Godspell Wows the Crowds

This past weekend, Pres students sat in the Valenzuela theater waiting for their teachers to do something they normally wouldn’t do in a classroom—dance, sing, and act.

And did they. Performing Godspell—which was originally produced in 1970 by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak—meant that our already-busy Pres teachers had to commit to weeks of rehearsals to learn songs, choreography and lots of lines. For some teachers, who had never appeared on stage before, simply learning the basics of how to enter and exit the stage were a challenge in themselves.

Mrs. Perryman, for example, “tried very hard not to fall.” But, she said, even if she were to fall and her costume malfunction, she knew that it wouldn’t trouble her. “I was doing this for the right reasons,” she said. “To raise funds for TADA and celebrate the Gospel—there would be no way to fail.”

The production, which ran for two weekends, served as a fundraiser for TADA, the booster group for Presentation’s theater program. According to Jim Houle, performing arts director, the performances raised approximately $15,100.

The musical is structured as a series of parables from the Bible, primarily the Books of Matthew and Luke. Mr. Cozort, who played Jesus Christ, said the challenge for him was how to symbolically portray Jesus since, “I’m not in a robe. I don’t have a beard.”

But he must have done his job well because people have been singing his praises ever since the show closed. “Mr. Cozort has jumped to the top of my ‘Most-amazing-people-I-know list,’” said Mr. Houle. “Of course, his talent was evident to all who witnessed his live performance, but the countless hours of work he did in preparation for the show went unnoticed by the audience, who only saw his confident, relaxed, seemingly effortless portrayal of Jesus.”

Ms. Hetherington, who was in the cast thought Mr. Cozort did a breathtaking performance as Jesus. “Every time we practiced it, I was touched anew—often to the point of tears. Mr. Cozort, I think, did an amazing job of conveying Jesus’ pain and anguish.”

Mr. Buell played John the Baptist and Judas. As Judas, Mr. Buell crucified Jesus, a scene that he called his favorite. He appeared onstage with a red bandana as if he were a motorcyclist. With a bag across his shoulders and an evil smirk across his face, he captured Mr. Cozort from behind. The boxes that were used as a stairway to the cross where Mr. Cozort was crucified symbolized Mt. Calvary and the Stations of the Cross in the Bible.

Dancing and singing with her colorful costume from the 1970s , Mrs. Perryman described her experience as “Amazing. It was exactly like the play. In Tower of Babel, we were all promoting our own idea of how the world should be, but then Jesus came and we all realized that if we didn’t work together, we couldn’t build anything worth having.”

Along with Mr. Buell from the religion department, Ms. Hetherington played a follower of Jesus in Godspell. “This was my first theater experience and it was absolutely marvelous.” Not only did Ms. Hetherington have a spectacular experience, but it helped her understand the Gospel as well. She said, “To listen to and act out this message night after night led me to a much deeper appreciation of what Christianity is all about.”

This play also marked the first time on stage for science teacher Mrs. Rahmig. “I don’t break out in song and dance during biology class very often!” she said. “I struggled to learn all of the dance moves in the songs, but by the time I finally got them down, I was having a great time performing them.” It did, indeed look like the cast was having a splendid time dancing and singing together.

The musical was embedded with inside Pres jokes, current day references and full-hearted acting by the actors and actresses. In one scene, Mr. Cozort and Mr. Buell voice the characters of Star Wars. In an interview after the play, Mr. Cozort admitted with a big smile on his face, that he thought Mr. Houle purposely put in that scene for him.

The choreography of this musical is both comical, yet genius. Of course it took practice to perfect. According to Mr. Buell, “We videotaped Sara [Freitas] doing the choreography and put it on YouTube. And at night, when everyone had left, I’d put it on my projector, move some desks out of the way and memorize the choreography.”

Right after the Star Wars scene, the theater turned into a disco. With an actual disco ball flashing, and teachers dancing, the “Light of the World” dance scene gave light to Jesus as the Savior. According to techie Jocelyn San Luis, junior, “You can’t help but dance to it!”

The teachers’ acting and chemistry onstage definitely had the Presentation-we’re-a-family aura. Ms. Hetherington said, “We came to the play as strangers—most of us—and left as members of a wonderful community.” Mr. Buell and Mr. Cozort brought their friendship backstage, too. San Luis noted their harmony as one of the most memorable moments she had backstage on the set of Godspell. She said, “Mr. Buell and Mr. Cozort’s beautiful offstage and onstage bromance….beautiful.”

Jammin’ For Jesus

A new year, a new beat, and a new leader. At the request of former director and Dean of Discipline Ms. Schrader, religion teacher Mr. Buell has taken authority over the Liturgical Band this year. “I just felt like in some ways we needed to have a different kind of energy brought to [the group],” Schrader said. “I’m willing to continue being a part of the band and praying and singing with everybody. I’m just taking the back seat.”

Buell was a new teacher last year and immeditately took interest in the group. He started off as a singer and now trades off playing the piano with Ms. Ray from the English department. The group has grown larger despite the large number of seniors who have moved on since last year. The band now features two new guitarists, Mr. Pistacchi and freshman Emma McCarthy, as well as at least six new singers. “I would like to see [the group] keep just keep going, staying strong,” Buell says. With a group this big, the outlook seems promising.

Despite being fairly new to Pres, Buell is certainly not new to music. He’s directed liturgical music for nine years, he says. His experience helped him to pull off a great first performance at the opening liturgy, despite the fact that the group had only two rehearsals beforehand. “He has good energy,” says Schrader. “It’s not fair to judge him on the first one, but I think he did great.”

For Buell, though, it’s all about the music and the students. He says he’d love to add numbers, but a solid group is more important. His goal is not only for group to sound good and present themselves well, but also getting the student body involved. According to Buell, “That’s our job: to get the entire body—faculty, staff, students—to sing and participate at mass.”

As for the students in the band and choir, the consensus seems to be pretty clear. Singer Shelby DieBold, senior, said Buell’s style allows students to truly understand what they’re doing and to “really get it into your head.” Violinist Natasha Azevedo, sophomore, agrees. “He’s extremely enthusiastic and hilarious,” she said.

So it seems that the Liturgical Band is off to a strong start this year. You’ll hear them around next at the Mother Daughter liturgy on Sept. 13 and the school wide liturgy for Parish Day on Sept. 15. Remember to sing up and follow your leaders’ hand motions.  Buell said, “When someone asks you to do something and you can do it…why not?”