Arts & Entertainment
Review: 'Godspell' by Naugatuck Teen Theater
Local teens are joined by some from a lot father away in this joyous production of the original version of 'Godspell.'
All photos of the cast by Robert Rosa
Naugatuck CT - The long-established Naugatuck Teen Theater opened their most joyful fall production of ‘Godspell’ at St. Michael’s Church Parish Hall on Friday evening. Stephen Schwartz’s collaboration with John-Michael Tebelak remains one of my favorite shows and despite the fact that I have seen numerous productions, it never gets old. Every production is a new one for me and I always look forward to see what stamp a director will put on their production.
Community theatre veteran Matt Cornish stepped up to serve as director at NTT for the first time; he comes to Naugatuck after having been the director of the theatre program at East Catholic High School for five years and having worked in youth theatre for more than a decade. This experience showed in his beautiful staging of the perfect show for young performers. He was grateful to this cast for their choices, energy and excitement that was evident throughout and in his thoughtful director’s note he focused on why our need for a caring community makes ‘Godspell’ still relevant.
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I was pleased to hear that the production team decided to use the original ‘Godspell’ score, the classic versions of the songs, if you will. I am on record of not being a fan of all the changes that were made to the music for the most current production that ran on Broadway, so it was a treat for me to hear the arrangements that I have memorized from the vinyl cast album and remember from my first Broadway production that I experienced as a young teen a very long time ago.
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NTT’s ‘Godspell’ runs through November 13 at St. Michael’s Church Parish Hall on Church Street and is sponsored by Webster Bank. Come out to support a great group of area teens as they shine in their joyful fall musical. Tickets can be purchased online at naugatuckteentheater.com or the NTT Facebook page. Show dates are Nov. 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for seniors and $15 for adults.
