Review: The Rise and Fall of “Jesusmania” in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

Singapore — This classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical finally arrives in Singapore, feeling more like a rock concert than ever. 

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s fully sung-through rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar is a dramatic retelling of the final weeks in the life of Jesus Christ, but retold from the perspective of Judas. 

Retelling an existing story from the perspective of another character, particularly the villain, has been common in literature and the arts for decades. This angle adds context that was not present in the original that changes how the audience understands the characters' motivations for their actions. In Jesus Christ Superstar, the show reframes some famous biblical events, like the famous speech Jesus makes defending Mary Magdalene calling for those without sin to throw the first stone, and of course the choice Judas makes to betray Jesus.

This production of Jesus Christ Superstar first premiered at London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2016. The creative team for this production involves director Timothy Sheader, choreography by Olivier Award-winner Drew McOnie and design by Tony and Olivier Award-winner Tom Scutt. It won the Olivier for Best Revival, and ran a second time in 2017. Since then, this production has toured Australia before embarking on its international tour that just arrived in Singapore. Simultaneously, this production was recently remounted in the West End and is currently playing at the London Palladium before moving to Theatre Royal Drury Lane in October. 

This production of Jesus Christ Superstar was one of the first productions among the wider trend of modern, lively but minimalist revivals of Andrew Lloyd Webber classics. After Jesus Christ Superstar, in 2019 Jamie Lloyd’s modern, minimalist production of Evita ran at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre with choreography and costuming turning Eva Perón into a pop star. Jamie Lloyd then staged a minimalist production of another Webber musical, Sunset Boulevard, opening at the Savoy Theatre in 2023. This featured a massive screen that loomed over the stage, cameras filming what was happening on stage and projecting it onto the screen, evoking aesthetics of film in the stage production. These productions share a common theme: they meshed current concepts and aesthetics of fame into works based on an older story. 

In Jesus Christ Superstar, the clout Jesus collects is akin to one of a rockstar, as the lyrics of the show call “Jesusmania.” This becomes the central point of contention for most of the characters. In “Heaven On Their Minds” Judas starts the show with a warning for Jesus. He’s seen how Jesus has gotten swept away by all his worshipping followers who have trusted his promises, and cautions him that this growing group of followers could turn against him, or if their following gets too big and powerful it could attract a target on their backs. 

A few songs later we find that this warning was correct. Caiaphas, the priests and Pharisees gather to discuss the threat of Jesus Christ’s popularity, and hence declares “This Jesus Must Die.” The musical smartly takes this story and turns it into an examination of how we’ve seen politics work in history. Groups with rising popularity and social capital could be seen as a threat by the current sitting powers, and they could use this power to defend their position in society. 

Jesus originally seemed to enjoy being adored and worshipped by his disciples but slowly sees this turn into something that haunts him. This turning point was staged well in “The Temple.” The ensemble swarmed Jesus as he got more and more tormented. Everyone in Jerusalem takes all their worst problems to him and hounds him to fix and heal them until Jesus makes a final exasperated declaration that they should just heal themselves. His arc shifts to an existential crisis as the Apostles contemplate their legacy, and as Jesus contemplates his own mortality and fate. 

These journeys are paired with vocals that are exactly what you'd expect from a rock musical. Javon King as Judas and Luke Street as Jesus make two of the highest, most vocally demanding male roles in the musical theatre canon sound easy. King tackles the difficult role with a very open voice that consistently serves crystal clear belts. He peppers the role with very clean riffs and runs, and even optioning up some already incredibly high notes. 

Street brings a similar agility and flexibility to reach these inhumanely high notes, but his voice features well-controlled grit and rasp that is very suited for his tortured, conflicted Jesus. His voice shined through in many moments. In “The Temple” he ends up down on his knee and hitting a high rock scream/belt like it’s nothing, and similarly in his most iconic and challenging song “Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)” he similarly effortlessly sings these incredible high rock belts as Jesus is in pure existential agony.

Local talent Tabitha Nauser brings a smooth pop ballad tone into the role of Mary Magdalene, similar to some of the more recent Mary Magdalenes. However, the writing for this role is pretty flat and she does not get much opportunity to flex her acting muscles as much as the men do. 

