Joliet theater family ‘coming full circle’ with upcoming musical ‘Godspell’

Jan Novotny clearly remembers when John the Baptist walked down the hill at the Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park in Joliet.

It was in 1985 and her daughter Lori Carmine, now park director, was part of the “Godspell” performance in the outdoor bandshell at the park and theater.

Then in 2000, Carmine asked Novotny to help direct the musical with her. Carmine was expecting her daughter Elana Carmine and wasn’t sure she’d be around to finish the show.

Jan Novotny said she also produced an abridged version of “Godspell” with students from St. Joseph Academy and Montessori Preschool in Joliet, where Jan Novotny is principal.

“I just love ‘Godspell,’” Jan Novotny said. “First of all, I love the music from ‘Godspell.’ Every one of the songs is my favorite. It’s very cool music. It’s just very varied. But, of course, I love finding a way to present the Gospel story in a new – well, not new now – but in a fresh, 21st century way.”

Now Jan Novotny is co-directing the summer musical with her husband Tom Novotny, which is set in Chicago.

“So when Jesus looks down on His people and makes a pronouncement, he might be up on that ‘L’ platform,” Jan Novotny said.

Performances will be held from June 16 through 18 and June 23 through 25 at the Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park Theatre in Joliet.

The fabric of community in the costumes

Elana Carmine, who recently graduated from Illinois State University with a bachelor’s degree in theatrical costuming, said she is making and personalizing 22 costumes with the Fabulous Four: friends and cousins who are in the cast.

“The idea was that these are a bunch of individuals that come together and form a community, even though they all maintain their own identity,” Jan Novotny said. “But when they are united behind Jesus, they become a community.”

Elana Carmine said she talked to each cast member about the community that’s important to their lives. Elana Carmine then used symbols, colors and motifs from those communities and either painted them or dyed them into the fabric.

“I’m in the cast, too,” Elana Carmine said. “My costume is a patchwork dress. That incorporates my community for costuming and how I connect to the theater community.”

That sense of community is present in the cast, which ranges in age from 13 to seniors.

“Of course, the directors are ancient,” Jan Novotny added.

Carmine said one of the cast members is Kathryn Epling, whom she met years ago when she was a youth member of Summertime on Stage: Drama & Tech Camp, which Bicentennial Park still offers.

“We’ve grown up together,” Elana Carmine said. “We have so much fun together.”

Lori Carmine is loving how “Godspell” is “coming full circle” in her family, adding “it’s one of those shows I will do over and over again.”

“It’s more than just a show,” Lori Carmine said. “You can really find more about yourself.”

The joy in ‘Godspell’

Jan Novotny also praised orchestra and vocal director Mark Epling, choreographer Lori Bowen and tech director and set designer Eric Moniger.

“We can just sit there and watch the show every night and take notes,” Jan Novotny said.

Jan Novotny said that if Jesus were coming to earth today instead of 2,000 years ago, “He would have to get our attention in a different way, and I just think that music and some humor would be tools that Jesus would use. There’s a saying that joy is the most definite sign of the presence of God. I think the joy that is in the first three-fourths of ‘Godspell’ is symbolic of people who follow their conscience. People who follow Jesus have an innate sense of joy. And that is in ‘Godspell.’”

Jan Novotny said the cast gets very serious at the end during the crucifixion, with the finale representing the resurrection and its joy.

“Jesus, of course, comes back for his bow,” Jan Novotny said. “That’s kind of important.”

“Of course I pray constantly that the show comes across the way it sounds and that it reaches people and touches them,” she said. “That’s not the normal purpose of doing a show. But it certainly enters in when doing a show like ‘Godspell.’”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Godspell”

WHEN: June 16 through 18 and June 23 through 25; 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sundays.

WHERE: Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park Theatre, 201 W. Jefferson St., Joliet

TICKETS: $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors ages 60 and up. Tickets are available online and at the door.

INFO: Concessions and a cash bar will be available. Lobby doors open one hour before showtime.

CONTACT: Call 815-724-3761 or visit www.BicentennialPark.org.