Production Tips

Magic Props

Stephen Nathan, who played Jesus in the original New York production of Godspell at Cherry Lane, had been a fan of magic for many years. He knew that a few magic tricks could make a show seem more entertaining. He brought in props from his own collection, and many of them are suggested in the script.

Appearing Bouquet

Appearing Bouquet MAGIC APPEARING BOUQUET or APPEARING FLOWER MAGIC TRICK sometimes used by the actor playing Jesus after speaking the lines: “Consider the lilies of the field. They don’t work, they don’t spin, and yet I tell you, Solomon in all his splendor was not attired like one of these.”

Magic Color-changing Hanky

Actors playing Jesus sometimes use this during the phrase “…don’t let your right hand know…what your left hand is doing.” Magic Color-Changing Hanky – Easy Magic Trick with Silks

Appearing Cane

In productions of Godspell, Jesus and Judas often use the magic trick of the appearing cane and then dance with the cane in the part of the song. You can see an example of this on a Youtube version of the song sun by original cast members Stephen Nathan and David Haskell about 20 or 30 years after their first performance. All for the Best

Get ready for “All for the Best” soft-shoe dance. Find “Appearing Cane” or other illusions at Amazon.com: Appearing Cane

Colored Streamers

In the original production of Godspell, JOANNE sang from a platform as the other cast members picked up long ribbon streamers and began to twirl them, rhythmic gymnastics style. At the end the streamers were tossed into the air.

Colored streamers for “Bless the Lord” Ribbon Wand Set, 3 Feet to 6 feet

Costumes

In the original production, the actor playing Jesus wore a Superman tshirt such as like this one: SUPERMAN “CLASSIC SHIELD” Long Sleeves Royal Blue Licensed Tee and rainbow suspenders Contractor Series 2″ Wide Colorful Suspenders (Rainbow)

“…The point of the costumes in GODSPELL, whatever their style, should be that these eight people are replacing their daily clothes with something hastily put together which sets them apart from society and becomes an outward manifestation of their decision to follow the Jesus character. In the original production, the characters were never intended to be hippies, but rather to have chosen to put on bright, more colorful and slapdash raiment to match the sort of “contemporary clown” look that Jesus had…..” — Stephen Schwartz notes from his discussion forum.

 

Special Instruments