Prepare ye for a fresh take on the musical Godspell, that keeps the show’s exuberant, improvisational feel, but boots it out of the 1970s and into the modern era, giving it a contemporary, rock ‘n’ cabaret vibe, new jokes and a female Jesus (Billie Palin). And yes, it’s (mostly) all for the best.

Abe Mitchell and Billie Palin, Godspell, Hayes Theatre Co., 2022. Photo © Philip Erbacher

Entering the Hayes Theatre, the stage appears as big as it’s ever looked. Emma White’s set depicts a run-down club or pub with a small bar, a rickety upright piano, a pole dancing pole on a tiny stage and a jukebox that needs the odd kick to make it work. You can almost smell the stains from the carpet. It looks as if there might have been some altercation; the tables and chairs are upended, and there’s rubbish on the floor. At the back of the stage, the band of two (Maia Marsh and Tim Wilsdon) sit at instruments behind a silver fringe curtain.

Conceived and originally directed by John-Michael Tebelak, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Godspell is structured as a series of...