Word: christly
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...agents in Miami, acting on the request of the Salvadoran government, ar rested Hans Christ, 30, a Salvadoran businessman, for possible extradition in connection with the murders. His arrest followed the seizure in El Salvador a week earlier of Ricardo Sol Meza, 35, a wealthy industrialist and, significantly enough, part owner of the San Salvador Sheraton. The arrests were based in part on the testimony of a hotel waitress who had witnessed the murders...
...preliminary hearing in Miami last week, Christ vehemently maintained his innocence, though he admitted having dined in the hotel that night and having been joined afterward by Sol Meza, a relative by marriage. When the shooting occurred, Christ said, he ran to the dining room from another part of the hotel Despite his protestations, Christ remained in a Miami jail pending another hearing this week...
...cast makes the transition smoothly, expressing its shock and despair at the prospect of its leader's death with equal conviction to that of its previous jubilation. In a brilliantly staged scene, the hanging on the cross is reenacted with the disciples tearfully watching and, ironically, helping to hang Christ (Allen Gifford) on a cleverly designed cross. Gifford really appears to swing from the structure, and the image is frighteningly effective as he calls out for help, "Father, I am dying!." swaying tenuously up near the ceiling. After his death, silence fills the theater until, resuming and even surpassing...
...those of other faiths and non-believers, the message carries similar, although more measured, validity. Teague has gone out of her way to add references and touches that attempt to include Jews among the believers to whom the musical appeals (as much as any about the life of Christ can), having Gifford speak a benediction in Hebrew, for instance...
Aside from the suspense surrounding Christ's betrayal, little dramatic tension sustains the show, Plot and development are almost irrelevant; character development remains minimal; interaction between the people on stage never sun passes a superficial level. But their portrayals represent everyman and everywoman. Any other play or musical would have a tough time filling an evening of theater with such nebulous stuff as joyousness, exhuberance and religious excitement, but Godspell has the requisite level of professionalism to carry it off, and carry it off well...