Jesus Christ Superstar (2012)

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.)

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.