I tell you this…the musical Godspell managed to be easy on the eyes and on the ears. Incidentally, "I tell you this" is also the way Jesus, played by senior William Hamilton, began many of his parables in the musical. The production made biblical lessons easy to understand and easy to apply to real life. Hamilton showed a wonderful mastery of his lines--impressive considering the multitude of long monologues.

Over the last few years each Hoban production has been more impressive than the last. Entering the gym, viewers were handed professionally printed programs with descriptions of the cast, glossy covers and paid advertisements. The vast majority of seats were filled each night by students, family and teachers.

"This is our best production in the last four years," senior Robert Huff said.

For many seniors like Huff, this musical is the last of several. Godspell is senior Lydia Hartman's third musical and one of her favorites.

"I am going to miss this so much. It has come to the point where I have cried many times," Hartman said, still in her stage makeup after performing the musical for the fifth time--one dress rehearsal and four performances.

In the just over two-hour show there were many displays of talent. Sonia, played by junior Kelsey Njus, combined song and dance in a sultry performance that entranced the audience. Freshman Bill Darby as Judas, junior Kelly McCormick as Grace, and senior Sarah Kenny all sang beautifully with voices that caught the attention of the audience.

The cast admits that mistakes often happen on stage that the audience is unaware of. Njus can remember several bloopers, but one in particular stands out for her.

"I almost fell off the platform during my dance," Njus said good-naturedly. "Also, I think we sang 'Babble' differently every time."

The first song was hard to understand because of a microphone malfunction. But the cast managed to stay upbeat, and the sound quality improved from that point onward. Junior Tyler Just, sound operator, and junior Sam Dankoff, lighting operator, put many hours in preparing for the big night.

"It was challenging, especially because we had more microphones than usual," Dankoff said.

The cast considers the musical a success. The audience agreed. Senior Jeff Bologna watched the performance three times and was impressed.

"The more I saw it, the more I loved it," Bologna said.