Nicholas Edwards
Reviews were generally positive for Berkshire Theatre Group’s revival of Godspell, which opened August 7 (and runs until September 4) in a tent outside the company’s Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Mass. The production is the first (and only) Equity-approved live musical since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The creative team includes John-Michael Tebelak (book), Stephen Schwartz (music, lyrics), Alan Filderman (direction), Gerry McIntyre (choreography), Andrew Baumer (music direction), Randall Parsons (sets), Hunter Kaczorowski (costumes), Matthew E. Adelson (lights), and Nathan Leigh (sound). The cast includes Nicholas Edwards (Jesus), Tim Jones (Judas), and Hanna Koczela (Host) with Alex Getlin, Najah Hetsberger, Kimberly Immanuel, Isabel Jordan, Emily Koch, Brandon Lee, Dan Rosales, Michael Wartella, and Zach Williams.
The Berkshire Eagle (Lily Goldberg): “BTG’s Godspell chooses to embrace the vulnerability of current theater and champions the resilience of its 10-person company. … Among the themes tackled in Godspell is betrayal. … But Godspell offers a way out from the devastation of betrayal: radical faith. … Faith in each other and the importance of sharing live art is what drove these theater-makers to submit themselves to twice-weekly testing, what helped them adapt to plexiglass and temperature checks, what gave them the bravery to leave their friends and families to live with one another, and what allowed them the chance to share, with tears and triumph, their joyful noise with audiences once again.”
Broadway World (Marc Savitt): “One of the highlights of this production is ‘Beautiful City.’ … Nicholas Edwards’ performance is both poignant and powerful. It drives home what may be the prevailing point to take away. Despite the challenges thrust upon us, although we may not be able to gather in ways we’ve grown accustomed to, we can still be collaborative, supportive, and nurturing. … You will experience a new, fresh, relevant, powerful, topical, and most certainly different production. You will also be making history as part of what many see as the rebirth of theatre in America.”
New York Stage Review (Bob Verini): “Godspell is a particularly apt choice for our present situation. … Hints of socially engaged folk music tie into the show’s inevitable pivot away from COVID to an even more virulent societal disease. … There are all the lessons about loving your enemies, and turning the other cheek, and appreciating the value of every human life. … In 50 years I’ve yet to encounter a single Godspell, pro or am, that didn’t seek to address its historical moment. This one succeeds more than most. … BTG’s Godspell offers lots of pleasure, deserving of our thanks. If, to quote one last rock star, you can’t always get what you want, it’s awfully nice to want what you can get.”
The New York Times (Ben Brantley): “The very existence of this version of John-Michael Tebelak and Stephen Schwartz’s half-century-old slice of story-theater uplift qualifies as something of a miracle. … In reimagining a string of biblical life lessons and folkified hymns and gospel songs for the age of the coronavirus, Mr. Filderman and company are speaking to contemporary fears bred by isolation and inaction. … As a metaphor for how so many of us have been living since March, this form of theatrical communication feels both heartbreaking and valiant. We adapt, we make do, even as we long to return to the age of the handshake and the hug.”