Andrew
Lloyd-Webber has gotten in on the “stream shows for free on YouTube” train as
well, using the channel The Shows Must Go On. As with the National Theatre Live
productions, the short availability on these means that by the time I watch
something, write a review, and post it, it’s likely already gone. In fact, that
goes double for these shows, since each one is only up for the length of a
weekend. On the plus side, most of these have been recently elsewhere and can
be found on DVD or certain streaming services, so if you miss them, they can
still be found outside of waiting for a showing in cinemas. I’ll try and do
write-ups for the shows I’m able to catch.
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.)
As I was watching this,
my mind flashed on a friend commenting that they couldn’t understand how Hamilton uses a hip-hop score/vernacular
to dramatize America’s founders, and I realized I should’ve brought up Superstar as a counterpoint. “Israel in
4 B.C.” had no wailing guitar solos, and I’m pretty sure none of Jesus’
disciples ever actually said, “What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s happening!” It
made me think of how revolutionary it must have been to watch this show when it
first came out.
The show’s modernity and
immediacy has always been a big selling point, and this version leans heavily
into that with the costumes and design. Jesus and the disciples dress like
hipster activists, and big video screens periodically display social media
“footage” of them, complete with their hashtags. The Pharisees and Pilate sport
modern looks too, more boardroom baddies than the “fascist chic” air they give
off in other versions I’ve seen. I enjoy little touches like Jesus’ followers
living in a tent city or Jesus wearing a prison jumpsuit at his trial.
One thing I just don’t
get is various productions’ insistence on focusing on sex/debauchery in “The
Temple,” when the main focus should be on money. Looking at the origins of that
story, Jesus gets angry because of how people are profiting off of the temple, and the sins He rails against are
greed and exploitation. But I feel like, in each version I see of the show,
this song gets progressively sexier. Here, it’s a nightclub full of
titillation, and it also includes a fair amount of queer imagery. I dunno,
maybe that’s how that song is supposed to be, but interpreting it that way
misses the mark for me.
I’m a little mixed on
the casting. Tim Minchin plays Judas. I actually know Minchin best for writing
the score for Matilda, so this was
the first time I actually saw him perform in anything. His singing is
excellent, but his acting feels a little remote for me, and that keeps me from
fully connecting with him in the role. And honestly, I’m not much of a fan of
Ben Forster as Jesus. Again, the acting doesn’t feel quite right, and
especially on the high notes, his Jesus can come off as kind of whiny. Granted,
Lloyd-Webber’s version of Jesus is not
the one from the Bible, but it still doesn’t track for me – I can’t completely
buy that people would follow this Jesus. For me, the strongest performances in
this show come from Melanie C. as Mary Magdalene, Giovanni Spano as Simon, and
Alexander Hanson as Pilate (I feel like the performance really makes or breaks Pilate – with a great actor, the role comes
alive, but if the acting is limited, I don’t care about Pilate at all.)
This
is the third filmed recording I’ve seen of Jesus
Christ Superstar, in addition to having the 1970 concept album, and I feel
like I’m still chasing my ideal version of the show. So far, I think the first
version I saw, the 2001 recording with Glenn Carter and Jérôme Pradon, is my
favorite filmed recording of it, but I haven’t watched that in years, so my
memory might be improving on it to an extent (even though that one too has
issues for me.) Sometime, when I’m not busy watching National Theatre Live and
Andrew-Lloyd Webber recordings on a strict schedule, I’ll have to revisit it
and see if my thoughts have changed. (Side note: YouTube has provided me with
some illicit clips of Michael K. Lee and Drew Sarich variously performing in
both main roles, and each of those performances fairly knock my socks off.)
Warnings
Violence,
sexual content, drinking/smoking, and strong thematic elements (including
suicide.)
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