2001 Tour Cast Review Stop reading this review. Put the paper down. Now. Go to the phone and order the best tickets you can get for the road company of Godspell playing at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. It's OK, I'll wait here until you get back. Done? Good. Trust me on this one: You'll thank me later because it's only here through Sunday. This second coming of the resurrected Godspell is a minor miracle. Who would have thought it possible to inject this much vibrant exuberance, artistic imagination and contemporary relevance into a beloved old war horse nearly done to respectable death by high schools and church groups for almost 30 years? Godspell's timeless message has always been about finding your quiet, unshakable faith amid a very loud, very cold, very shallow modern world. So it shouldn't be a surprise that the style of this complete overhaul is as current as 'N Sync, Survivor and Jerry Springer, all of which get a nod in the heavily revised script. How current? The fable of the prodigal son is narrated in part by South Park's Cartman. But a contemporary setting and a relevance to modern life has always been Godspell's secret, even when this folk-rock take on the Gospel according to St. Matthew was dressed in flower-child clothes and Vietnam was still searing America's consciousness. So where the original played out in an urban junkyard/playground, Godspell 2000 is appropriately played out in a world of technology surrounded by high walls of television monitors and with much of the action captured live on video cameras. Alex Lacamoire's brilliant arrangements intentionally suggest yet subtly surpass the sound of an album rising on today's Top 40 charts. It's not a stunt; it's the point of the show. Using modern musical idioms, he has made Stephen Schwartz's venerable score accessible to a new generation without losing the old one. The highest praise is due the musical direction by Christopher Gattelli and stage direction by Scott Schwartz, who is coincidentally the composer's son. With unbridled imagination, the two have revived Godspell's freshness, irreverent humor and unapologetic decency. Their inventive twists will delight those overly familiar with the show. Many of the parables used to be portrayed as children's fables. Now they are related in broadly satirical skits that skewer social icons. The Good Samaritan tale is now an episode of a reality cop show. Jesus is crucified on a bank of video monitors, his arms bound with thick electrical cables. These sound like contrived artifices, but they are staged and performed with naturalness. About the only fault is that the creative staff is so self-consciously trying to update itself that the substance of each parable occasionally gets buried under the nonstop topical references and ingenious staging. As a result, all that Saturday Night Live feel undercuts what is usually a profoundly moving and cathartic finale. The 10-member ensemble -- every last one a talented performer -- exudes life, energy, humor and joy with full-throated voices that raise goose bumps a dozen times during the show. To unfairly single out a few: Michael Yuen as John the Baptist heralding Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord, Joseph J. Carney's Jesus leading the entire company in the anthem Save the People, Natalie Joy Johnson fronting the revival-like Bless the Lord, and Sal Sabella's exquisite All Good Gifts. Oh, what the heck, they deserve it. Here's the rest: Todd Buonopane, Jessica Carter, Esteban Giron, Sarah Hubbard, Lauren Lebowitz and Sharon Francis, who has appeared in other Broward shows. The backstage talents are equally impressive, from the flawless sound of Mark Norfolk's crew to Jim O'Connell's band. And most notable is Scott Pask's techno-scenery and Rick Belzer's evocative lighting that use the video monitors to comment on the action. Aside from minor technical glitches, the entire production is unbelievably tight for a company that has only given three previous performances in a shakedown bow in Nashville. Far more than Rent, this production is most likely to make lifelong theatergoers of teens lucky enough to get dragged to this show kicking and screaming.