Decades before treading upon the yellow brick road, Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz’s reign of theater royalty was ushered in by a horse of a different color.
That horse was Godspell, which debuted off-Broadway in 1971 and earned Schwartz his first two Grammy awards. Based on the Gospel of Matthew, the acclaimed musical reframes the parables of Jesus with a contemporary setting.
Director Janelle Steller is at the helm of this local iteration of the show, which opened on Aug. 9 and is slated to run through Aug. 25 at the Santa Maria Civic Theatre (SMCT).
“Godspell feels like it has always been part of my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Steller told the Sun over email.
An SMCT member since 2021, Steller was introduced to Godspell when she joined the cast of a 2009 production of the musical with the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura.
“The show my changed my life,” said Steller, who was 20 at the time. “As someone who had only performed in high school and youth productions, it was an extremely edifying experience.”
In 2015, Steller swapped over to the director’s chair for a separate Godspell production with the Conejo Players Theatre in Thousand Oaks. She described the experience as “a dream come true.”
Steller didn’t think twice about seizing the opportunity to revisit Godspell with SMCT this year.
“I know this show like the back of my hand and was thrilled to be given another chance to bring it to life,” the director said.
When pre-production on SMCT’s Godspell began earlier this summer, Steller said there was one stretch in particular when her cast seemed to mirror Christ’s disciples in terms of how they interact at the start of the show, shortly before they unite to follow Jesus.
“One of my favorite moments in the rehearsal process is the first read-through. At that moment, for the most part, we are all strangers embarking on a journey to bring a show to life,” Steller said. “With Godspell, I believe this reflects the story we’re telling—a group of strangers brought together to learn and grow.”
“Prepare Ye” is one of the show’s earliest musical numbers, sung by the disciples while they’re baptized. From then on, Godspell has an episodic nature with scenes and songs inspired by different parables, until the show’s finale, which depicts Christ’s last supper and crucifixion.
“In my opinion, the core of this show is community. By using the parables from the book of Matthew, we learn lessons about how we should live our lives and interact with others,” Steller said. “We create a family, and then we lose our leader. In that moment, we face the decision to give up or to band together and keep moving forward.”
Since SMCT’s Godspell isn’t Steller’s first rodeo with the material or directing stage musicals in general, one of her biggest takeaways from working on this show comes off as very high praise for her cast.
“I can say, without a doubt, that this is the most hardworking and determined cast I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” Steller said. “Each individual brings something uniquely wonderful to our show. I could go on and on about my cast.”
Jaime Espinoza plays Jesus in the show and is joined onstage by seven actors who inhabit the roles of Christ’s disciples.
“I knew from the first night of auditions that Jaime was my Jesus,” Steller said. “This role is complicated and difficult, and he took every note, every direction, and every ‘maybe marinate on this thought’ to heart. I am so proud of his portrayal of Jesus—talk about pressure.”
Espinoza said that Godspell was the first musical he ever loved. He saw it for the first time in 2007 when his older sister was cast in a youth production.
“This show is very special to my family and I,” Espinoza said over email. “Getting to play Jesus is almost surreal. ... I studied a lot with this role by reading the book of Matthew, and taking notes in my script as to where in the Bible I can find where the dialogue is coming from.”
His favorite song in the show is “By My Side,” a beautifully melancholic piece (notably the sole song in Godspell not composed by Schwartz) with music by Peggy Gordon and lyrics by Jay Hamburger, sung by cast member Jessica Villasenor with support from the ensemble during the SMCT production’s second act.
“I don’t sing in the song or speak. I just react to what is happening,” Espinoza said of the tune, which opens lyrically with a question directed at Jesus: Where are you going?
“Jesus knows his fate; he doesn’t want the others to mourn him ... but he knows he has to go through with it,” Espinoza said. “He has his back turned to the cast the entire song until Judas announces to the crowd he is going to be paid to betray Jesus.”
After that spoken section of the song, Espinoza gets to turn around and face the disciples for the first time as they continue singing.
“In my mind, it is Jesus finally accepting and ... facing his fate head-on,” Espinoza said. “I get chills each time I finally get to see the cast eye to eye.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is so glad he got to write about Godspell because it’s his all-time favorite musical. Send your favorite lyrics to [email protected].
