JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR 50th Anniversary Tour - Page 3

[joevitus]

Posted: 12/1/21 at 2:42am

Tag said: "There was an arena tour cancelled in 2014. This version is based(-ish) on the NBC live broadcast."

How on earth did I get the two confused. Well, thanks. But, ugh, if it's kinda based on the NBC live version, I guess I'm not going to look up if it makes its way here. Was not a fan of that version. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/1/21 at 7:03am

joevitus said: "How on earth did I get the two confused. Well, thanks. But, ugh, if it's kinda based on the NBC live version, I guess I'm not going to look up if it makes its way here. Was not a fan of that version."

It is not based on the NBC live version. It is the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production from 2016.

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

Posted: 12/1/21 at 10:44am

Breaking my silence as one of the resident JCS experts to chime in that while CATSNYrevival is definitely technically correct, it is important to note that the look and feel of the NBC version, including the concert vibe, the scaffolding, and the absolutely ridiculous amounts of superfluous glitter of nakedly symbolic meaning, was strongly inspired by the Regent's Park production, so it's easy to understand the confusion.

[joevitus]

Posted: 12/1/21 at 12:11pm

LOL, CATSNYrevival had me "whew! maybe I'll give it a chance," and then g.d.e.l.g.i, your comment has me "well, guess not." 

Ugh.

But I think maybe I'm kinda a prisoner of growing up with the album and having such a strong private vision of the work, that all stage interpretations just don't work for me. I like to think that I'd have loved the O'Horgan production, and I still think the movie is the strongest "production" (can we count it as one) available to audiences, but I really think all those years imbibing the work purely audibly has made me fairly rigid in my opinions--which is ironic, considering the whole point of the work is not to take the traditional telling of the Greatest Story so rigidly. 

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 12/2/21 at 1:04pm

Just annouced that Tyrone Huntley, who played Judas in the 2016 Regent's Park production of Jesus Christ Superstar (of which the production is based ) will play the role of Judas exclusivly for the Toronto engagment. 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tyrone-Huntley-Joins-JESUS-CHRIST-SUPERSTAR-Tour-as-Judas-20211202

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 12/2/21 at 2:57pm

Is Ryan Shaw available? He played Judas in the 2018 lyric opera of Chicago mounting of this production. He’d be great!

Updated On: 8/17/22 at 02:57 PM

[sabrelady]

Posted: 12/3/21 at 9:31pm

Hmmm- the board just ate my post.

Quick summary- GREAT performances from Pepe Nufrio ( Gesthamane was a highlight) My program says Huntley and Lewis are alternating( but who knows) I saw Lewis a very Powerful Judas and Jenna Ruball as Mary has a stunning voice- I don't know How To was beautiful. I can't judge Could We Start Again cos I hate that song. Ensemble and band were terrific Ensemble dance not so much Modern as ancient - lots of repetitive ritual movement reminded me of Sufi and Dervish and even some evangelical tent revivals .

There were a lot of Interesting Directorial Choices- not bad not good just "interesting".

MOves very fast . Peters mike cut out after the denial  don't think he knew made no attempt to project. Also the SM or ASM who brings the count in needs to be quieter the whole theatre laughed. 

All in a very enjoyable night - recommend.(But if u see it PLEASE explain the ending!!- my only real complaint.)

[forfivemoreminutes]

Posted: 12/22/21 at 11:16pm

I just saw this today in Toronto and just wanted to say I thought it was an incredible performance of JCS. The dancing and choreography were sharp and really well-done, and Tyrone Huntley was AMAZING as Judas. I felt so privileged to get to see him! Jenna was also a standout as Mary. I'm not a JCS superfan - I like the music and the first two-thirds of the plot and then the final bit is a bit intense for me - but I was very impressed by this production, and I would recommend seeing it if you can. And Mirvish theatres are at a 50% capacity limit right now because of surging covid cases, which was nice for me because I ended up having no one beside me or in front of me, so the view was completely unobstructed. 

[Moreski93]

Posted: 5/7/22 at 9:25am

Does anyone have the pre-sale code for the stop in Chicago?

