Ujima’s ‘Godspell’ Opens Curtain Up! With Joyful Spirit and Strong Voices
- Anthony Chase
- Sep 17
- 2 min read
By ANTHONY CHASE
Ujima Theatre Company has opened its 2025-26 season -- and the citywide Curtain Up! celebration -- with a buoyant, big-hearted Godspell. The enduring collaboration between John-Michael Tebelak and Stephen Schwartz, now 54 years old, still exudes a fresh, almost mischievous vitality. Schwartz’s name remains a fixture in American musical theater -- Wicked is still running on Broadway while his newest, The Queen of Versailles, is poised to open -- but Godspell is where his Broadway story began.
At a moment when national life feels frayed, Ujima leans into the musical’s gentlest, most radical proposition: that empathy and community can be revolutionary acts. Godspell has always trafficked in accessibility -- parables delivered in playful skits, folk-inflected songs, and clowning set against the teachings of Jesus. Director Tioga Simpson emphasizes clarity and levity without skimping on poignancy, drawing out the show’s paradox: a childlike romp that carries profound moral weight.
Central to any Godspell are its Jesus and Judas, here drawn with exceptional balance. As Jesus, Cordell Hopkins radiates warmth, never sanctimonious, grounding numbers like “Save the People” and “Beautiful City” with clear sincerity and vocal power. Curtis Lovell, doubling as music director, is a wry, engaging Judas, his sardonic asides and rich baritone shading the story with texture and wit.
The ensemble shines with spirit and individuality, each performer granted a spotlight but working in concert toward a shared momentum. Gabriella McKinley invests “Day by Day” with tender urgency, while Emory Redfearn supplies bursts of comic verve. Julia Pitarresi, a standout last season in Goodnight, Tyler, turns a daffy, clueless presence into a comic dumb-like-a-fox through line. Aaron Gabriel Saldano lends earnestness to “All Good Gifts,” and Kristen-Marie Lopez treats “We Beseech Thee” with dignity. When faulty microphones threatened to upstage Lexus Hale on opening night, she cut through with powerhouse resolve, refusing to let technology dim the energy of “Learn Your Lessons.”
Particularly striking are Arianna Morris, conjuring a Magdalene both sultry and timeless, and Timiyah Love, whose recent string of roles across Buffalo theaters has marked her ascent. She delivers “Light of the World” with command, transforming it into one of the evening’s vocal peaks.
Choreographer Derrian Brown adds a kinetic through-line, inventing movement that feels spontaneous and clever rather than imposed. The stage picture is further enhanced by Lovell’s set design: a sweeping staircase bisecting the playing space, at once functional platform and unmistakable metaphor, in this production that makes use of magic tricks and aerial acrobatics.
If this Godspell does not reinvent the piece, that hardly matters. Its triumph lies instead in recommitting to the work’s spirit: joy, playfulness, and the still-subversive plea to love one’s neighbor. For a few hours, Ujima transforms strangers into community, gathered in shared song and the radical hope that kindness might yet prevail.
