Drama club gave their final performance of “Godspell” Friday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. An audience of parents, teachers and students gathered in the auditorium and sat in the newly installed seats nearest to the stage. The velvet curtains opened, gliding toward stage left and stage right as Act I began.

“Godspell” is originally a musical by Stephan Schwartz and was based off of a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The play is structured as a series of parables from the biblical book of Matthew. Jesus, played by senior Nicholas Santanach in this revival, recruits and teaches a group of followers through song, dance, and short skits. All of the musical numbers include words of traditional hymns set to modern music that emphasize a passion for Christ.

On Broadway, “Godspell” made its first debut on June 22, 1976, and ran for 527 performances before closing. Just over 35 years later, a Broadway revival began performances in October of 2011. The new cast included Corbin Bleu, of the Disney Channel movies “High School Musical” and “Jump In,” who took over the role of Jesus.

The only characters with predetermined names in the production are Jesus and John the Baptist/Judas, played by senior Robert Carpenter. “I absolutely loved putting on ‘Godspell’…I like the script, especially the musical numbers. This show really brought out my inner actor and I loved every minute of it,” said Carpenter who sang in the opening number, “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord.”

The remainder of the characters are referred to as “narrators” and “soloists” and go by their own names, just like the traditional Broadway production.

Freshman Elizabeth Doney played the role of a narrator. “I’ve met a ton of great people and had a ton of fun. I’m a lot more confident as a person and an actor,” Donley said.

The drama department is already preparing for their next show with new advisor and director, Kimberly Richardson.