UW Snowy Range Summer Theatre Presents Godspell June 28

The 2016 Snowy Range Summer Theatre season continues with a spirited revival of the beloved Broadway musical “Godspell,” a timeless tale of friendship, loyalty and love.

Presented by the University of Wyoming Department of Theatre and Dance, and directed by UW Department Head Leigh Selting, “Godspell” runs June 28-July 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the new Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts Thrust Theatre.

Tickets cost $10 for the public, and $7 for students, senior citizens and children age 5 and older. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more people. For tickets and information, call (307) 766-6666, go online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts, or visit the Performing Arts box office or the Wyoming Union information desk.

Stephen Schwartz’s groundbreaking, energetic musical, based on the Gospel of St. Matthew, is a celebration of worldwide community, filled with irresistible goodwill. The “Godspell” 2012 revival is a retelling of the original production, injected with contemporary references and new arrangements. The family-friendly production is a perpetual favorite.

Led by the international hit “Day by Day,” “Godspell” features popular songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, including “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord,” “Learn Your Lessons Well,” “All for the Best,” “All Good Gifts,” “Turn Back, O Man” and “By My Side.”

The musical follows a contemporary Jesus Christ and his group of followers as they use a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques and comic timing to bring Jesus’ parables and message humanely to life.

The first major musical theater offering from three-time Grammy and Academy Award winner Schwartz (“Wicked,” “Pippin” and “Children of Eden”), “Godspell” was a major hit when it opened in 1971. Playwright John Michael Tebelak already had produced a successful play of the same name in New York City, but he felt the piece needed music. He turned to a then-unknown composer Schwartz, who, using a blend of his own words and lyrics from the Episcopal Hymnal, constructed a vibrant score to match Tebelak’s moving libretto.

The musical became one of the biggest off-Broadway and Broadway successes of all time, running for nearly 2,600 performances and earning a 1972 Grammy Award for Best Score (Original Cast Album) and a 1977 Tony nomination for Best Original Score. A film version of the musical was released in 1973, set in modern New York, and starring Victor Garber as Jesus and David Haskell as John the Baptist/Judas.

For more information about the production, call Kathy Kirkaldie, UW Fine Arts coordinator, at (307) 766-2160 or email kirsik@uwyo.edu, or visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/thd/whats-playing/snowy-range-festival/summer%20theatre.html.