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/17/22 at 1:46pm

I was doing a dive of IBDB pages for different shows and landed on on the page for this tour and I noticed it listed tour dates through 2023. I was under the impression the equity tour was supposed to close, as it did in Dayton last weekend, and then a non-equity tour would start up again this fall. Is that not the case?

I know IBDB is sometime inaccurate, so I thought maybe someone here could confirm or deny.

 

Updated On: 8/17/22 at 01:46 PM

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

Posted: 8/17/22 at 8:43pm

My current understanding is that the 2022-23 leg will indeed be non-Equity. (It should be noted the union tour was on a SETA contract, so it's not like they were making much more than the non-Eq performers probably will.)

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/12/22 at 5:31pm

Cast announced for the non-equity leg of the tour 

[Luminaire2]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 11:47am

Saw this last night in Vancouver. 
 

The cast was great, with strong vocals. The choreography intense and impressive. And the ending very bloody. 

A fun night out. 

[BwayinVan]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 6:49pm

Luminaire I was there the night before you (I can always count on you being the other person in these boards to be at the QE). I really like the music from JCS ( a bit bias considering Tim Rice is an old friend of my parents) but I found this new show lacked a bit when it came to the story. By condensing it I feel like there was really a connection with the characters but rather it was a concert version of the show with back up dancers. Don’t get me wrong it was still a great night out but just not the best version of the show that I’ve seen. It’s also frustrating how Broadway Across Canada is constantly bringing non-equity tours to town and marketing them as Broadway shows. 

[Luminaire2]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 8:27pm

BwayinVan said: "Luminaire I was there the night before you (I can always count on you being the other person in these boards to be at the QE). I really like the music from JCS ( a bit bias considering Tim Rice is an old friend of my parents) but I found this new show lacked a bit when it came to the story. By condensing it I feel like there was really a connection with the characters but rather it was a concert version of the show with back up dancers. Don’t get me wrong it was still a great night out but just not the best version of the show that I’ve seen. It’s also frustrating how Broadway Across Canada is constantly bringing non-equity tours to town and marketing them as Broadway shows."


people behind us declared at the end “I loved it! I have no idea what happened, but I loved it!”.

 

I know the music, but I’ve never actually seen the show live before, so I am not very familiar with how it is normally. I agree the condensed nature of it was a bit confusing, although it made for a fast paced exciting evening. 
 

I just can’t get over the choreography, it was intense. We also got the debut of the Jesus understudy, which was fun. 
 

Fully agree re: non-equity, but for once this show didn’t seem to lack from this in terms of the scenic or lighting. I was surprised they had real fire on stage. 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 10:01pm

BwayinVan said: "It’s also frustrating how Broadway Across Canada is constantly bringing non-equity tours to town and marketing them as Broadway shows."

It drives me nuts. A young colleague of mine is in the new non-Equity cast and when he booked it he would not stop bragging on social media about his “Broadway national tour” and I just wanted to be like, actually, 1) This isn’t a Broadway show, 2) Even if it were, this is the non-Equity leg, which would automatically make it not Broadway, and 3) You actually took a job away from another actor who is now presumably unemployed because you are like 23 and willing and able to work for cheap.

I have no problem with non-Equity professional theatre (I was non-Eq myself until not that long ago), and for all I know this new cast is amazing, but these tours are purposely deceiving everyone for the sake of profit and it’s just gross. I hope the kids in the cast join the union and receive actual Broadway pay and treatment soon.

Updated On: 11/19/22 at 10:01 PM

[BwayinVan]

Posted: 11/19/22 at 10:48pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: 

It drives me nuts. A young colleague of mine is in the new non-Equity cast and when he booked it he would not stop bragging on social media about his “Broadway national tour” and I just wanted to be like, actually, 1) This isn’t a Broadway show, 2) Even if it were, this is the non-Equity leg, which would automatically make it not Broadway, and 3) You actually took a job away from another actor who is now presumably unemployed because you are like 23 and willing and able to work for cheap.

I have no problem with non-Equity professional theatre (I was non-Eq myself until not that long ago), and for all I know this new cast is amazing, but these tours are purposely deceiving everyone for the sake of profit and it’s just gross. I hope the kids in the cast join the union and receive actual Broadway pay and treatment soon."

