"Godspell" (a play on the word 'gospel') lived in the shadows--as an off-Broadway musical, a roadshow production, and as a motion picture--of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "Jesus Christ Superstar". It doesn't help that the pocket of post-flower power young people who make up the cast are outfitted like happy refugees from a carnival: thrift-shop chic with vaudevillian makeup (it smacks of preciousness, and perhaps an old fogy's idea of being 'alive' and free). It's The Gospel According to Matthew as a Rock Musical (what a come on!), and yet the music isn't rock: it's ersatz folk. The real star of this movie-adaptation is New York City (looking beguilingly nonthreatening); cinematographer Richard Heimann gets some stunning shots of the Big Apple that are (as seen today) both wistful and vulnerable: lonely skyscrapers with only one another for company. The cast has been encouraged to play-up to the camera--to exaggerate, both comedically and dramatically, their actions and responses--so that audiences will respond only to what's in the moment. This may be why the picture barely leaves a trace of itself in the memory. "Day by Day" was the sole hit from the stage show, and no wonder: the rest is a whirling-twirling blur. ** from ****
Review of Godspell
