Beautiful City

'Beautiful City'
from the movie Godspell (1973)

If you're a Baby Boomer, then you may be familiar with the 1973 movie Godspell, which was based on a  stage play written in 1970 by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. Godspell first was performed off-Broadway in 1971.

Godspell came on the scene just as another New Testament-based play, Jesus Christ Superstar, was gaining considerable attention on Broadway. Like Superstar, Godspell was a commercial success, with one of the songs from the soundtrack, ‘Day By Day’, becoming a Billboard top 20 hit in the Summer of 1972.

Plans were implemented for a cinematic version of Godspell, with filming taking place from August through November 1972 in New York City. The film was released in theaters in March 1973.

Viewing the film today, I am struck by how pleasant and appealing (!!!) New York City looks in the lighting and atmosphere of early Fall 1972, before the advent - just a year later-  of the Arab Oil Embargo, the resultant financial crises, and the crime, squalor and decay that were to grip the city until the mid-1990s. The film has the sort of goofy, amiable energy that was still evident in some aspects of the counterculture in 1972, when the hippie movement still had some degree of vitality.

If I were to describe Godspell to someone who has never seen it, I’d have to say it is a cross between Superstar and The Electric Company. Unlike Superstar, Godspell takes a decidedly more saccharine view of the Gospels; save for the more poignant moments, the songs and dialogue are upbeat and amiable, the cast dressed in clown’s clothing, and Jesus and his followers presented as a peculiar breed of ‘flower children’. 

Listening to the soundtrack for the film, there is plenty of (rather mawkish) early 70s folkie goodness. But there also are some tunes that perfectly capture the idealism of the Youth Movement of the era, and none does this better than 'Beautiful City'. A video clip of this song being performed in the movie is here, while the audio file (better quality sound) can be listened to here. Enjoy !