Superstar was a skeptical, secular look at Jesus, while Godspell was devout, merely updating and musicalizing Christ's story. The show opened modestly at the tiny Cherry Lane Theater off-off-Broadway in Greenwich Village on May 17, 1971, and slowly built into a worldwide phenomenon. Bell Records, then an arm of Columbia Pictures, which secured the film rights, recorded this cast album, which was released only a couple of months after the opening. (Bell was later absorbed into Arista, which reissued the album.) It sold well enough to make the upper half of the LP charts, but sales then fell off until the spring of 1972, when Bell released "Day By Day" as a single. The song hit the Top Ten in July, with the album peaking in the Top 40 in September and going gold in December. Meanwhile, the show had moved into the larger off-Broadway house, the Promenade Theater, on August 10, 1971, and settled into a long run. After five years and 2,124 performances, it finally transferred to Broadway's Broadhurst Theater on June 22, 1976, remaining on Broadway for another 527 performances. In retrospect, the original cast album is a thinly produced, imperfectly performed version of the score, but its rough edges are smoothed by the infectious enthusiasm of the cast. And the score is full of small pop masterpieces, not only the lovely "Day By Day," but also the stirring rockers "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord" and "Save the People," as well as the vaudeville pastiche "All for the Best" and the Mae West-styled "Turn Back, O Man." Schwartz's tunes are simple, but strongly melodic, and they carry the religious and spiritual sentiments in the lyrics well. No wonder the show has been performed continually somewhere in the world since the day it opened. ~ William Ruhlmann

"Godspell [1993 Studio Cast]" (03/11/1997) Pop Vocal Original Cast, Jay RecordsWhen producer/executive producer John Yap, who helmed a series of studio cast recordings of major stage musicals for the British That's Entertainment Records (or TER) label in the early '90s (subsequently reissued by Jay Records), came to Godspell, he had the advantage of being able to work with the show's composer, Stephen Schwartz, who here contributes keyboards and conducts his own original arrangements. The result is that this Godspell is close to the original 1971 off-off-Broadway version, right down to its small backing band. Schwartz and Yap have retained "Beautiful City," added to the 1973 movie version and the songs the film cut from the stage version, so this is the longest version of the score ever recorded. Schwartz has also added an unnecessary five-minute "Prologue" that is inconsistent with the style of the show and adds nothing substantive. (Note that this differs from the "Opening"/"Tower of Babel" sequence Schwartz later added for the 2001 national touring cast album.) The British cast is fine, though their performances seem more correct than spirited, and might have benefited from doing the show onstage. Their British accents are apparent, but given that, as Schwartz comments in his liner notes, many of the songs' lyrics are taken from Church of England hymns, that's not inappropriate. The album does not match the quality of the original off-off-Broadway cast album or the original soundtrack album (which remains the best recorded performance of the score), but it demonstrates that, after more than 20 years, a show that seemed rooted in its time sounds as good as ever. (The Jay Records copyeditor must have been asleep, since "Turn Back, O Man" has been rendered here as "Turn Back Old Man.") ~ William Ruhlmann

"Godspell [2000 Cast]" (01/09/2001) Soundtracks Original Cast, Varese (Japan)Music and lyrics written by Stephen Schwartz. Principal Cast: Shoshana Bean, Tim Cain, Catherine Carpenter, Will Erat, Barrett, Foa, Lucia Giannetta, Capathia Jenkins, Chad Kimball, Leslie Kritzer, Eliseo Roman. Reorded at Clinton Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Stephen Schwartz, Meredith Charles and Shawn Rozsa. All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology. Personnel: Tony Colombo (keyboards); Billy Atwell (drums, percussion). Liner Note Author: Stephen Schwartz. Recording information: Clinton Studios, NY.