WEEKEND: ‘Godspell’ opens on Port Angeles stage for 3-weekend run

PORT ANGELES — We have two young actors, one portraying Jesus, the other Judas.

And though the story is one of the best-known of all time, the performers’ tasks in “Godspell,” which opened Friday night at the Port Angeles Community Playhouse, aren’t so easy.

Mark Lorentzen is taking on the role of Jesus — a man he hopes to portray in a way that’s accessible to a wide variety of theater-goers: people of faith, the more secular folks and everyone in between.

The music helps — a lot, with songs such as “Day by Day,” “All Good Gifts” and “Light of the World.”

And “Godspell” is no preachy lesson, Lorentzen said. Yes, it is based on parables from the New Testament, especially the gospel of St. Matthew. But Lorentzen believes the theme is a universal one — and that it comes across rich and clear.

“What it comes down to is community,” he said. “The message is to love your neighbor.”

To bring this, Lorentzen and his fellow cast members — who include his two sisters, Anne and Kathryn, and his new wife, Danielle — act, sing and dance their way through the gospel. They make their way toward Judas’ betrayal and Jesus’ crucifixion, looking past the darkness, toward hope.

Josh McLean plays Judas. Which is challenging, of course, since the audience already has a distinct impression of the man.

“That’s the thing: trying to portray him in a way they don’t totally expect . . . it’s what ‘Godspell’ is all about,” said McLean.

This show, he noted, looks at Jesus’ life and work in an unorthodox way, replete with rock ‘n’ roll, Broadway-style power ballads and even a Lorentzen-McLean soft-shoe duet.

“Everybody gets to shine. They deserve it,” said Danielle Lorentzen, adding that all of the singers are brilliant.

Danielle herself has a solo, in which she dances with grace while belting out “Learn Your Lessons Well.”

The cohesiveness of the performers has only grown during the weeks of rehearsal, said Danielle.

Director Ron Graham leads the cast of Lorentzen siblings and spouses plus Port Angeles actors Shannon Cosgrove, Karen Breedlove, Mikey Cobb and Marissa Wilson, as well as McLean and his wife Sharah Truett.

“Port Angeles has a really supportive theater community,” said McLean.

“People are doing it for the love of entertaining,” of lifting the audience’s spirits.

As far as this cast goes, McLean doesn’t hold back.

“The people in this show are tremendously talented artists . . . and anyone who’s seen the Lorentzens knows the quality of their singing is pretty unbelievable, for a town this size or not this size.”

The family is known for its performances at open mic nights and events such as the Juan de Fuca Festival, and can be found on YouTube.

Mark, in recent years, has starred in “A Cabaret” with Sarah and Olivia Shea at Olympic Theatre Arts in Sequim and in the Port Angeles Light Opera Association production of “South Pacific.”

“Godspell,” with music by Stephen Schwartz and book by John-Michael Tebelak, first opened on Broadway in 1971. It was made into a movie in 1978 and has had many revivals since.

Mark Lorentzen grew up with this music. His wife Danielle, on the other hand, wasn’t at all familiar with it.

“When I first heard the music, I thought: This is awesome,” she said.