Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Salad_Fingers85
Stand-by Joined: 8/30/05
#1Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 1/19/07 at 11:36pmSo, living in the middle of nowhere in Canada, I rarely get to review shows since often I am not in New York. So here is my review! I have never been a huge fan of the score nor the show but overall was thoroughly impressed. Ted Neeley (Jesus Christ) was phenominal. He did star in the movie so I expected nothing less, but he was truly fantastic to see. His falsetto is just crazy! Corey Glover (Judas Iscariot) was just superb! I love this part a lot and he seemed to have a really good grasp and understanding of Judas. His death almost crossed the melodramatic line, and his singing seemed to be a bit screamy, but overall he was great. Finally, Tiffini Dodson (Mary Magdalene), was my favorite, I absolutely LOVED her! She is freash out of college but seemed like a seasoned proffesional. Her "I Don't Know How to Love Him" was truly beautiful and the whole time I sat there thinking she could play a fantastic Lady of the Lake in Spamalot (random, I know). The cast as a whole was very together and the show worked. The set was minimal but the lighting was really really good. I am running out of things to say, so... if you got to the end of this review, I am impressed. I would reccomend this show, it is a classic (however I would probably not see it again)
#2re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 1/20/07 at 12:44amOh, thanks for the review! I'm seeing the show in June and I am SO excited. I was raised on JCS and the film, so I'm a little more than ecstatic at the idea of getting to see Mr. Neeley as Jesus. Nice to know the rest of the cast holds up, too!
#2re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 1/20/07 at 11:54am
I saw this in Rockford, Il (nowhere, Il) on the 11th of this month.
Did you get to meet Ted Neeley?
He literally held deep conversations with each and every person that was there and before we ended the conversations a loooooong hug. IT was odd but actually really cool.
The show was so great too! There were some things I didn't enjoy, but for the most part a really great night of theatre.
I talked to a few of the people in the cast/crew (I was ushering the event) and they were all just such nice people. I wish them all the best.
and all that I could do because of you was talk of love...
Salad_Fingers85
Stand-by Joined: 8/30/05
#3re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 1/20/07 at 1:39pm
Unfortunately I could find no information regarding the location of the stage door. 
I was quite disappointed.
Type_A_Tiff
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/04
#4re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:01am
I attended the closing Vancouver show last night and I have to say I was completely, utterly disappointed. I hope I can chalk it up to exhaustion, but everyone's vocals were shot and the performances seemed phoned in. I really wanted to like Corey (although to be fair, it would be tough for anyone to top Carl in my eyes) and Ted. Corey started out "Heaven On Their Minds" screeching and ultimately cracking on the first high note, and sang the rest of the song going an octave lower instead of an octave higher, which diminishes the intensity of the song, IMO. The rest of the show, even though his acting was reasonable (at best), his singing was terrible. He screamed; literally yelled and shrieked. And cracked many, many times.
Ted seemed more like Zen Jesus and his performances felt very, very restrained. Unfortunately, it's hard to deny his age and he doesn't have the youthful vibrancy he had back in the day. There was hardly any belting - mostly head voice - and glory notes were reduced to subdued whispers. His constant posturing was distracting; maybe it was a problem with direction, but it was as if he was instructed to pose for a stills shot every 20 seconds. I was so underwhelmed by "Gesthemane", which is normally a highlight for me. He sang the words and hit (most of) the notes, but like Corey, I just didn't see any intensity and I was sitting in the second row.
Tiffani Dodson was fine and she apparently has only been with the tour for 3 weeks! Her voice is pure and melodic and her acting was much more nuanced than anyone else's.
I really, really wanted to like this show - I've been looking forward to it for months and it's my favorite ALW production, but I was entirely underwhelmed. Perhaps I was spoiled after seeing the Kunze/Anderson production a couple of years ago. I met Ted backstage after the show (I've never seen him live before but we had mutual friends) and, while not engaging in this criticism with him, told him truthfully that I felt privileged to have seen him in the show and that I knew Carl's one biggest regret was that they hadn't finished out the tour together. He was incredibly thoughtful, genuine and insightful and when I left, I saw him taking several minutes (we're talking 5-10 minutes PER PERSON!) to fully engage in conversations with everyone who had waited over an hour to meet him. People were crying and lavishing him with presents and he was incredibly gracious through all of it. A class act!
