Director Emma White says for her, Godspell is fundamentally about people becoming friends and bringing a community together.

The show is adapted from parts of the Gospels in the New Testament and tells the story of Jesus Christ and his disciples, primarily through a series of musical parables but White says it works for any audience.

Godspell (an archaic spelling of "gospel") was the first professional musical with songs by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Wicked), although he had contributed to a couple of musicals and an opera while at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

John-Michael Tebelak, who also studied at Carnegie Mellon, wrote the first version of Godspell as his master's thesis there, and it was performed by students. It was presented off-off-Broadway at Café La MaMa in New York as a play and then, with Schwartz's songs added and Tebelak directing, premiered off-Broadway in 1971. Cast members helped in the development of the show.

It opened the year after the similarly themed Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical Jesus Christ Superstar but White says the two shows are quite different: the latter, a rock opera that's more consistently dramatic in tone, focuses on the events leading up to and including the Passion of Christ.

Godspell, however, has a score largely based on Episcopalian hymns that ranges from pop to vaudeville - and is somewhat lighter in feeling.

"It's about joy," White says. It also tells a story that's broader in scope than its predecessor.

John the Baptist (Anthony Swadling) baptises the cast except Jesus (Alexander Gorring) who also asks to be baptised. He then gathers his disciples - including Judas, also played by Swadling - and begins his teaching through parables, including Lazarus and the rich man, which are enacted as mini-plays and through charades as well as song.

But, after the optimism and lightness of the first act, as those who are familiar with the story would expect, events take a darker turn.

"The group of people starts to betray their leader, bully him, mock him," White says.

"He will be tragically affected ... He is turned on and he will die."

But at the end, when all seems lost, there may still be hope.

White says she is following the tradition that all the actors - except those playing Jesus, John the Baptist and Judas - use their real names, as it helps form the feeling of community both on and off stage she thinks is so important. This was also fostered by the fact many of the cast knew each other and had performed on stage together before.

The costumes, she says, will be "Viking hipster" in appearance and dark in colour.

"My idea is that can be cool - it's like they're part of a gang."

Jesus, as is traditional (albeit not compulsory), will wear a Superman T-shirt but, White says, "It might not be a blue one but edgier, in line with the current portrayal of Superman in the comics."

And there's a final idea in this Godspell that White believes in, again blurring the line between onstage and off.

"It's hot people singing about love, she says.

"They're all pretty sexy."