Totally agree. It doesn’t help when the the bios in the playbill say things like “Broadway tour debut”. 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/19/23 at 1:00am

Saw this tonight in Oklahoma City. So glad I caught it. Watched it from front row center in orchestra pit. 

First time seeing it in a theatre. Even though it was a little busy, I liked the choreography. A very talented cast. In a cast of vocal powerhouses, Jack Hopewell (Jesus) and Elvie Ellis really stood out both for their voices and their acting choices. Phenomenal. 

I will say that even though I’ve seen the fairly recent filmed stage production as well as the NBC Live version with John Legend (which I loved), with some of the stylistic elements and some difficultly with understanding lyrics, I had some trouble following what was going on in some scenes (especially early ones). But that did little to diminish my enjoyment. 

L’oréal Roaché was in as Mary and she also was in fine voice.

I was curious how they would stage Judas’s suicide and Jesus’s crucifixion. I thought both were handled well even if Jesus’s torture and crucifixion was more graphic (which I appreciated) than I recalled seeing before. 

One last note: before the show, my friend who is Black (who attended with me) and I were discussing how often Jesus is portrayed as white guy. Well, no surprise he was here too. It’s interesting that in a diverse cast that Jesus was still a white dude.

I’d still highly recommend it. 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 2/19/23 at 7:58am

“You actually took a job away from another actor who is now presumably unemployed because you are like 23 and willing and able to work for cheap.”

This feels like such faulty logic to me. It wasn’t like they were deciding between an Equity actor and a non-Eq and said, “let’s save some money” - the entire  tour is Non-Equity and that is not in the actor’s control. The frustration is misdirected at actors who are just trying to break into their field and do what they love and have trained to do, when it should be at producers. Feels reminiscent of anti-immigrant “they’re taking our jobs!” arguments. People are trying to do their best and getting sh*t for it, when it’s those holding the purse strings and making these decisions who should be getting angry responses.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 2/19/23 at 9:44pm

Agreed. Actors aren't going to be what stop Non-Eq tours and telling people fresh out of college that they put people out of work is a really ****ty thing to do. There's non-union TV out there too, do you want to berate those actors as if it's their fault too? Yes Non-Eq tours are not ethical, but they exist and they are often the first stops for really good talent 3 to 4 years down the road. Ending equity tours doesn't make more Equity Tours, it just means less tours and a less opportunities overall for everybody. 

[BWNUT]

Posted: 2/20/23 at 6:28am

JCS is in my Top 5 favorite musicals so I’ve seen quite a few versions on Bway and tour. This IMO is the worst version I’ve seen. It felt so much smaller than the previous touring production. (Eq. vs Non-eq. maybe?) The cast was in good voice but most of them were just yelling and screaming. I understand it’s presented like a rock concert but without feeling and emotion, the songs just became loud noise. In all the versions I’ve seen, there’s always a romantic even sexual tension between Jesus and Mary. On this one,  maybe because Mary was played much older and physically bigger and imposing than Jesus who looked very young, short, and skinny, no such connection there whatsoever. Instead, I got this weird vibe of a mother or babysitter comforting a young boy. 

Updated On: 2/20/23 at 06:28 AM

[dangeresque49]

Posted: 2/20/23 at 10:07pm

I am just disappointed because I heard this was so great and wanted it to be a gift for my friend and his dad but then covid killed the tour and now we are left with a lesser version. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/20/23 at 10:12pm

You’ll never fix the non-eq world.

There will always be a someone willing it work for less because it feels glamorous somehow. 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/20/23 at 10:31pm

dangeresque49 said: "I am just disappointed because I heard this was so great and wanted it to be a gift for my friend and his dad but then covid killed the tour and now we are left with a lesser version."

I really liked it. I’d still do it if I were you. I’m very glad I saw it. If you liked the John Legend and the filmed UK versions, I think you will be too. 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/20/23 at 10:35pm

dangeresque49 said: "I am just disappointed because I heard this was so great and wanted it to be a gift for my friend and his dad but then covid killed the tour and now we are left with a lesser version."

This review may give you an idea:

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/2023/02/17/once-controversial-jesus-christ-superstar-lands-in-oklahoma-city/69906347007/