GODSPELL at the Wilmette Theatre - This Weekend ONLY!

Raise your spirits with a timeless tale of friendship, loyalty and love and walk away a believer in the power of musical theatre. Students in Actors Training Center’s (ATC) Musical Theatre Intensive – a three-week summer theatre workshop – will stage a production of the musical GODSPELL on July 11th at 1pm and July 12th at 4pm & 7pm at the Wilmette Theatre. Tickets are $15, www.wilmettetheatre.com.

This energetic and exhilarating pop musical is a joyous celebration of the Gospel According to Matthew, filled with irresistible goodwill and popular hit songs such as “Learn Your Lessons Well” and “Day by Day.” GODSPELL exploded off-Broadway in 1971 and has played worldwide since, including a Broadway revival in their 2011-12 season.

This is a summer theatre intensive workshop in which students are tasked with rehearsing for the show in only three short weeks.

“At ATC, we ‘train to work,’ and so the students involved in this production will get the true experience of working in the theatre as if it were a real job,” said Carole Dibo, Founder of ATC. “The hours are intensive, jam-packed and fun-filled, and the result, after three weeks of work, is a fully realized production of a classic musical.”

GODSPELL tells the story of a small group of people who help Jesus Christ tell different parables by using a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques, and a hefty dose of comic timing. An eclectic blend of songs ranging in style from pop to vaudeville is employed as the story of Jesus’s life dances across the stage. Dissolving hauntingly into the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, Jesus’s messages of kindness, tolerance, and love come vibrantly to life.

When asked why GODSPELL is still relevant 40 years later, Stephen Schwartz said: “GODSPELL, at its heart, is about the formation of a community out of disparate people coming together over very basic and simple philosophical concepts, such as: ‘Always treat others as you would have them treat you’ or (as Jesus says to his followers), ‘Anything you do for one of your brothers here, you do for me.’ These are concepts that don’t seem very present now in our way of dealing with one another, and therefore I think they have great current relevance, as something our society needs to try to return to. That being said, GODSPELL is never intended to be preachy or to be a ‘Sunday school lesson.’ It’s funny and joyous, so I don’t mean to imply a kind of earnestness in the intention of this production. But that’s why I think it has particular relevance at this time.

Cast members include: Frankie Nayman as Jesus Christ; Riley Oh as Judas; Anthony Milunas, Carly Meyer, Ellyn Cunningham, Erin Mullen, Faith Stineman, Gavin Leahy, Gemma Gardner, Halle Powell, Jordyn Pritsker, Laura Stone and Spencer Rosin, as disciples.

Jermaine Hill is music director and Jeff Award winner Janet Louer directs the production.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased on-line, at www.wilmettetheatre.com, by phone, at (847) 251-7424 or at the theatre box office located at 1122 Central Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.

About Actors Training Center (ATC): ATC provides professional-level, process-driven classes for children from kindergarten through 12th grade and adults. Courses in acting, improve, physical theatre, on-camera and musical theatre are offered at the school. Need-based scholarships are also available. For more information about ATC and to purchase tickets, please visit: www.actorstrainingcenter.com