Grant Hodges as Caiaphas showcases incredible range. His booming bass gets whistles, cheers and applause, while also showcasing a very clear and easy mid-range. Joshua Bess as the Tenor Priest also stretches to reach incredibly high notes that provide a satisfying sonic balance in "This Jesus Must Die." Ethan Hardy Benson as Pilate looks and sounds like a conflicted rockstar while dealing with a huge decision, struggling to reconcile the popular will and his own opinion about Jesus.

The rock concert feel is what this production heavily strives towards. This production in its design, direction and choreography create the aesthetic of a rock concert meshed with biblical elements. In the set design, the stage is full of wooden carpentry, but with structures reminiscent of scaffolding at a music festival, with the band visible up on the wooden scaffolding. There are numerous crosses all around the set, including a massive cross on the floor of the stage, and a cross-shaped hole in the background. There were also some fascinating props that brought these two aesthetics together, for example, Caiaphas and the priests carry scepters that flip around to become mic stands. 

The costume design heavily features draping fabrics that feel simple and appropriate to the time period, but also were athletic wear, including joggers, tank tops, sports bras and sneakers. This type of athletic wear has become exceedingly common in modern Webber productions. The ensemble choreography also resembles backup dancers at a pop star's world arena tour. 

The direction often opts for symbolism over realism, featuring many cool moments. For example during "Damned for All Time/Blood Money" Judas dips his hands in silver paint, and his hands drip in silver riches while also being tainted and marked with his betrayal. At a certain important moment in the second act, loudspeaker stands are used to recreate perhaps the most iconic biblical imagery. 

These choices try to evoke what originally made Jesus Christ Superstar so intriguing. Telling a reframed biblical story through a rock musical was such a fascinating, bold and controversial concept. 

This boldness does not seem to translate as much as they’d hope. The minimalist rock concert schtick is fun for a while, but if you came for storytelling the minimalist schtick can get a little dry, repetitive and boring. In today’s musical theatre scene where there are a vast number of rock musicals, musicals about taboo topics, and even more experimental scores, this direction of Jesus Christ Superstar does not make it feel particularly bold anymore. Furthermore, amidst the sea of other modern Webber productions in the last few years that feature fairly similar choices, the choices no longer feel fresh. 

The text juggles so many characters. As it bounces around so many people it is hard to get emotionally invested in each person’s arc. This is worsened when this production seems to want to impress more than it wants to emotionally connect. 

The direction does very little to support the text in conveying intention, developing the characters and political tensions, and fails to elicit emotional reactions beyond “that’s cool.” Audiences unfamiliar with the musical will have to work much harder to mine for these nuances.

Songs get reactions for the incredible vocals, and justifiably so, but they often do not get to tell a story that emotionally pulls the audience in. For example, as the audience, it felt like we were mostly just watching King sing the roof down instead of becoming attuned to the exact concerns, motivations and fears of Judas. The conflict between Judas and Jesus in “The Last Supper” reads more like two contestants in a reality singing competition singing their faces off to beat each other (admittedly singing very well). The personal stakes were not clear and were buried by plain direction that focused on letting us watch them do a belt-off. 

While “Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)” was very well performed and was certainly a highlight of the evening, the direction was not doing Street very many favours. They had him put on a guitar and play it for the first portion of the song, almost like the acoustic set of your favourite artist’s concert. During the song that is the dramatic climax of his arc, this choice becomes a barrier between the audience and Street. We only get to better connect with him once he dramatically throws all of these items away and is finally able to use his entire body to convey how distraught Jesus feels. 

Choreography is often repetitive, which fits the concert aesthetic but does not contribute to nuanced storytelling. For example, whenever the ensemble worshipped Jesus, it involved a repetitive motion of reaching out to Jesus and then covering their face. After a while this does not take us very far in conveying the change in behaviour of his followers. 

At the intermission of the Gala Night, people in line at the bathroom were having conversations asking each other who is who, looking up the synopsis online, asking “who’s that guy in the leather jacket,” or “I think that’s Mary Magdalene?” Confusion was unfortunately common for those unfamiliar with the musical. Being somewhat familiar with the Bible alone might not be enough to fully understand the show. With poor signposting in the score and direction that does not give enough signalling as to who these characters are, people are confused about who's coming out. Paired with a rock score with inhumane vocals and harmonies that make enunciation harder to hear, new audiences may struggle. 

This production is fantastic for people who are familiar with Jesus Christ Superstar and want to see a different take on it, or those who want to listen to vocals on such an iconic and difficult rock score that will knock your socks off. However, for those new to the musical, I urge you to read a synopsis before coming, I promise it will help tremendously.

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