Godspell (1973) on Netflix
In New York City, John the Baptist calls a group of young people from their jobs to follow Jesus. They become a traveling troupe, acting out parables through song, dance, and mime.
- Netflix3.2/5
- IMDb6.6/104,127 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes67%
Trailer
Plot summary
In New York City, John the Baptist calls young people away from their daily work and leads them to Central Park, where he baptizes them in the Bethesda Fountain. Jesus arrives and is baptized too. The group travels the city performing the parables Jesus tells through song, dance, comedy, and mime. Jesus teaches them about forgiveness, about serving God rather than money, and about praying for those who persecute them. Among the stories they perform is the Good Samaritan, told to show that good deeds should be done quietly, and the parable of the Unforgiving Servant, in which a master cancels a debt and then punishes a servant who will not do the same.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Godspell (1973)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- One sequence was filmed on the top of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, which was nearing completion at the time of the film's production.
- The story of The Prodigal Son is told at the exterior and interior of the Cherry Lane Theatre, where the first musical version of Godspell began its off-Broadway run the year before the film was shot.
- Six of the cast, Garber, Haskell, Jonas, Lamont, McCormick and Mylett, had performed in one or more of the original 1970 Carnegie Mellon creation or the earliest commercial productions: 1971 Off-Broadway, 1971 Melbourne and 1972 Toronto.
- All four musicians from the original stage production and cast album were retained for the film recording: Steve Reinhardt, Jesse Cutler, Richard LaBonte and Ricky Shutter. With a larger budget, Schwartz expanded the line-up with studio players such as guitarist Hugh McCracken and keyboardist Paul Shaffer.
- Victor Garber made his film debut here as Jesus, opposite David Haskell as Judas and John the Baptist, in a version directed by David Greene and set in contemporary New York City.
