Beautiful City Theatre Presents GODSPELL, Beginning 1/24

GODSPELL, the new production of the 1977 Tony Award®-nominated Broadway musical, opens January 24, 2013 at the Centaur Theatre (453 St. François-Xavier). The show will run for two weeks, from January 24-26, and January 31 – February 2, 2013.

GODSPELL, originally conceived and directed by John-Michael Telebak, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin), was produced on the New York stage by Edgar Lansbury, Stuart Duncan & Joseph Beruh. It is one of the most successful Broadway and Off-Broadway shows of all time. This is the first production by brand new Montreal theatre company Beautiful City Theatre and is directed by Calli Armstrong, choreographed by Ghislaine Doté, with musical direction by David Terriault. GODSPELL features select orchestrations and arrangements by Alex Lacamoire and Michael Holland.

GODSPELL embodies the essence of Beautiful City Theatre as it explores and celebrates life, play, and the building of community. BCT's interpretation of GODSPELL highlights themes of childhood and development, playing with the universal experiences and difficulties of growing up and learning to connect with others. For this process-oriented production, the cast completed a series of clowning and ensemble building workshops to help build their own community and increase their performance repertoire. BCT is a brand New Theatre Company with humanitarian values. Its aim is to not only create and produce quality theatre but to choose projects that highlight both the challenging and inspiring aspects of humanity and the communities around us.

A rock musical based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew, GODSPELL is ultimately about a group of 13 people who come together and build a community. The show addresses messages of caring and tolerance, approaching these themes in a way that is relatable regardless of religion or spiritual identity. GODSPELL follows the life of Jesus, and includes playful performances of the parables and a poignant rendering of the crucifixion. The parables are told using a variety of theatrical traditions, including clown, mime, and vaudeville.

GODSPELL stars Alyson Wener, Dane Stewart, Elizabeth Conway, Elyse Lewis, Emily Skahan, Eva Petris, Laurent Bergeron, Melissa Stavrakis, Olivier Auger, Samantha Chaulk, Shannon Tosic Mcnally, Vladimir Alexis & Zachary Creatchman.

Technical direction for GODSPELL is overseen by Eric Chad. The creative team includes costume design by Toronto's Katrina Carrier, lighting design by Chloé Fortier and sound design by Mathieu Turmel. The creative team also includes Professor Myrna Wyatt Selkirk of McGill University, who is leading a series of clowning workshops for the cast and partaking in creative collaboration throughout the rehearsal process. BCT's Producer is Natalie Gershtein, Production Manager is Todd Hirtle, with Calli Armstrong as Artistic Director. Please see attached document for bios.

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