"It's not always about you!!!" (But if you think I'm referring to you anyway, then I probably am.)
"Good luck returning my ass!" - Wilhemina Slater
"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
"Good luck returning my ass!" - Wilhemina Slater
"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
JustChillin8908
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/31/06
#5re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:27am
I have to agree with you Type_A_Tiff. I saw the tour back in September and was very dissapointed. Also it was my first time seeing it live so it isn't because you were spoiled. I am actually VERY suprised at how positive most of the reviews are. It makes me wonder if I saw the same show.
Type_A_Tiff
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/04
#6re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 2/6/07 at 1:46am
I should run a Google search on recent reviews. The score is still terrific but I suppose the acoustics in our auditorium aren't that great because I was surprised to see musicians backstage since there was such a tinny quality to the music. I was sure it was a recording!
I suppose there's some novelty to seeing Ted Neeley in the role but aging is unavoidable. He exudes charisma in spades but each bit of blocking, however minute, seemed deliberate, unnatural and rehearsed. (And again back to the constant posturing! No wonder there's so many publicity photos of him in this tour!) My biggest issue is Corey, really. In some ways, I think an effective Judas is more important than Jesus because it's his betrayal and inner conflict that moves the story in many places. I just don't understand the screaming. I mean, it was jarring and totally unpleasant. I visibly cringed in many places because he was just SO BAD!
"It's not always about you!!!" (But if you think I'm referring to you anyway, then I probably am.)
"Good luck returning my ass!" - Wilhemina Slater
"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
"Good luck returning my ass!" - Wilhemina Slater
"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
JustChillin8908
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/31/06
#7re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 2/6/07 at 2:01amOh I forgot to add that I did not see Corey. I had an u/s that happened to be terrible!
Type_A_Tiff
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/04
#8re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 2/6/07 at 2:04amIf you have the same cast I had last night, you either had my Simon or one of two apostles. The Simon I was saw pretty good (not that Simon has a whole lot to do) but none of the apostles stood out.
"It's not always about you!!!" (But if you think I'm referring to you anyway, then I probably am.)
"Good luck returning my ass!" - Wilhemina Slater
"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
"Good luck returning my ass!" - Wilhemina Slater
"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
JustChillin8908
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/31/06
#9re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 2/6/07 at 2:14amAccording to my program I saw Jason D. Bush. Also for Mary I saw Christina Rea-Briskin who was wonderful. Does anyone know why she's not with the tour anymore?
Type_A_Tiff
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/04
#10re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 2/6/07 at 2:40amNot too sure. All I know is that Tiffani is a newbie, but she played the role so naturally. She seemed very comfortable!
"It's not always about you!!!" (But if you think I'm referring to you anyway, then I probably am.)
"Good luck returning my ass!" - Wilhemina Slater
"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
"Good luck returning my ass!" - Wilhemina Slater
"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
#11re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 3/3/07 at 7:38pmChristine Rea came in as a favor to Ted and to the production. The originally-cast Mary wasn't cutting it, so Christine opened the tour and remained with it for a limited time. She also did the AD Tour with Ted in the 90s and she was superb in the role.
#12re: Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Nowhere, Canada
Posted: 3/3/07 at 7:48pmI saw the tour months ago and I thought it was pretty good. Ted was in great voice, but Corey as Judas was HORRIBLE, and that is my dream role. I mean, I could have jumped on that stage, without ever rehearsing with the gang, and still done a better job. I was so mad at him for ruining that part. But, like I said . . . the night I saw it, Ted was in great voice, getting multiple standing ovations and Christine as Mary Magdalene was SUPERB.
"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2
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