Hamilton Southeastern High School student Nick Lantzer found himself inspired by the music of “Godspell.”
“There is something about the energy of the music that attracted me to it,” Lantzer said.
Lantzer, who will be a junior this school year, plays Judas and John the Baptist in Carmel Community Players’ Rising Star production of “Godspell,” which is set for June 16 to 25 at Ivy Tech Noblesville Auditorium.
Lantzer’s favorite number is “All for the Best.”
“It’s a classic song from ‘Godspell’ that has entered pop culture,” Lantzer said. “It’s always a fun song when you get to have choreography with canes.”
The 1971 musical was composed by Stephen Schwartz, who also wrote “Pippin” and “Wicked.” The song “Day by Day” became an international hit.
“There’s not a straight story line,” said Tanya Haas, a Carmel resident who is directing. “It takes pieces of the Gospel according to Matthew. The songs and scenes are ways of telling stories from Matthew’s Gospel without using straight biblical languages. It’s told with dancing, jokes and magic. We’ve been working hard on the music. We are trying to make it so all the kids are comfortable singing. Some of the kids think this is the first musical they have ever been in and have no previous choir experience. Then we have some kids who are very seasoned veterans who have done many shows. We are trying to find a good balance, so the kids have the best experience possible.”
Rachel Bush, an Indianapolis resident and 2023 homeschool graduate, has previously acted in Main Street Productions youth shows at Basile Westfield Playhouse.
“It has a very eclectic range of music, which is really cool,” Bush said. “I am not always used to singing a lot of harmonies, so I’m getting used to that and it’s been a little bit of a challenge.”
Haas said some of the songs have complicated harmonies.
Isabella Bardos, who will be a freshman at Noblesville High School this fall, performed in last year’s CCP Rising Star production of “Medley of Murder.”
“I really like the director and it’s just a really fun experience,” she said. “I like being in musicals.”
Bardos plays Anna Maria, one of the disciples.
“I think the biggest challenge is the Prodigal Son parable, which is a long piece of text to try to remember,” Bardos said.
There are 14 performers, ranging in age from 10 to 18.
“Seven of the kids were in last year’s youth show,” Haas said. “The other seven have not done anything with CCP before.”
For more, visit carmelplayers.org.
