Review: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Nocturne Theatre

While JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is now a classic musical, its beginnings offered no guarantee of success. Andrew Lloyd Webber who produced the music and Tim Rice who crafted the lyrics couldn’t get financing for the show, so they released it as a concept album. Once that proved a success (hitting #1 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart with the singles “Superstar” and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” eventually becoming Hot 100 hits), it led to a Broadway debut, and the show was on its way to icon status, earning five Tony nods, radio broadcasts, film adaptations, and revivals, and wearing the crown of the longest running West End musical, until it passed the adornment to “Cats” in 1989.

Now, the Nocturne Theatre (formerly the Glendale Center Theatre) has given the rock opera an immersive, in-the-round treatment and the results are electrifying. Director Justin Meyer (who plays double duty as a compelling lighting designer) gets incredible performances from his actors. His direction is precise, coordinating a fairly large cast in the space without ever making it feel crowded. He, along with wife, Nocturne co-owner, and choreographer Melissa Meyer, has created a compelling production, a “psychedelic dystopia that feels both ancient and urgently contemporary,” in his own words. The creative choreography — with touches of Fosse — is a critical component of that psychedelic dystopia, with the costumes by Tanya Cyr adding immensely. Cyr’s wardrobe is both classic and futuristic, “Tron” meets “Mad Max” interbred with a ren faire cosplayer via steampunk.

With the performers both in the round and in the stairs that cut through the audience, the show is both immediate and timeless. It could be the past, the present, or “The Handmaid’s Tale.” With modern flourishes, like crosses set with ring lights, so the characters can take selfies (who doesn’t want a selfie at a crucifixion?), there are also nods to what’s going on in the world now and, possibly, our complicity in it.

With an excellent live band in an elevated alcove led by music director Chris Wade, there is electricity in the air throughout, even in the quieter moments. Diego Huerta-Gutierrez as Jesus is incandescent — you believe he would inspire a following — and his voice is simply elastic. Chess MacElvaine as Mary Magdalene delivers a rousing version of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and Andrew Diego as Caiaphas is magnetic. But it’s Andy Meyers as Judas Iscariot who buoys the show (his rendition of “The Last Supper” is particularly moving), and Troy Dailey as Pontius Pilate who is such a standout you can’t look away from him. They’re all underscored by an ace ensemble who pull a lot of weight.

All these elements come together to create a rousing take on the last days of Jesus from one of the most underrated venues in Los Angeles, which is responsible for some of the most thrilling and innovative shows around.