Curtain Up
"The number of unknown young performers who have gone on to
become stars after cutting their teeth on Godspell is impressive: Gilda Radner, Jeremy Irons, Joe
Mantegna, Victor Garber and Andrea Martin among them. This production, which includes some
who are fresh out of school and others who've already made it to Broadway, boasts some
particularly strong "breakout" talent.
Chief among these is Chad Kimball, whose engaging stage presence and expressive, energetic
performance is bested only by his fine voice. Among the others, Barrett Foa (who plays Jesus) is
as hard-working as he is charismatic (far more than you can say for the more-celebrated Jesus of
Glenn Carter in the recent Jesus Christ Superstar revival on Broadway). Catherine Carpenter
offered a fine rendition of the show's most famous song, "Day by Day," trumped by the duet she
sings with the also-excellent Lucia Giannetta, "By My Side" (the only song not written by
Schwartz -- lyrics by Jay Hamburger, music by Peggy Gordon). And although they are heavily
type-cast, I very much liked Capathia Jenkins (the ubiquitous large powerfully-voiced African
American woman), Eliseo Roman (the show's Nuyorican representative) and the appealing Tim
Cain, who first came to my attention in a terrific show in the East Village called Minstrel Show
or the Lynching of William Brown.
There are songs in Godspell that are a pleasure to hear again, especially because of these actors'
efforts. Go and enjoy listening to them performed very, very well..."
~Les Gutman, Curtain Up
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