Broadway veterans, community help Alvernia stage 'Godspell'
PHOTO: Students and community members participate in a dress rehearsal for "Godspell."
Acclaimed musical opens this weekend, bringing together students and local participants
This weekend, Alvernia will bring a beloved musical to the Francis Hall Theatre stage - with a help from friends in the community and two Broadway veterans.
“Godspell” opens Friday, April 10, with additional performances April 11-12 and April 16-19. Tickets can be purchased here.
Written by “Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz, the show is structured as a series of Biblical parables interspersed with music drawn mostly from traditional hymns.
The cast includes 13 Alvernia students and five community members. The creative team, production team, band and crew comprise 10 students and approximately 10 community members.
“‘Godspell’ is a story about community, about joy, about the power of coming together to create something larger than ourselves,” said Alvernia President Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. “This production has brought together students, employees, community members and professional artists in a way that reflects the very best of who we are.”
Support for the production was provided by the Hawley and Myrtle Quier Fund of the Berks County Community Foundation and the Reading Musical Foundation.
With Nathan Thomas, Ph.D., the founder of Alvernia’s theatre program, going on sabbatical, Fitzgerald reached out to Kevin Murphy, president and CEO of the Berks County Community Foundation, to discuss the possibility of a community musical. Murphy contacted college friend Jane Brockman to inquire if she and her husband Timothy Shew would direct a production while teaching classes.
The Broadway performers’ resumes include “Wicked,” “Les Misérables,” “Guys and Dolls” and “The Music Man.” Though they still maintain a place in New York for when they’re performing, they moved back to Hershey a decade ago.
“We're family people,” Shew said. “Jane's dad just turned 100 six months ago. So, we are close to him and he's doing great, living independently and kind of defying gravity.”
The maiden steps for the production were taken late in 2025, when Shew and Brockman hosted three workshops, followed by auditions in January.
“It's been wonderful,” Brockman said. “Having the community members come in to do the workshops and getting to know them, and then also getting to see the students go through the workshops and see them grow has been really satisfying and terrific.”
She extended kudos to Producer Brandon Kegerize, who she said has been invaluable in bringing the university and the community together.
They originally suggested staging another lesser-known Schwartz musical but then landed on “Godspell,” which they believed to be an accessible staple perfect for a Franciscan university.
Neither of the directors have performed in the show, but Brockman fell under its spell during the late 1970s, when her older sister’s youth group in Hershey toured churches in central Pennsylvania with their production.
“It's a fun, rollicking, joyful rendition of human kindness and parable telling,” Shew said. “It's oftentimes humorous, and it looks like it's improv when it's more rehearsed improvisation.”
The directors said the experience has been revealing for everyone involved. They were able to impart lessons from their many years on the stage to the participants, some of whom had never acted in a musical.
“It's really wonderful to see them blossom at this stage of the game,” Shew said.
Fitzgerald lauded the directors for their selfless roles in bringing “Godspell” to fruition.
“What makes their presence truly meaningful is not just where they have been, it is what they have chosen to do with that experience,” Fitzgerald said. “They have stepped into this community not as stars, but as mentors. They have given their time abundantly, invested in our students and community with intention, and modeled what it looks like to lead with both talent and generosity.”
Director Biographies
- Timothy Shew
Shew most recently starred as the Wizard in the legendary Broadway National Tour of "Wicked." Immediately before, Shew jumped into BROADWAY’s FUNNY GIRL (starring Lea Michele). Shew toured with "Hello Dolly" starring Betty Buckley and Carolee Carmello. Prior to that, he appeared in both the Williamstown Theatre Festival and Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre productions of "The Visit," starring Chita Rivera and Roger Rees.
A veteran of 12 Broadway shows, Shew was the third Jean Valjean in the original multi Tony Award-winning Broadway production of "Les Miserables" and went on to perform that role more than 2,200 times, twice on Broadway and one year in the 10th anniversary production in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. In addition, he logged 1,244 performances in Broadway’s Tony Award winning musical "Guys and Dolls" with Nathan Lane. Shew was thrilled to be a part of the new and revamped version of Disney’s "The Little Mermaid" as Chef Louis and just prior to that, Broadway’s "Evita," starring Ricky Martin. He has also appeared as Daddy Warbucks in "Annie," and the pre-Broadway run of Kathy Lee Gifford’s musical "Saving Aimee/Scandalous" at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre. Shew appeared as the Mayor of SweetApple, Ohio in "Bye-Bye Birdie" on Broadway, which starred John Stamos, and onstage at the world famous Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. in Frank Wildhorn’s "Civil War." Tim had the privilege of soloing in Leonard Bernstein’s "Mass" with the Baltimore Symphony/Marin Alsop conducting at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. That recording was nominated for a Grammy. Tim also starred as Officer John Lonigan in the Leonard Bernstein/Comden and Green production of "Wonderful Town" with Donna Murphy and Brooke Shields.
