John-Michael Tebelak

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John-Michael Tebelak
Tebelak in New York City, 1982
Tebelak in New York City, 1982
Born(1949-09-17)September 17, 1949
Berea, Ohio
DiedApril 2, 1985(1985-04-02) (aged 35)
New York City
OccupationWriter, director
EducationCarnegie Mellon University (MFA)
Notable worksGodspell

John-Michael Tebelak (September 17, 1949 – April 2, 1985) was an American

Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music. Some of the lyrics are original to the show, while others were taken from either the Bible or traditional hymns in the 1940 Episcopal hymnal
.

Biography

Education and Godspell

Tebelak was born in Berea, Ohio and graduated from Berea High School in 1966.[citation needed] His parents were Genevieve and John Tebelak, and he had one sister.[1]

He first produced Godspell as his

overalls and a T-shirt. A police officer
frisked him for drugs after the service. He wrote, of this experience, "I left with the feeling that, rather than rolling the rock away from the Tomb, they were piling more on. I went home, took out my manuscript, and worked it to completion in a non-stop frenzy." Though he never completed his coursework at the university, Carnegie Mellon did award him a degree.

He then directed productions of Godspell at

Boston Record American, and Most Promising Director of 1971 by the New York Drama Desk. He was also named an Outstanding Ohioan by then-Governor John J. Gilligan. Following the success of Godspell, he contributed funding to a number of productions at La MaMa, including Paul Foster's Silver Queen Saloon (1978);[3] William M. Hoffman's A Book of Etiquette (1978);[4] Steven Margoshes, Gerome Ragni, and James Rado's Jack Sound (1978);[5] Tadeusz Kantor's The Dead Class (1979);[6] Winston Tong in two pieces (1979);[7] Andrei Serban and Elizabeth Swados' Fragments of a Trilogy; Rosalyn Drexler's Vulgar Lives (1979);[8] Meredith Monk's Recent Ruins (1979);[9] and Ron Tavel's Nutrcracker in the Land of Nuts (1979/1980).[10]

After Godspell

Tebelak directed the Broadway play Elizabeth I in 1972, the

Ka-Boom! in 1980.[citation needed] He also directed Lope de Vega's Fuenteovejuna in Madrid in 1975. He co-wrote the 1973 film version of Godspell with David Greene
.

Tebelak once said that he "walked into a theatre at the age of nine and stayed there." He was a lifelong member of the

Episcopal Church, considered becoming a priest, and may have attended an Episcopal seminary for a time.[citation needed] He was dramaturge for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City and staged liturgical drama there.[1] According to Reverend James Parks Morton, "whether it was a sermon series or a two-day conference on the environment, he turned it into theater."[citation needed
]

In 1980, Tebelak was sued in

homosexual couples.[11]

Tebelak returned to his hometown of Berea, Ohio, to direct the 10th anniversary production of Godspell at the Berea Summer Theater in the summer of 1980. He subsequently directed Cabaret there in the summer of 1981. He directed a revival of Godspell at La MaMa in 1981 and then another revival production billed as the 10th anniversary reunion production in Los Angeles in December 1981 with the majority of his original New York cast.[14] In 1983, he directed Diversions: Or Proof that it is Impossible to Live, based on the life and work of Franz Kafka, written by Aubrey Simpson, and starring Michael Mayer, at La MaMa.[15]

Tebelak died at his home in

heart attack.[1]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1973 Godspell
Pharisee
Monster 		(voice role, uncredited)

References

  1. ^ a b c d "John-Michael Tebelak Dead; Wrote the Musical 'Godspell'". The New York Times. April 3, 1985. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  2. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Godspell, The (1971)".
  3. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Silver Queen Saloon (1978)".
  4. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Book of Etiquette, A (1978)".
  5. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Jack Sound (1978)".
  6. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Dead Class, The (1979)".
  7. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Winston Tong in Two Pieces (1979)".
  8. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Vulgar Lives (1979)".
  9. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Recent Ruins (1979)".
  10. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Nutcracker in the Land of Nuts, The (1979/1980)".
  11. ^
    New York Times
    , section B, p. 1.
  12. ^ The Valley Independent. (March 8, 1980). "Monessen" Accessed June 22, 2008.
  13. New York Times
    , section C, p. C2.
  14. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Godspell (1981)".
  15. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Diversions: Or Proof That It Is Impossible To Live (1983)".

External links

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