Lawton Community Theatre presents Godspell

Come all ye faithful to rejoice in the “Godspell” production of Lawton Community Theatre (LCT) as they begin their 2024 season with the beloved show September 27-29 and October 3-6 at 1316 NW Bell Ave.

After the June 2023 storms, LCT had to temporarily move out of their home. After many months, they moved back to begin their new season.

Following the Gospel of Matthew from the Bible, the show is not a concrete story, Kristoffer Pendergraft, managing director of LCT and director of the play said.

“We follow a group of fragmented, disjointed people who are discontent with their modern life,” Pendergraft said. “They meet this figure or character of Jesus who comes in and teaches them a new way of interacting with one another and the world around them. Through the telling of parables, he builds a community with these disjointed characters. As the show progresses, we see this community form this really great group of friends and people who care about each other.”

Pendergraft’s favorite part of the show is the music, which is composed by renowned composer, Stephen Schwartz.

“People might know him from ‘Wicked,’” Pendergraft said. “If they know anything about ‘Wicked,’ they know the music’s going to be really good. Not only that, but our cast is full of fantastic musicians. The person playing Jesus just graduated with their music education degree from Cameron. Some of our performers have been on ‘American Idol’ and ‘The Voice.’ The music throughout the show is very diverse, ranging from folk ballads, gospel, church hymns and blistering rock.”

Pendergraft wanted to direct the show for a long time.

“I really like it and I thought it would be great, both for Lawton audiences and for our performers,” Pendergraft said. “I’m excited that we have the opportunity to produce it. It’s a lot of fun. There’s music, dancing, goofy sounds and funny acting. There’s also these really moving, impactful, emotional moments of the show. It’s really a show that has something for everybody. We’re really excited that it’s our first show back in our home.”