The message of the musical is appropriate any time of the year, but “Godspell” is especially meaningful during the Easter season.

“It is the perfect time of year for this show,” says Kaleb Oswald of Connellsville, who portrays both John the Baptist and Judas in the Actors and Artists of Fayette County production April 11-14 at Geyer Performing Arts Center, Scottdale. “It’s a story that everyone is familiar with and is near and dear to so many people’s hearts.”

The musical is a retelling of the Gospel of Matthew set in modern-day New York City. The disciples of Jesus spread his message of love and tolerance through the city streets as the time gets closer to Jesus’s betrayal at the hands of Judas and his eventual crucifixion.

Meeting the challenges

For Oswald, his biggest challenge and also the most fun part of his two-character role is conveying to audiences which biblical character he is representing in certain scenes – alternating from the man who baptized Jesus to the man who ultimately betrays him – without announcing it verbally.

“I wanted to do this production because of the challenge of pulling it off with such a small cast,” he says. “It is underrated in level of difficulty. I did this show when I was a freshman in high school, and it was a vastly different production.”

Jessie Glover of Greensburg portrays Jesus in the AAFC production and says his role requires learning a lot of dialogue.

“Jesus has quite a lot to say, and I’m not used to that kind of role,” he says.

He also performs several songs in the show, including “God Save the People,” “Alas for You” and his favorite musical number, “All for the Best,” because “it’s such a jaunty and old-time radio song.”

‘A healthy dose of humor’

Glover, who most recently was featured as Bobby in “A Chorus Line” at the Geyer, says he feels audiences will enjoy the format of the musical, which is “a fun show for all ages, injected with a healthy dose of humor.”

“I think viewers should be aware that this isn’t going to be like the original ‘Godspell,’ he says. “You certainly haven’t seen our version before.”

The musical is directed by Mike Hamilla of Smithfield, who says the show is very light in terms of content and music and is family-friendly, appropriate for theatergoers of all ages.

“We are adding a lot of depth to our production and building a show with more layers than you typically see in ‘Godspell,’” he says. With the cast onstage for the entire show, even the more seasoned actors are challenged by the production.

“The script offers very little in terms of character descriptions and blocking,” the director says, leaving the tasks of creating both up to him and the cast.

Live musical accompaniment

In charge of the show’s music is Steve Clark of Connellsville, “a brilliant music director and just a great guy to have around,” according to Hamilla. “He is shaping the music produced by the cast into an impressive wall of sound. Our cast is full of wildly talented vocalists and we will have a live band.”

The musical score features the popular folk rock ballad “Day by Day” from the 1971 Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak musical, as well as “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord,” “Learn Your Lessons Well,” “By My Side” and more.

Shawn Conway is stage manager, Kellie Wilson is choreographer and Tyler Kluck is technical director.

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