Though it was written at a later time, Godspell actually beat Jesus Christ Superstar to the stage, opening in May 1971 at a tiny off-off-Broadway theatre and gradually building up a following until ultimately reaching Broadway in 1976.  John-Michael Tebelak, a student at Carnegie-Mellon University wrote the conceptual outline of the play as a college assignment.  He later brought in a fellow graduate from the college, Stephen Schwartz to write the music and polish the lyrics, which were taken almost verbatim from the Gospel of Matthew and other Biblical passages. 

William Ruhlmann, writing for Allmusic contrasts the two best known Christian musicals:  “Though Godspell could be thought of as copying Jesus Christ Superstar, there was a crucial difference in viewpoint between the two works – Superstar was a skeptical, secular look at Jesus, while Godspell was devout, merely updating and musicalizing Christ’s story.”  

*       *       * 

The Godspell album was released in July 1971 on Bell Records and performed well on the charts.  Sales began slipping until Bell released the single “Day by Day” by the original cast in 1972, with Robin Lamont singing lead.  The single reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

The musical was adapted into a film called Godspell in 1973, and a Godspell soundtrack album was also released.  The film was shot in numerous deserted New York City locations, with the cast dressed in contemporary clothing.  In a nod to Jesus Christ Superstar, the character of Jesus is wearing a Superman shirt during the film. 

(October 2014)