REVIEW: 'Godspell' shines with a distinctly Spencer twist at the Tivoli

A week ahead of Easter, "Godspell" graced the stage at the Historic Tivoli Theatre during the rare fifth weekend of March. This incarnation of the evergreen 1971 musical about the life and times of Jesus Christ was staged by the Owen County Theatre & Arts Alliance (OCTAA) and featured four showings over the weekend.

Like most productions of "Godspell," all the "disciple" characters go by the names of the actors playing them.

Unlike every other production of "Godspell," this one took place in Spencer, Indiana. A painted backdrop for the stage included landmarks from around town like the Big Chicken at the fairgrounds, the Pride Center, and even the road sign from Babbs peeking up over the skyline.

Costumes also kept the theme in Spencer with designs evocative of a colorful farmers' market. While a lot of productions of "Godspell" simply mirror the flower-power costumes of the movie version or try to make the scenery overtly modern-day, setting the scene specifically in Spencer with colorful patterns based on quilts gives the show a look that is uniquely Owen County.

"Godspell" can be a logistical challenge for a stage as compact as the one at the Tivoli. The play consists of 10 characters who are all onstage during the entire show. This, along with set dressing, props and other parts of the set tend to hinder the ability to have dynamic movement.

However, some inventive choreography and stage direction allowed the players to make use of the depth and height of the stage in novel ways. A large movable wooden platform, a riser along the back of the stage and use of milk crates to create height differences all helped expand a narrow stage into an atypical exhibition of movement despite the number of people on stage.

And the people on stage were mesmerizing. I would be remiss not to pick out each individual tree in this particular forest, as each cast member was present, distinct and a wonderful singer. It may be a bit of a cop-out to say that I didn't have a favorite solo because they were all so wonderful in their own way, but I am saying it anyway. When everyone sang together in ensemble numbers, I would put their sound up against anything you would hear at any theater in the state.

It is tricky to stand out in a crowd of characters who, even though written to be different, are essentially all goofy hippy-adjacent caricatures. The performance and personality of the actor is what can make or break a character as intentionally wafer-thin as the ones in "Godspell."

I am, however, pleased to report that the actors were up for the challenge. Each performer had a personality to their character that persisted whether they were singing, dancing or just standing and listening. I found myself occasionally scanning the background and finding additional character moments that really deepened the whole show for me.

Of course, it was difficult to tear your eyes away from Jesus in the first place: played here by Wyatt Tucker. Tucker projects a warmth and subtle happiness that evokes a kindly elementary school teacher: always friendly and caring, but never guileless. The moments when he snaps into genuine anger are authentically frightening, and his portrayals of frustration and despair were truly heartbreaking.

During Tucker's final solo, the exhibition of emotion filled the theatre up to the rafters. While some eyes might have stayed dry for that song, I can tell you two that did not—my own.

There were a few mishaps though. During one sequence, a prop fell off the stage, but the show continued without a hitch without anyone onstage even breaking character. The other was a small technical issue during the final song. The microphone that Jesus was using was either losing signal or had some kind of interference that caused it to intermittently cut out.

In this case, however, the microphone itself was fading out just as Jesus was dying. Nobody wants to have tech issues during a production, but this one in particular almost felt like providence.

"Godspell" is a musical without much irony, something that many contemporary productions rely on a lot. Because of this, the whole cast and crew need to be committed to the premise or the entire effort can just come off as naive or callow. But this production actualized the tone and delivered a glorious show.

While Jesus doesn't come back at the end of this show, I certainly would, and I can't wait to come back to see what this group does next.