Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018)

The live network musicals don’t have a solid enough reputation to be a must-see for me, but I’ve checked out a few.  I really liked The Wiz and Hairspray was pretty good, while my feelings on The Rocky Horror Show were more mixed.  I love the music in Jesus Christ Superstar, and when I saw there were a number of Broadway names in the cast, I figured it was worth a try.

Set during the final days before the crucifixion, Jesus Christ Superstar follows Judas Iscariot as he struggles to “strip away the myth from the man.”  He’s grown disillusioned with Jesus and has begun to consider drastic measures to save Him from Himself (or at least, that’s what Judas tells himself.)

Though billed as a live concert, the show is actually fully staged.  The sets are minimal but effective, everyone is in costume (I was reminded of the 2000 filmed recording, mostly modern with little biblical flourishes and hints of dystopia,) and there’s plenty of choreography.  What’s more, the production features some well-planned camera shots, making it feel made to be filmed rather than simply cameras set up in front of a stage.  On the whole, it just feels put together very well, something that isn’t always true of these live events.

But of course, these musicals live and die by their casts, and this one mostly succeeds on that front.  Leading the show is Brandon Victor Dixon (a former Aaron Burr, which seems fitting) as Judas.  He sounds great and his acting is excellent, although I think the production lets him down just a little.  In terms of songs, Judas isn’t actually in the show as much as you might think, so it’s important to keep him feeling present and significant even when he’s on the sidelines.  With this staging, though, he sort of fades into the background when he’s not front and center.  For other cast members, Sara Bareilles is in lovely voice as Mary Magdalene, Alice Cooper walks away with his few minutes of stage time as Herod, and while I’m not familiar with Ben Daniels, his Pilate is super engaging.

For me, however, the best part of the production, hands down, is the one-two punch of Jin Ha and Norm Lewis as Annas and Caiaphas.  I’d heard Ha’s name before (he played Song Lilong in a recent adaptation of M. Butterfly,) but this is my first time seeing him in action, and he killed it.  In contrast, I’ve loved Lewis’s musical work for years – ever since I first heard him singing “Sailing” in A New Brain – and although I was a bit apprehensive going in, because Caiaphas’s part is just so low, he sounds fantastic.  These two positively rock every scene they’re in.

If there’s a weak point, it’s probably John Legend as Jesus.  His voice, while lacking some of the power of the Broadway folks onstage and not quite high enough for some of Jesus’s glory notes, is perfectly fine, and his performance certainly wouldn’t deter me from getting a cast recording of this production.  However, the acting isn’t really there, and that does take me out of the proceedings a bit, especially in the second act.

Warnings

Thematic elements, violence, drinking, and (very) brief suggestiveness.