NEWS/REVIEWS

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May 2012
Godspell by John Michael Tebelak

By Jon Moreno - Friday, May 18, 2012
(reproduced by kind permission of
the Isle of Wight County Press)

THE hit musical Godspell is not everyone’s cup of tea — and certainly not mine — but the young per formers of Cowes Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society did their very best to make it an entertaining and interesting spectacle.

Based on the gospel of St Matthew, Godspell became one of the biggest Broadway successes of all time and I can’t knock that.

However, this was the first Godspell I have watched that does
deserve much credit.

It was obvious the cast had been working hard on the production, which speaks volumes for directors Alex Quilter and Daphne Brown.

The players were confident, talented in the main and, importantly for ensemble pieces such as this, gelled well as a team.

Paul Arnold, as Christ, led the line pretty well and there were
several notable performances, with each player making some
ldnd of mark.

The performance of Zoe Divers, 15, caught the eye, particularly with her rendition of Tum Back, O Man as she seduced her way around the audience, stroking them with her feather boa.

But the real stand out performance came from Victoria Pitt. Right throughout Godspell she showed great enthusiasm in everything she did. Her vocal rendition of O Bless the Lord was tremendous and she oozed confidence.

The show got serious with the crucifixion scene but the mood was resurrected with the uplifting signature hit Day By Day for the finale, which got the audience clapping along.

I may not like Godspell, but I did appreciate what was a commendable nerformance.