The Godspell National Tour is now officially over. My heart is full and running over. And I'm not the only one. This will be a long post...
Over the past two weeks, we performed 16 shows at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas. We were then supposed to have our final performance of the tour last night in Tyler, Texas. But miserable weather conditions barred our route from Dallas to Tyler and our final show was cancelled. We only found out on the morning of.
What that means, is that our final Godspell performance was on Sunday night and at the time, we didn't even know it was our last! It breaks my heart until I remember that nothing can change or take away what has already taken place. WE DID IT! It may be done, but it will always be OURS. I can still smile about that.
Thank you to our extended Godspell family, friends, fans and angels who became a part of our journey in loving & encouraging ways.
I extended this final Godspell post to include some of the thoughts and reflections from our cast & crew. Read it and weep (perhaps literally):
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"This whole experience has been like a magnificent Dream! One that I know when I wake up from it, I'll be laying in my bed at home, crying like a little baby."
- Jake Stern (Jesus)
"I'm going to miss seeing my family everyday on stage. Whenever we felt anything negative, we shed it off through performing our story about love. The best part about the tour was creating this incredibly unique and heart fulfilling experience with this small group of people. Nobody will ever know what this experience was like accept for us. We will treasure it and keep it so dear to us for the rest of our lives. The good, the bad, the ugly, the cold- we lived and lived it in style! This experience will have a piece if my heart forever.." - Graham Parkhurst (John The Baptist / Judas)
"If I could describe in words the way this tour has impacted my life, I would. But I can't. I could never possibly do it justice. So much love, so much joy. This is not the end, thank you all." - Alex Baerg (Guitar 1)
"I will miss the laughs. Most of them at inappropriate times... But I have never met a group of people who could make me laugh so hard!!!" - Stacey Kay
"Since we started this tour my days have been full of belly laughs and smiles. I feel like we are all a part of something so much bigger than just this show. A community. There is an unspoken support and understanding that unites us, and to me that is so special. Years from now when you are all doing meaningful and marvelous things, I know I'll still have a place in this community. You are all the older brother's and sister's that I never wanted (seriously... I'm a bossy first born) but always needed. Thank you." - Rebecca McCauley
"Oh my heart I'm so sad... I'm trying to think of words to send to you and I can't even... How do you possibly explain how special this situation was? Maybe that can be my quote lol..." - Alessia Lupiano
"Thank you all for the love. Many, many memories... It has been an incredible journey that will not stop here. The family connection will continue for many years to come. Thank you to everyone that made this journey possible... An experience that will never be forgotten. Love." - Janelle Murray
"On this tour I found my soul, lost then wandering from city to city it came to rest at home. A family on the road, faith and adventure. My soul came alive and learned to love again." - Kirsten Upchurch (Swing Tech)
The quote above says: "The Artist must be sacrificed to their art.
Like the Bees, they must put their lives into the sting they give" - Ralph Waldo Emerson (added by Ivan Lo)
"Thank you Godspell Family - for the hope this work has brought to my life and those around us, the flood of memories I deeply cherish and more love and friendship than I could have imagined." - Lauren Karbowski (wardrobe lead)
"I got a gift. It came two years ago from one of the craziest auditions I've ever done. I sang every song in my book, jumped on a trampoline, sang like Sinatra, spoke like Katherine Hepburn and then I prayed...publicly. Then I smiled at Janelle and left the building. Then I got the job. WINNING! This experience made my heart bigger, it restored my faith, it made me redefine the word 'family' to myself. I found the light in my world because of 15 minutes in a room. An arbitrary 15 minutes of audition that could have led nowhere. But instead, it led me to you. Thanks for letting me play." - Michael DeRose
" I can think of only one time where the performers were all immensely talented, the music was exhilarating, and the audience was completely breathless. It happened in an unlikely town called Petrolia [where we had our first run of Godspell]. Then we showed them, all over North America, our love for theatre, our love for music, and our love for each other. We sang about love. I got to do what I love, with people I love, giving love to our audience, and getting it right back again. I have one hell of an awesome job." - Daniel Baerg (Drummer)
"The Babel was explained, and we've been saved and prepared. Day is night. Lessons learned. The Lord has been blessed, and it was all for the best. Our gifts have been received and our light shines towards the new. The Ol man has turned his final time, Alas. He was by our side the whole time. No more need to Beseech. It was a Beautiful city of men, with willows at it's gates... Every soul on and off stage, left their eternal mark on the history that is GODSPELL. And as we take one more close look at the face of our subject, we notice that Godspell has also, left a life-long mark on him." - Michael Hogeveen
~ Lisa Michelle
Twitter: @itslisamichelle
www.ThisIsLisaMichelle.com
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