EW's first look at the "Superstar" number

[tazber]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 11:25am

Lovin' the jacket

[StageManager2]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 11:44am

Jesus looks like a Klingon.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 11:50am

"Your seat cushion is a floatation device….."

Updated On: 3/19/12 at 11:50 AM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 11:52am

WOW! That was...NOT GOOD.

[Marlothom]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 12:13pm

Ugh! I want nothing but good things for this production - saw it in Stratford and really enjoyed it there (granted I had hoped they would make some tweaks for Bway, which from I have read on here, have not happened). I have to ask, who the F is running publicity for this show! Is it the same folks that ran the very local campaign in Stratford? I don't get it - that clip was awful and it does not show the best of that show. I also wish someone would wake up and get Josh out of that ill-fitting spandex suit. I don't understand why he wears that when everyone else wears such earthy colors. It also gets in the way of his movement.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 12:40pm

Why is it that all the clips show the cast performing as if they just took two Valiums each? It looks more like a Zzz-Opera than a rock one.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 12:43pm

The best part of this revival is the bit where Jesus gets his suit sucked off him by a vacuum cleaner in the floor - right before the crucifixion!

That's the moment I want to relive again and again on youtube.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 12:45pm

Ugh! I want nothing but good things for this production - saw it in Stratford and really enjoyed it there (granted I had hoped they would make some tweaks for Bway, which from I have read on here, have not happened). I have to ask, who the F is running publicity for this show! Is it the same folks that ran the very local campaign in Stratford? I don't get it - that clip was awful and it does not show the best of that show. I also wish someone would wake up and get Josh out of that ill-fitting spandex suit. I don't understand why he wears that when everyone else wears such earthy colors. It also gets in the way of his movement.

I saw it in Stratford too. As part of the repertory festival I thought it was very good. But that doesn't mean it has the production and creative values to be a Broadway show, standing on its own and outside of the festival environment. Oh well...

[Marlothom]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 12:51pm

Blaxx, I hear you. I don't completely agree with you - have not seen the Broadway show yet, but I had hope they would add more sparkle to make this an event. Despite this, all of the publicity has been a big F (the fan concert? the non-descipt logo, this clip of Josh running around and cracking). There is no excuse for this.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 1:47pm

Wow, that was so sanitized.

No emotion at all.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 1:56pm

Having now seen the show, it needs a new Judas and a new Mary, FAST, or it is not going to pop like it should. We need a Judas who melts the audience's faces off, and a Mary who doesn't act like she's a Celine soundalike at a Vegas competition.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 1:58pm

can someone say AWFUL? I think McAnuff has another Guys & Dolls on his hands.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 2:04pm

I'll go one step further. Young actually nails the acting, but vocally it's not him. Make these changes to the score, and he will be sailing smoothly:

1. Lower "Heaven On Their Minds" a step.
2. Lower the "You sad pathetic man..." section of "The Last Supper" a step.
3. Lower "Judas' Death" a step and a half.
4. Lower "Superstar" a step.

This is a man who clearly cannot soar in the rafters, so keep all the moments that make Judas memorable ("Mystifying," "Alright," "Damned for All Time," part of "The Last Supper") in their original keys, and lower the stuff where he's not quite so hot, and he'll be perfect.

But they still need a new Mary.

[Johnnycantdecide]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 2:15pm

I think this production would work better with a new Mary, a new Judas, and possibly a new Jesus. Basically I feel like they need powerhouse leads.

Superstar is one of my favorite shows ever written. Ever. Partly for sentimental reasons. But to be successful today in the way that Broadway works, there needs to be some type of star in it. That's why I think it's kind of smart that ALW is doing the TV search overseas to find Jesus. I think they should have tried to get Adam Lambert or Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance as Judas. Or even some other rock star. There are many who could sing the hell out of the score and pull in an audience. I also would not mind seeing Drew Sarich perform Judas on Broadway. Hell, I would love to have a star as Judas and Drew and Jesus. That would be perfect.

They should have gotten someone like Mandy Gonzalez as Mary. Well... almost anyone would be better as Mary.

I love the staging and direction of this show. I just think that they need new leads. Badly.






Updated On: 3/19/12 at 02:15 PM

[Marlothom]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 2:28pm

I will not chime in on casting decisions (I enjoyed them all in Canada), but a 20 second clip on a MAJOR entertainment news outlet should highlight the BEST, even if they are awful. This clip is just wrong! My problem is not with the Bway production but with the Broadway-less publicity this show is getting.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 4:30pm

As others have said, it just seems to lack energy, which for this song is completely bizarre. And now I am curious about MB's comment about the vacuume suit scene--the video doesn't even seem to show that, and it sounds like a definite highlight.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 5:07pm

Having now seen the show, it needs a new Judas and a new Mary, FAST, or it is not going to pop like it should.

I think this production would work better with a new Mary, a new Judas, and possibly a new Jesus. Basically I feel like they need powerhouse leads.

And that's again another major problem with a production that was built around repertory and festival. You can appreciate these performers more within that context, as they have performed the musical with straight plays in rotation or as part of a whole season. They are better suited for this style of showcase performance, and it doesn't translate well as a Broadway revival. As leads out of the festival context they just seem off and missing the star quality.

Their intentions to transfer were nice, but Broadway is a different monster. It is really disappointing, as this is my favorite Webber score. It will likely be more than a decade before, hopefully, someone gets it right.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 5:21pm

I'm not really understanding all the hate for this production. I thought it was wonderful in La Jolla. The video is pretty fast paced and cut together as to make the song look a little more exciting on film, but I wasn't bored in the theatre.

I just wish the logo was something closer to the one in the video which is a better match for this production than the one that they are using.

[ChildrenwillListen]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 5:39pm

Uhhhh wow. I am curious about what the reviews will be like

[Proper Villain]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 6:08pm

Ha! "Brutharrrr!"

Pardon me, stewardess. I speak jive.

[gregj63]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 6:10pm

That clip captures the show I saw last week. Jesus, Judas & Mary, bland bland bland. Am I the only one who thought it was Josh Groban playing Judas?

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 6:22pm

That sign reminds me of the "Heavy" number in Dreamgirls.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 6:24pm

Alright, I never thought I'd say it, but I will: Adam Lambert for Judas.

[Idiot]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 8:02pm

Who is that lounge singer sneaking up on our lord and savior?

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 3/19/12 at 10:02pm

That orchestration makes it sound like the opening to "Saturday Night Live". So generic and sanitized. Blech.