CCHS stages ‘Godspell’ outdoors under canopy
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
When the coronavirus pandemic wiped out Catholic Central High School’s production of “The Sound of Music” in 2020, director Abby Galstad vowed to find a way to ensure her students would have a chance to perform in 2021.
“I said I will do everything in my power to make sure this show happens,” she said of this spring’s staging of “Godspell.”
Galstad gets her chance to make good on her vow beginning tonight and running through next weekend as the Catholic Central Theater Association presents the 1970s-era musical take on the Gospel of Matthew.
The show will be presented May 6-9 and May 13-15 at 7 p.m. under a tent in the parking lot at the rear of the school, 148 McHenry St., Burlington. Patrons are asked to park on side streets and enter the parking lot from Randolph Street.
Tickets for the show cost $13 each and are available online here. A limited number of walk-up tickets will be available prior to each show. People may also opt to bring lawn chairs and sit outside the tent for a reduced ticket price.
Galstad said the outdoor stage was among the ways to ensure the show would go on no matter what curve COVID-19 tossed at the production. There are no sides on the tent and audience members are asked to wear masks while under the canopy.
If it’s raining the show will be moved inside to Topper Hall, Galstad said, and audience members will have the option of requesting a refund if they’re not comfortable with the indoor setting.
With temperatures predicted to fall from the mid-50s for this week’s performances, Galstad said people should dress for the weather.
“If it gets chilly they should dress like it’s a Packers game,” she advised.
Just minutes before the final dress rehearsal on Tuesday, Galstad said the show is coming together.
“It has been quite a challenge. The tent adds a whole new element,” she said. “These kids have been fantastic. They’re just amazing.”
The show tells the story of Jesus and his disciples and the Passion.
The show – “a little bit of rock and roll, and a little bit of silly, but a whole lot of love” – sets Jesus and his disciples in contemporary time, according to Galstad.
“This is very much a musical about our kids living out their faith,” she added.
The primary roles – Jesus, played by Max Frederick, and the dual roles of Judas/John the Baptist, played by Luke Gillmore – is supported by an ensemble of nine other actors.
Galstad said Frederick and Gillmore have been singing together as classmates since kindergarten and create “some kind of magic” on stage.
For full list of cast and crew members see the May 6 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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