The Friends present

On EasterSunday, 1970, John-Michael Tebelak, a graduate student oftheater at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie-Mellon University) inPittsburgh, attended an Easter service that he found boring and devoidof spirit. This was the era of upheavals in the church - the CatholicChurch allowed mass in the vernacular, and guitar-playing priests andministers started springing up like weeds.

Tebelak wantedto show the human and common touch of Jesus, and toappeal to young people. Thus he wrote a theatrical piece he dubbed"Godspell" - after a medieval English term for Gospel but alsoliterally meaning God's spell. He first worked on it in Pittsburgh andthen in Greenwich Village. Although it had one song - "By My Side,"written by cast members Jay Hamburger and Peggy Gordon - and someincidental music, producers who saw the show suggested that it needed awhole musical score. Tebelak was matched up with a fellow youngCarnegie graduate, Stephen Schwartz, who was trying to sell producerson a musical that he had written, called "Pippin" (later produced afterthe success of "Godspell"). Coincidentally, at almost the same time, inEngland, a young unknown composer named Andrew Lloyd Webber was writinganother musical about the life of Jesus - "Jesus Christ Superstar."

The finishedproduct of the collaboration of Tebelak and Schwartztook New York by storm. "Godspell" was first a great success offBroadway, and then later moved to Broadway. This might have seemedunlikely - after all, the show featured characters who were "hippies,"dressed as clowns, giving a plain and impassioned presentation of thelife of Jesus, who wore a Superman costume.

The Friendsof Saint Anne’s will be sponsoring performances of Godspell, which willbe held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 11th, 12th, 13th, and14th, 2008, at Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA. Godspell will be produced with the support of members from “The LittleTheater of Fall River”.

Proceedsfrom this event will benefit the Hudner Oncology Center at Saint Anne’sHospital. The Hudner Center is the area’s exclusive Dana-Farberaffiliate, providing world-class care through a team of doctors andnurses who use advanced medical and radiation oncology proceduresavailable, and who treat patients with the dignity and compassion theydeserve.

This eventexpects to attract over 2,000 local residents and businesses whosesupport will assist us to realize our pledge of $500,000 to the HudnerOncology Center and oncology related services. To date, the Friends’fundraising efforts have helped make possible a 7,000 square footexpansion of the Center’s Medical Oncology wing, the purchase of astate-of-the-art 3-D Radiation planner with the critical software tointerface with this new technology, and a new linear accelerator todeliver radiation therapy. These enhancements allow patients toreceive state-of-the-art cancer care close to home.

I want toinvite you to become a part of this effort by supporting us with thepurchase of an ad in the program book. Please take a moment to reviewthis information. You can make a difference! You can changea life! You can touch the community! Your support of theFriends of Saint Anne’s Hospital can make it all possible.

I thank youfor your thoughtful consideration of this important request and hopethat we can work together to make the Godspell performances a greatsuccess.

Sincerely,
Marge L.Dubé
Chairperson,
GodspellPerformance

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