{"id":5283,"date":"2013-03-16T23:49:42","date_gmt":"2013-03-17T06:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=5283"},"modified":"2013-03-16T23:49:42","modified_gmt":"2013-03-17T06:49:42","slug":"pacifica-spindrift-players-godspell-soars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/pacifica-spindrift-players-godspell-soars\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacifica Spindrift Players \u201cGodspell\u201d Soars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pacifica Spindrift Players\u2019 current production of the musical Godspell<\/span> is full of such good fun, good singing, inspired stagecraft, a great score creatively adapted by the cast and the production team, and something that you don\u2019t get in every musical\u2014a message. \u201cGodspell\u201d is an archaic spelling of gospel, here cast in modern music and dance, and more than a little free-form improv.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, there\u2019s no preaching here, even though Jesus (Darius Rose) \u00a0has center stage here, of course.\u00a0 He shares it with John the Baptist, Abraham, characters from Biblical parables and Greek mythology, and latter-day flower-children.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of laughs, and the most memorable music in the uplifting first act.\u00a0 Almost every song is a show stopper, from the gathering of philosophers lost in their own ideas in the hilarious \u201cTower of Babble\u201d that opens the show, through Calypso\u2019s (Jenna Smith) stunning performance of \u201cO, Bless the Lord My Soul\u201d and the charming vaudevillian soft-shoe take on \u201cAll for the Best.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are three \u201cswine\u201d on the stage for a few minutes, but everyone gets a chance to ham it up.\u00a0 There\u2019s an inspired bit of parable in the form of a sock-puppet show.\u00a0 The entire cast is onstage the whole show, and everyone in the ensemble\u2014more than I have space to mention \u00a0here\u2014gets a turn in the spotlight.\u00a0 \u00a0A live band secluded onstage accompanies the singing. It\u2019s a happy production.<\/p>\n

It turns somber after the intermission.\u00a0 Those who know the real story know what\u2019s coming.\u00a0 The party\u2019s over.\u00a0 Judgment is at hand, temptation waits in the wings, a failure of faith, betrayal.\u00a0 The music sets the mood, especially the touching \u201cBy My Side.\u201d \u00a0Judas has been an edgy character on the stage throughout the show, and here we see the complexity that John Espejo has brought to the role.\u00a0 \u201cOn the Willows\u201d puts us at the scene of the crucifixtion.\u00a0 The industrial scaffolding that has been part of the stagecraft suddenly takes on a new and deeper meaning. The lesson here, repeated in so many ways throughout the show, is or could be the framework on which we build our own lives:\u00a0 Love your neighbor.<\/p>\n

Through March 31.\u00a0 Box office:\u00a0 650-359-8002<\/p>\n

Pacifica Spindrift Players website:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.pacificaspindriftplayers.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

David Hirzel website:\u00a0 http:\/\/davidhirzel.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pacifica Spindrift Players\u2019 current production of the musical Godspell is full of such good fun, good singing, inspired stagecraft, a great score creatively adapted by the cast and the production…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[313,716,315,281,314,316],"class_list":{"0":"post-5283","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-david-hirzel","7":"tag-bay-area-musical-theatre","8":"tag-david-hirzel","9":"tag-godspell","10":"tag-musical-theater","11":"tag-pacifica-spindrift-players","12":"tag-pacifica-theatre"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"