Beautiful City

“Beautiful City” is one of the most treasured songs in the Broadway musical Godspell. It sings of the belief of the human capability. In the musical, Hunter Parrish plays Jesus, and some productions of this Godspell would sing this as a closing song.

In the first place, the world that we live in right now is full of a travesty. Where we are right now is precarious. We are in the pursuit of furthering our knowledge and capabilities as human beings and establish the proper rights of each and every individual. Yet, we do not take action in making solutions for these problems. First, we have perpetual wars; second, we have famine, third, we have poverty. And everything else is nestled in between. It is as if the world has forgotten how to love. 

But, “Beautiful City” presents us with a uniquely different perspective: hope. It is beautifully reflected in these lyrics:

We can build a beautiful city
Yes, we can (Yes, we can)
We can build a beautiful city
Not a city of angels
But we can build a city of man

We may not reach the ending
But we can start
Slowly but surely mending
Brick by brick
Heart by heart
Now, maybe now
We start learning how

Maybe the spark that we have been looking for is right inside us, just waiting to be unlocked. We must have the courage to take action and better our lives, to build a beautiful city.

Listen to the wonderful melody here!

Godspell and Broadway Revival

Godspell was first produced on Broadway in 1976, and it opened on the 22nd of June at the Broadhurst Theater. It was revived and showed on the 13th of October 2011. Hunter Parrish was one of the casts in the revival. He played the role of Jesus.

In the first place, the musical is structured with Jesus narrating a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, Luke, and John. The parables are interspersed with music that is pattered from traditional hymns, with the passion of Christ appearing briefly near the end of the show.