The original Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar.- Page 4

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/26/14 at 2:09pm

I would almost go so far as to say that it's actually one of my favorite songs in the score. It's simple but it serves a purpose within the structure of the show beyond storytelling and when staged creatively can be very effective. I liked the way the last revival included Judas and had Jesus on stage as if they were singing it directly to him. I feel like that was the first time I ever actually listened and "heard" the lyrics.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 4/27/14 at 6:21pm

gdelgi writes: In this age of Wicked and Spider-Man, it would not be out of place as a rock spectacle. Certainly better than Webber's Occupy Jerusalem mess about to limp across the country.

Question: When you say, "Webber's Occupy Jerusalem mess," I'm not sure what you mean. Is someone (ALW?) using the JCS tour to comment on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, is someone including action to draw parallels between Jesus's followers and the recent "occupy" movement, or are you referring to something else entirely? Frankly, it's hard for me to picture an ALW show deliberately endorsing any kind of left-wing politics -- the guy is a member of the House of Lords, as rich as Croesus (to steel a line from "50 Shades of Grey"), and has never, to my knowledge, gone out of his way to support progressive causes.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/27/14 at 6:47pm

Have you not seen the DVD of the arena tour? The director set the show in London during the occupy London movement and uses that setting to parallel the biblical story of Jesus (rather unsuccessfully in my opinion) but the political commentary is there however thinly conceptualized.

Why they couldn't just stage the show more conventionally and focus on telling the actual story, I don't understand. Instead we get Jesus in an orange jumpsuit being carted off to Guantanamo Bay. Although, to bring this thread back to its original topic, by comparison, the arena tour doesn't seem any more or less highly conceptualized and misguided than the original Broadway production.

Updated On: 4/27/14 at 06:47 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/27/14 at 8:43pm

The text of the show is iffy in its storyline, because in order to draw parallels to modern (1960s to today) politics and sociology, it depicts Jesus not as a primarily philosophical ethicist who drew followers due to a new way of thinking about religion and morality, but as an Eastern-style guru with a cult of personality.

We have references to Jesus having handouts and performing miraculous feats, but no reference to him, even in passing, as a rabbi or teacher. GIven that the figure of Jesus is taken out of the context of his usual storyline, any political commentary placed on the show is going to be thin by its very nature.

[johnpressman]

Posted: 4/27/14 at 8:53pm

Wow, "JCS" has really sparked much interest on this message board.

My father had a store, Gourmet and Gift Center, on West 57 Street. I worked there after school and on Saturdays. In the winter of 1972, I noticed these young guys coming in every few days, buying these French Pastille candies that had supposed therapeutic benefits. The candies came in these beautiful painted tins. I asked them why they bought so many every couple of days and they told me that they were in Jesus Christ Superstar and that the whole cast was hooked on them, using them to soothe their throats.

They also told me that they had nailed the empty tins to the wall of their dressing room and hoped to fill the wall with tins before the show closed. They invited me backstage to see their handiwork and thats how I began my friendship with Jimmy Sbano and Reggie Mack of the cast of JCS.

I wound up seeing the show dozens of times from the wings and from empty orchestra seats, impressing many dates in the process. One of the funnest nights of my life was the closing night party on the roof of Le Jardin disco and the after-party at Paul Ainsly's house on Staten Island, with ALL of the props from the show out on his lawn!

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 4/28/14 at 6:46pm

^ Guess it didn't help Jeff Fenholt. Dude burst a blood vessel in his stomach.