Remember the red clown nose and the Superman pj's that once adorned the savior? Well, in the current Theatre Charlotte revival of Godspell, that conspicuously un-sagely Jesus has been transfigured — into a grownup. Executive director Ron Law, taking over stage directing chores at the Queens Road barn for the second time this year, has seen the light. Buck Fuller, Socrates, Nietzsche and Sartre have been banished from the opening tableau, replaced by a bare stage and a ghost light.

Instead of the great thinkers of the ages, who subsequently morph into groupies or apostles as Jesus delivers his teachings and parables, we now have a company of actors -- clearly more believable than Luther or Aquinas when descending into the playacting and silliness that still infest Christ's lesson plan. Now they can wear the goofball T-shirts credibly from beginning to end! Conversely, when Jesus turns serious and warns us against sin, hypocrisy and hellfire, there is more voltage to Joe McCourt's thunderbolts when his costume can't be paid for in Frosted Flakes boxtops.

McCourt is at the vanguard of this ensemble, not excessively dignified, only slightly twinkling with mischief. Vocally, he is self-assured and easy-on-the-ear in all his familiar solos and duets. McCourt is also aptly gaunt and ethereal as the charismatic teacher who suffers so heroically. With no Romans or Pharisees in John-Michael Tebelak's book, those sufferings aren't overlong.

Forget about Luke, Matthew or Peter and that all-male club of apostles. Most of the characters who orbit around McCourt bear their own given names in the style of the original off-Broadway production of 1971. And most are still women, quite a revelation back then. Only a slight residue of the flower-child softness conceived by Tebelak remains here, and the juvenile energy is muted -- but Law has gotten his cast to see how the energy and the softness can feed into each other. For me, the impact becomes far more agreeable, far less patronizing.

Without a professional company in Charlotte producing adult musicals past Labor Day, Law has reaped a bumper crop of talent that sings Stephen Schwartz's catchy score with a polish and verve that completely belies the amateur connotations of community theater. Ball cap perfectly askew, Steve Buchanan brings a New Millienium street cred to the Prodigal Son in Act 1, and leads a rousing "We Beseech Thee" after intermission. Joe Veale brings an earnest purity to his "All Good Gifts" solo, while Carolina Firczak, Kristin Graf and Leigh Anne Spencer effectively split the spotlight in assorted duets. Only Brittany Currie draws a solo that sits uncomfortably in her range, but she gets brief chances to sizzle in the ensembles.

Familiar members of the congregation don't disappoint. Vito Abate is clearly the most chameleonic as John the Baptist and Judas, with a spot of hosting tossed in, launching the evening -- with a janitor's pail and sponge! -- in "Prepare Ye." Emily Johnson brings all the simplicity and spirituality you could wish to "Day by Day," Schwartz's breakout hit. After a topical reference to John McCain's presidential campaign, Jack Stevenson (on loan from Tarradiddle Players) takes us back to the last recognizable Democrat we can safely mock: Bill Clinton in his most Christian persona.