Jesus Christ Superstar Tour?

[inick122492]

Just got tix. I just would like to know how it is and how Ted is.

[broadwayboy987]

Ted is interesting. I saw the tour back in '08 and he put on this really wierd voice which I no isn't actually how he talked because he did and Equity Fights Aids speech. Honestly is wasn't the best show and Ted was not that great but overall I thought it was worth it to go. There is no speaking lines (it is all song) which I think it makes it a bit harder to understand, but some songs were good and some were just all right. Overall it was an ok show.

[grandpianoalex]

I saw it with Ted a little over a year ago. His acting was great, well, as much as a 60-ish year old man can play a man who died at 33. Ted's voice was all over the place. The ensemble singing was wonderful. I had seen the tour once before, at least 5 years ago, where they had set it in modern times, and enjoyed that version much, much more. This one was the original with the biblical costumes and such. It'll be a great show, but its not something I'd see more than once if Ted was in it.

[willep]

I saw it a year ago and wasn't all that impressed. There were some spots (Gethsemane) that were incredible, but overall it is just time for Ted to let go of the role. I didn't really care for anyone else except Mary Magdalene. Herod was pretty dreadful, Judas seemed to take an incredible role and make it mediocre. Of course, everyone else I talked to had the opposite feelings as me. To each his own. See it and form your own opinion is what I say.

[Revolutionary]

Hhahaha, Ted is still doing this? I thought the farewell tour was like, 5 years ago. He's like Cher.

Poor guy. His life must be HELL. For real.

[Singer-Moves Poorly]

Regarding Ted Neely (with apologies to Tim Rice):

"Listen, surely I've exceeded expectations. Tried for three years, seems like thirty -- oh wait, it HAS been thirty (if not more)!"

[JoeKv99]

Is this another farewell tour or a comeback tour?

[tourboi]

It's a decent production that sadly has a star who should have walked away years ago.

[EVIE]

I saw Ted on tour a few years ago in San Jose and honestly, it was laughable. The tour with Eric Kunze and Natalie Toro was so so much better.

[muscle23ftl]

"It's a decent production that sadly has a star who should have walked away years ago"

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[lulu10]

I saw this show a couple years ago in Chicago with Ted in the cast. As someone who grew up watching the film, it was really fun to see him perform, but I have to agree with most of the people here...it was more of a spectacle than a substantial piece of theatre.

Completely enjoyed myself, though. :)

[averagebwaynut]

Echoing what Muscle said, Ted couldnt handle this role already 10+ years ago. Hearing him do it now would just be torture.

I can't help but lament that the Gale Edwards UK production starring Steve Balsamo and Zubin Varla never made it over here, and the dreadful Gale Edwards version that played the Hilton did. The UK production of the show I've ever seen (and imho, has the 2nd best cast album of the show, after the orignal).

[ravnquest1]

This used to be called "the farewell tour", but now it's the "Ted 'Till He's Dead Tour".

It astonishes me that this sells well enough to stay open, but Neeley has his own bus and pulls down something crazy like $10 grand a week...so, I don't think he's going anywhere. I think this is year 4 or 5. I know I saw this same tour in 2007 somewhere in Michigan.

[Brywal88]

I couldn't disagree more with everyone on this subject. However I saw the show in November 2006 and could not have been more satisfied. This "Farewell Tour" for Ted was kind of just getting started and the original cast including Corey Glover as Judas was absolutely amazing. Perhaps in the last three years Ted has put more strain on his voice but the man is a legend, I agree he should stop doing this soon but the performance I saw in '06 was incredible on many levels. I'm assuming the current cast is not very good because up until recently everyone I talked to was loving the production. Oh well good things don't last forever but this show (in my opinion) is Webber's masterpiece and for that reason i believe it is worth seeing.

[xxdrewboy85xx]

I just saw the tour a couple weeks ago at the Masonic Temple in Detroit ( which,by the way, was the most uncomfortable and dirty theater Ive ever been in- in my entire life).

The production was just alright. Nothing special or innovative about this production at all. Ted was okay to listen to but his acting really annoyed me and I feel he seriously needs to retire the role of Jesus. The whole production felt lazy and recycled and the cast never once seemed to be in the moment and completely went on auto-pilot during the entire show.

Overall I wasn't impressed. I didn't hate it either though...

[Mister Matt]

I saw Ted in the show in the mid-90s with Carl Anderson and hated it. Both of them screamed everything in the upper range as their voices were pretty much shot. The sound was amplified to the point of being painful. The metal set was loud and clanky every time some moved. King Herod was a pathetic joke with his buttless chaps. And that big inflatable Jesus in the temple scene looked so ridiculous. The icing on the cake was the very end. Ted was on the cross and then he's supposed to fly up to Heaven. They obviously used way too much velcro to attach him to he cross because he had to sort of squirm and YANK himself off the cross (supposedly dead and frozen in the classic pose) with a loud audible "RIIIIIP" and then he sort of swayed his way back and forth up to God while the cross lit up like a float in Disney's Spectromagic parade. Sweet.

Worst JCS production I've ever seen. Funny thing was, at an Equity Fights AIDS benefit, I ended up winning a black denim tour jacket from the production. I still have it.

[Upland]

Wow. I'm happy for Ted to be getting the work, but he is 30 years older than the character. Is that a little odd?

[brdlwyr]

I saw Ted in Chicago a few years ago, the production was laughable. To compare I saw Freni play Mimi in her later years and I wept with joy! Ted was not good!

[gvendo2005]

To jump in:

I don't know what show you people saw, but Ted's been in top form. At his age, hitting a G6 eight times a week is no picnic, and he still does it. Every number in the performances I saw has met with a standing O. There's a reason the tour is still running...the market obviously demands to see him in the role. Webber has been ****ing up his show with ridiculous staging concepts for the better part of the 21st century; maybe if he looked at the numbers, he'd realize people wanted to see a more traditional version. For that matter, maybe he has...

[stagewright]

I'll echo what gvendo posted... I saw this show last year and was blown away by the power of Ted's voice. For his age, he's still vocally up the role. Being able to see such a legend play the role he is most known for was an experience I'll never forget.

[TheatreFan4]

The icing on the cake was the very end. Ted was on the cross and then he's supposed to fly up to Heaven. They obviously used way too much velcro to attach him to he cross because he had to sort of squirm and YANK himself off the cross (supposedly dead and frozen in the classic pose) with a loud audible "RIIIIIP" and then he sort of swayed his way back and forth up to God while the cross lit up like a float in Disney's Spectromagic parade. Sweet.

This just about made me piss myself. God, I wish I went when the tour came through Binghamton.

[grandpianoalex]

I guess some people consider screaming a "powerful voice"....

[Trainwreck]

I wonder if this tour is the one that is playing here: http://www.villagetheatre.org/jc_superstar.php

Or if that will be a local production.

[MrBundles]

It's a local production. The tour was in Seattle in January. I thought Ted was going to die onstage.

[tourboi]

Matt, this tour out now is different than that one, and has new sets, direction, etc. It's been out for about 1-2 years.