Shew’s other Broadway credits include: "The Scarlet Pimpernel" as St. Cyr, the Alan Menken/Tim Rice Production of Disney’s "King David," "Sunset Boulevard" with Betty Buckley, and the pre-Broadway Andrew Lloyd Webber-Hal Prince musical "Whistle Down the Wind," directed by Hal Prince. Shew made his film debut as Officer O’Rourke in the movie musical "The Producers."
Shew can be heard on the "Chicago," "Shaggy Dog," and "Tangled" soundtracks and has been seen in three New York City Center’s Encore productions: "Tenderloin," "Face the Music" and "Juno." Audiences may be familiar with his work in American touring companies of "Showboat," "Evita" and "South Pacific" and in the multi-award-winning "Light in the Piazza." For many years, Shew performed the role of the Big Fat Man with a Bag (Santa Claus) at Radio City Music Hall’s “Christmas Spectacular.”
Shew has performed with symphonies and orchestras worldwide including the Baltimore Symphony and the National Symphony with Marvin Hamlisch at the Kennedy Center’s 35th Anniversary Celebration. Shew has numerous television and radio commercials to his credit including "Law & Order SVU," "Madame Secretary," "Ryan’s Hope" and had a recurring role as Bruno on "Guiding Light." For 15 years, Shew has produced “Broadway Sings on Park Avenue,” a concert to benefit children affected and infected with HIV and AIDS, and works extensively to educate and assist at-risk kids.
Shew resides in New York City and Hershey, Pa., with his wife, Jane. Shew's extensive work as a vocal director/teacher/clinician and adjudicator for theatre, choral and show choir festivals has taken him around the world.
- Jane Brockman
Most recently, Brockman played Maude Dunlop in the Broadway company of "The Music Man" starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. Other Broadway performances include "Wicked," where she played the Midwife and Madame Morrible, and, for six years, "A Christmas Carol" starring Jim Dale, F. Murry Abraham, Tim Curry, Frank Langella, Tony Roberts and Roger Daltry.
Film and TV are also part of Brockman's repertoire. "FBI Most Wanted," "Law and Order SVU," "The Americans," "All My Children" and "The Producers" movie, to name a few. In the Emmy-nominated movie "Bad Education," starring Hugh Jackman, Brockman appeared as Bonnie Spicer, the wife of Ray Romano.
She was seen as Lady Anne in "Camelot" with the NY Philharmonic broadcast "Live From Lincoln Center" starring Gabriel Byrne, Christopher Lloyd and Marin Mazzie. She performed the role of Inga-Lena in ABBA's latest musical "Kristina" at Carnegie Hall and The Royal Albert Hall, London, and was Mother Superior in "Showboat" at Carnegie Hall. Other New York performances include off Broadway show "The Kid," the York Theatre's Musicals in Mufti series "Zorba," and Encores! "Kismet." For several years, Brockman was a vocalist with the NYC Ballet.
National Tours: "Wicked," Ernestina in "Hello Dolly!," "The Light in the Piazza" where she understudied and performed the role of Margaret, and "The Sound of Music" playing Sister Berthe.
Regionally, Brockman played the role of Mille opposite her husband Tim Shew in Gretna Theater's production of "7 Brides for 7 Brothers," also at Gretna, and "It Shoulda Been You" opposite Emmy winner Kim Zimmer. Other regional credits include Nettie Fowler and Mrs.
Mullin in "Carousel," Mrs. Potts in "Beauty and the Beast," Aunt Eller in "Oklahoma!" Marme in "Little Women," Chelsea in "On Golden Pond," Glinda in "The Wizard of Oz," Maria in "Lend Me a Tenor," Anna in "The King and I," Mrs. Upson in "Mame" and the Baroness in "The Sound of Music." Other performances include "Evita" at the Papermill Playhouse and "Starcrossed" at the Goodspeed Opera House.
Brockman has a bachelor's degree in voice from Penn State and an master's degree in opera/music theatre from Southern Illinois University. She taught voice at New York University and travels all over the country leading workshops in audition technique, acting the song and the ins and outs of being a working actor.
A Hershey native, Brockman and her Shew moved "back" to Hershey in 2015 and while they continue to work on Broadway, in theatre, film, and TV, they have found a wonderful community of student artists here in central PA. They spend much of their time coaching these students for University B.F.A/B.A. Music Theatre/Theatre auditions.