For the members of Harriton Theater Company, Godspell has been at the center of their days recently. Putting together a full scale musical in just a few months is no small feat, but for the leads of Godspell, it is all in a days work. Each leading actor has a love for this show that cannot be ignored. Godspell is made special by the enthusiasm and dedication that each actor brings to the stage.

Godspell is the story of the bible as told by Jesus, played by Marcel Werder. The role of Judas is played by Jon Duska, and the other characters are played by core actors in the show. “The songs and choreography are so well done. The leads are all incredible; they do such a good job, and make it worth seeing,” says Amanda Soll, a member of HTC’s costumes department.

The leads, however, are much more modest about their performances. “I am not a serious actor. That is what I love about Godspell. It’s all about goofing off, messing around, and being weird. These are things I am good at,” Nolan Gardner comments.

In addition to being an integral cast member, Nolan is also part of the HTC community. Dani Ochroch elaborates “[HTC is] really just a big group of people who love theatre and really honestly care about each other.” Shana Herman adds, “Everyone brings something unique to the company, which is why HTC is so amazing.” The love of acting and the love for each other that every member of HTC has is echoed in the play.

“[Godspell] supports individualism but also how those individuals can come together to form one, cohesive group,” says Marcel Weder, who plays Jesus. A play about love and community preformed by a group of actors who embody that message is bound to be something pretty special. The actors put in hours of hard work and practice to truly capture that spark, but as Max Sokoll so eloquently states, “reaching out to the audience on an emotional level makes all the work put into the shows worth every minute.” Every memeber of HTC is dedicated to achieving that connection.

These very special students work so hard and achieve such great results because of their uncommon dedication. Senior Emily Goldenberg says, “You won’t feel nearly as good about what you have done if you don’t give it your best effort.” Josh Gold says of his experience with HTC, “we all bonded as a close knit group of friends and actors.” Hard work and friendship is bound to be a winning combination.

The cast and crew who have slaved over Godspell deserve every recognition in the world, as they genuinely worked together to create something magical. They created love, they created friendship, happiness, and they created a spellbinding musical. Olivia Prendergrast, whose voice stop you in your tracks, adds one final piece of advice to us all, “Be optimistic, live life to the fullest, because the future is going to be a beautiful thing and Godspell is in it!”