BY KAREN BOSSICK
You may have your own ideas about Judas Iscariot.
Kevin Wade thinks the man commonly reviled for betraying Jesus simply cared so much about Jesus that he turned him over to the High Priest thinking it would save Jesus.
That’s the Jesus the audience will see in “Godspell,” the musical being presented by St. Thomas Playhouse’s Summer Theater Project at 7 p.m. tonight through Saturday, June 24, at Community School Theatre in Sun Valley.
“Throughout, Judas is afraid that something is going to happen to Jesus because people hate him so much. And this drives him to make a really bad decision,” said Wade, who is directing the musical.
“Godspell” took the world by storm when it debuted off-Broadway in 1971 as the soft rock alternative to the hard rock of “Hair.”
The Summer Theater Project for youth staged it 10 years ago and decided to bring it back this year in celebration of that anniversary and the theater project’s 15th anniversary.
All the familiar songs, including “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord” and “Day By Day,” which reached No. 13 on the Billboard pop chart, will be reprised.
But, under Wade’s direction, the musical is set in an abandoned warehouse in contemporary times. The warehouse is full of people, who are turned into community by Jesus.
“I like to find the gritty in everything I do because I believe it’s the things people go through that transform their lives,” he said.
Isaac Brannon will play both John the Baptist and Judas Iscariot. Anik Zarkos will play Jesus.
“I’ve never thought of Jesus as gendered. In fact we just use the name, ‘Jesus is going to do this…’ We never say he or she. But Anik is bringing some incredible grounded kind energy to the role,” said Wade.
“Godspell,” which enjoyed a revival on Broadway in 2011, started as a master’s thesis college project performed by students at Carnegie Mellon University.
The music, composed by Carnegie Mellon alumnus Stephen Schwartz who went on to do “Wicked” and “Children of Eden,” features a series of parables like the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan taken from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke interspersed with contemporary pop, folk rock, gospel and vaudeville music set to lyrics from traditional hymns in the Episcopal Hymnal.
The Rev. Ken Brannon, Sara Gorby and Dorinda Rendahl have provided a scriptural context to the musical.
“I thought the Good Samaritan was just someone who happened to come by. But they told me how the Samaritans were the social pariahs of their time and place. And knowing that brings even more meaning to the parable,” said Wade.
Wade is dwelling on the grittier aspects of homeless people living in the abandoned factory, who are turned into community by Jesus.
“I like to find the gritty in everything I do because I believe it’s the things people go through that transform their lives,” he said.
“Godspell” is a new experience for the young actors in that each of the 15 cast members is required to be on stage during the entire two-hour run. But that has made their community tighter. Wade hopes the musical will have the same impact on viewers.
“The musical asks: How can we come together? How can we embrace one another? The message for me is to be kind to others,” Wade said. “Everything stems from that.”
Tickets are $12 for youngsters under 18 and $20 for adults, available at www.stthomasplayhouse.org or by calling 208-726-5349, extension 15.
CAST MEMBERS:
In addition to Isaac Brannon and Anik Zarkos, cast members include Kagen Albright, Alec England, Sarah Feltman, Kayla Hanson, Annabelle Lewis, Megan Mahoney, Julia Ott, Spencer Pfau, Kendall Piggins, Gina Pulleiro, Wyatt Root, Elena Vorm and Annabel Webster.
Direction is by Kevin Wade, music by Dorinda Rendahl, choreography by Peter Burke and Sara Gorby and vocal coaching by Grant Carey.