Jesus Christ Superstar review 5/4/08

[SwtHrtBallerina]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 1:41am

My mom called me last night whilst I was in Florida for my friend's wedding, and asked me if I'd be interested in going with her to see Jesus Christ Superstar tonight after I got home from the trip. Of course I said yes!

So we arrived at the Orpherum Theatre in Minneapolis, MN about an hour before the show, and I was able to get student rush tix for $20 - 8th row in the smack dab middle!!! It was great! It was a fairly full theatre from what I could see, so we really lucked out with those seats.

Anyway, I was only vaguely familiar with this musical, and some of the songs. I thought the show was great! The cast had great energy, and it was a lot of fun to watch.

Ted Neeley played the role of Jesus, and I found out he played Jesus in the 1973 film of the musical. Obviously he's much older now, but it was really cool to see him perform on stage. Man can he sing!!! He was fantastic! Corey Glover who played Judas Iscariot was really great as well!! The entire cast was really wonderful!! My two personal favorites in the show were Tiffini Dodson (Mary Magdelene), and Darrel R. Whitney (Caiaphas).

Ted Neeley got a standing ovation at curtain call, and the entire audience cheered and screamed for quite sometime once he came out! It was pretty cool! I've never heard an applaud like that before!

I was fortunate enough to meet a couple of the performers at the stage show after the show. They were very sweet, and gracious enough to sign some autographs and take pictures. It was the last performance in Minneapolis, so the entire show was being packed up, and all the performers had to get on the bus to be shipped off to the next city, so they didn't stop for a picture/autograph unless requested. When asked though, they were very gracious and willing to do so.

All-in-all, it was an overall great experience! Having stepped off an airplane 1hr prior to the show, it was an easy opportunity for me to become critical if I didn't like it. However, I greatly enjoyed the show, and am glad that I got the opportunity to see it!
Updated On: 5/5/08 at 01:41 AM

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 1:46am

is this tour like the version that most recently played on bway? or a whole new production?

[SwtHrtBallerina]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 1:55am

I'm assuming the most recent version on broadway... it was the nat'l tour performance that we saw - same as the original back 30-whatever years ago.

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 2:10am

Brian. it's a much more stripped down version, though.

swthrt - what'd you think of Mr. Michael Wright (he played Annas)? his mother is a good family friend and was talented enough to nab the job straight out of College! So happy for him.
Updated On: 5/5/08 at 02:10 AM

[SwtHrtBallerina]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 9:08am

Annas was great!!! He could really hit those high notes with his voice - very impressive! I loved the scenes with Caiaphas and Annas, especially that one song toward the beginning... can't remember the exact name of it. That is cool that you know him. He did a wonderful job! :)

[NDR]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 9:51am

I saw this tour less than a month ago and it was truly awful. Ted can't even sing anymore (he can still scream though) and Corey Glover sounded like he was trying to be Mariah Carey/Christina Aguilera. The ensemble was trying really hard and the musical itself is powerful, but overall this production is awful.

Surprised to read that you liked it.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 9:52am

Thank you for this review

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 9:54am

Caught the tour back in February and really enjoyed it. Sounds like you enjoyed it as well!

[SwtHrtBallerina]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 1:41pm

NDR, I have nothing to compare it to, so perhaps that is why our opinions differ. I've never seen it before, nor the movie, nor listened to any of the music - i went in with a clean slate. I'm sorry to hear that you didn't like it. Have you see it performed elsewhere before? Sounds like you've seen Ted perform before.

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 1:49pm

you weren't familiar with any of the JCS material prior to your viewing?

oh do we have a musical theatre virgin here??


Ted was the original Jesus in the movie... just so you know. and that was 1973.

[NDR]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 3:18pm

I saw the famed London 1997 revival which was pretty amazing. The aesthetic, talent, venue, etc. were all exceptional. The musical itself has some issues but the production overcame them successfully. I felt this tour was really a disappointment and Ted really can't sing anymore. He garbles like an old man and screams at other points.

I am glad you enjoyed the show though. I really felt the ensemble was trying really hard but it just fell flat for me.

[EVIE]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 4:09pm

I thought this tour was awful to. I had such high hopes for it and was very, very, sad with what I ended up seeing.

[SwtHrtBallerina]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 10:49pm

No no no, I am familiar with it, I just never took time to look into it. Obviously I knew who it was by and who composed it, and all that stuff. But it's not one that I took anytime to further look into - it never peaked an interest. Like i said before, I knew a couple of the songs, but not into too much detail.

Anyway, i've seen it now :)!

[DidYouReallyHearMe]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 11:06pm

I saw the tour in 2003 when Sebastian Bach and Carl Anderson (original motion picture Judas) were in the show. It was the non-canned recent revival version. Brilliant.

[t_bulat09]

Posted: 5/5/08 at 11:14pm

I saw it earlier this year near where I live in Michigan. Though I was a little upset with the so-so set, I was still greatful for a chance to see Ted Neely. Jesus Christ Superstar was the first musical that I totally fell in love with.