By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
Director Tanya Haas was in a production of Godspell in high school and told The Reporter it remains one of the most memorable theater experiences of her life. Now she is at the helm as the director of Carmel Community Players (CCP) in their youth production of the same show.
“For the last several years I had been thinking I’d really like to direct a youth production of Godspell at some point, and the opportunity presented itself,” Haas said. ”I decided to submit it to CCP and it was accepted. I was thrilled to be able to start the process of putting together a production that I hoped would be as memorable to my cast as it was to me.”
Haas was raised Catholic and thus was familiar with the material of the play when she was in high school, but the play itself offered more than she expected.
“It was a unique way of presenting the stories that made them not so serious but still gave the message – and they were all positive messages,” Haas said. “It was fun to bring those stories alive in a new way. The music was amazing. Stephen Schwartz wrote Godspell, but these days he is probably more famous for writing Wicked. The music always stuck with me ever since that time.”
The cast sings “Day by Day” during a rehearsal of Godspell. (Seated) Rachel Bush and Mason Yeater. (Standing, from left) Isabella Bardos, Tatum Meadors, Emmy Bobenmoyer, Morgan Rusbasan, Quincy Russell, and Greta Shambarger. (Photo provided)
Because of her own experience in Godspell, especially at the end of the show, Haas said she felt the need to warn her cast about what they might feel along the way.
“Towards the end of Jesus’s life, which is portrayed in the show, there’s emotions that go along with that saying goodbye to him that I didn’t realize at the time would affect me as much as they did,” Haas said. “I warned my cast before we started getting to that scene that when I had done it a lot of our cast was in tears on stage every night when it got to that part. They kind of laughed about it, but the very first time we rehearsed the scene I had several cast members who were also breaking down in tears from the overwhelming emotions that went along with that.”
The cast in CCP’s Godspell ranges from 10 to 18 years of age and has a wide variety of experience to bring to this show.
“There are a few cast members this is the first time they’ve ever been in a musical before,” Haas said.
There are other members of that cast who come with a surprising amount of experience.
“I have, for instance, the 10-year-old,” Haas said. “I granted her an exception to be in the cast because it was supposed to only be for middle schoolers up and she was younger, but she already had quite the resume of work under her belt.”
Godspell is staging June 16 to 25 at Ivy Tech Auditorium, 200 N. 17th St., Noblesville. Because this is a musical, tickets are $20 for adults 18 and older, $18 for seniors 62 and older and for students with ID.
“Even though it’s a religiously based story. I would hope that the messages would appeal to everyone no matter what their religious or spiritual ideals might be,” Haas told The Reporter. “It is about living the best life you can and not just living for yourself. I would hope that that would be a message that would reach across all demographics.”
Go to carmelplayers.org/tickets or call (317) 815-9387 for tickets.