Godspell review – good tunes can’t save a deeply uncool musical

‘When the ensemble comes together for a number, it’s almost always lovely; their performances grow stronger when they’re singing’ … Godspell at Hayes Theatre, Sydney. Photograph: Philip Erbacher

There’s a holy trinity of holy musicals: the sexy one (Jesus Christ Superstar), the cheesy one (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat), and then there’s Godspell, currently playing to sold-out houses at Sydney’s Hayes Theatre under the direction of the company’s new co-artistic directors, Richard Carroll and Victoria Falconer.

Originally debuting in 1971, Godspell is the first musical by Stephen Schwartz, who was perhaps most famous for his second musical, Pippin, until 2003 when Wicked, the musical theatre phenomenon for which Schwartz wrote music and lyrics, opened on Broadway.