Godspell to play final performance on 24 Jun 2012

The Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz's Godspell will play its final performance on 24 Jun 2012. When the show closes it will have played 30 previews and 264 regular performances.

The show has struggled recently, with house capacity last week at only 46%. On the 5 Jun 2012 lead producer Ken Davenport blogged "Godspell has a heck of a lot riding on that Tony performance, as well as tourist traffic over the next couple of weeks. If I don't see a sizable uptick in sales? Well, in that case . . . Godspell may close on Sunday, June 24th. Is that a definite? Nope."

Commenting on the official announcesment that the show is to close Davenport said, "I've never been more proud of a show than I am of Godspell. For nine months this incredible company of performers brought joy into the hearts of more than 153,000 people (and blasted them with over 1,000 pounds of confetti) ... forever changing their lives, and mine as well. And while this production of Godspell may not be at Circle in the Square past the 24th of June, it will be in our hearts and the hearts of everyone who saw it forever."

Godspell opened at the Circle in the Square on 7 Nov 2011, following previews from 13 Oct 2011.

The show opened to mixed reviews: It's entertainment, not great theatre (newyorktheatreguide); Brightly colorful & sticky-sweet (NYP); The show's warm heart manages to glow through the glitz (Back Stage); A show for the ADD generation (Record); Surprisingly irresistible (NY1).

Godspell stars Corbin Bleu (Jesus), Telly Leung, Uzo Aduba, Nick Blaemire, Morgan James, Wallace Smith (Judas), Hannah Elless, Celisse Henderson, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle and George Salazar.

Godspell is a modern-day version of the gospel of Matthew. John the Baptist calls a group of young disciples to leave their daily lives and follow Jesus the Christ. Jesus explains the gospel to his followers, leading them in acting out the parables using song, mime and comedy.

Godspell features music and new lyricss by Academy and Grammy Award winner and six time Tony Award nominee Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin), which includes recognizable songs, such as "Day by Day", that have become staples of both the American musical theatre and popular culture alike.

The Broadway revival reunites director Daniel Goldstein (Boradway debut) and choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Tony Award-winner: South Pacific), and the creative team of the critically-acclaimed 2006 Paper Mill Playhouse production of Godspell.

The musical features scenic design by David Korins (Passing Strange, Bridge and Tunnel), costume design by Miranda Hoffman (Well), lighting design by Ben Stanton (Angels in America) and orchestrations by Michael Holland (Hurricane).

The original production of Godspell opened off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre on 13 May 1971 and in August of 1971 moved to the larger Promenade Theatre where it ran for 2,124 performances making it one of the longest running Off-Broadway musicals in history.

After five years of sold-out audiences Off-Broadway, Godspell made its Broadway debut on 22 Jun 1976 at the Broadhurst Theatre. The show moved to the Plymouth and the Ambassador before closing on 4 Sep 1977 after 527 performances. In all, the musical achieved more than 2,600 performances both on Broadway and off.