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Photos by Devin Courtright/The Advocate
The cast of “Godspell” runs through the play at a dress rehearsal Tuesday. The play opened Thursday and goes through May 16 in the Studio Theater.
Peace, Love, 'Godspell'
Enthusiastic cast makes watching the classic musical a fun, enjoyable experience
The Advocate
With a graffiti-scarred brick wall in the background and a vintage Volkswagen bus on stage right, the mood is immediately set for “Godspell.”
The setting in the MHCC Studio Theater is small and intimate, perfect for this musical. From the beginning, it was clear that the cast wasn’t about to let the space close in on their performance.
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From the time they enter from the rear of the theater, the cast becomes a cohesive group. With a variety of singers from rock n’ roll to slightly operatic, each is able to be their own individual without taking away from the overall affect.
After the first number, it seems the cast is all over the place. Aside from Coleton Sticka as Jesus and Adam Davis as John the Bapist/Judas, each cast member takes on several different roles.
Each cast member is given the opportunity to shine, through both lines and solos, making this cast a true ensemble.
Lauren Luiz shows an amazingly extreme range, with getting her Southern preacher on during one tale to belting out a soulful tune in a style
Part of it is due to the fact that DeLonge sings the melody of those songs instead of Mark Hoppus, who is the bassist and the other vocalist of blink-182. DeLonge has higher (sometimes described as "whiney") style vocals, while Hoppus has a deep voice, which when harmonized sounds excellent.
In fact, the whole album has a little too much Angels and Airwaves vibe, which can best be described as space rock.
Some songs, however, have a slight reminiscence of their older style. "Native" is just that, with both DeLonge and Hoppus singing melody with fast-paced punk instrumentals. "Heart's All Gone" is also of a similar style, except DeLonge only sings backup to Hoppus, which they should do more often.
It may be important to note that the reunion of the band was initiated and catalyzed after blink-182 drummer Travis Barker was aboard a plane that crashed in 2008. He was one of few survivors and sustained near-fatal injuries with second and third degree burns.
This brought the trio together after a four-year stalemate between DeLonge and the other two.
Bottom line is, the longevity of the band is reflected in the maturing content of the music. Their last album, self-titled "blink-182," released eight years ago, broke out some of their more laid back music and mature content with lyrics talking about the hardships of adult-life and becoming fathers.
And this album is no different. It even takes another step further.
Although it is definitely not the best that blink-182 has released, it's hard to not appreciate that they did not completely flop on their comeback. Yes, the style has changed quite a bit, but that was already pretty apparent an album before. It's different, but bearable. Even enjoyable.
Most people seem to hate change, but it helps to appreciate blink-182's evolution because the original fans have grown up as well.
While much of the fan base scoffed at the idea of ever being that old ("No one likes you when you're 23 . . . ." from their song What's My Age Again?), both sides have since grown to realize that yes, they are that old now.
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