BWW Reviews: Weathervane Unafraid to Take Chances With JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

In the days leading up to the Weathervane Playhouse's production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, Layne Roate approached director Adam Karsten with an idea.

Roate, who plays Pilate, had a dream in which he performed "Pilate's Song" on guitar and Karsten incorporated the idea into the production. The acoustic-guitar driven "Pilate's Song" was one of the highlights in the Newark theatre's powerful two-act performance of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical.

That ability to think outside the box and dramatic turns by its performers served the Weathervane Playhouse well. Powerhouse performances by Jordan Donica (Jesus), Eli Brickey (Mary Magdalene), Craig Juricka (Caiaphas) and Zachary Pytel (Judas) bring to life to the musical about the betrayal and the execution of Jesus.

The show opens with a projection of a film showing a history of violence, ranging from the Roman Empire to Nazi Germany. Fitting for the Christmas season, the play's action opens with the birth of the Christ and Jesus teaching in the temple as a boy before Donica takes center stage as the Messiah.

Once he steps into the spotlight, Donica projects a larger than life shadow as a strong but vulnerable Jesus. There's palatable chemistry between Donica and Brickey, whose Mary is in love with Jesus but remains uncertain if he is who he claims to be in "I Don't Know How to Love Him."

Karsten uses the Weathervane's stage to his advantage. As the theater did with LES MISERABLES last winter, cast members lurk in and out of the set pieces of the stage. In "The Temple," cast members covered in black cloth represent the teeming masses of the sick and the poor who overwhelm Jesus.

Lloyd Webber and Rice used a pretty broad brush when painting the heroes and the villains when putting together the musical in 1970. As Jesus' supporters, Bradley Johnson (Simon), Kirk Lydell (Peter), Jonathan Collura (Andrew), William Macke (Bartholomew), Ricky Locci (James The Elder), Johnpaul Adams (James the Lesser), Dylan Woodring (John), Benjamin Hartwig (Matthew), Joshua Schirtzinger (Philip), Luke Stewart (Thaddaeus) and Lorenzo McKeever (Thomas) seem to have shifting loyalties to Jesus. In "The Last Supper," the disciples seem oblivious to Jesus' torment as he prepares to be betrayed and mix in with the anti-Jesus crowds near the musical's end.

Jesus makes some powerful enemies in the musical. The booming voices of Juricka and Morgan Thomas-Mills (Annas) join Seth Chin Parker, Sherman Diller and Steve Herbst as the priests who help turn the reluctant Judas against Jesus. LaRon Lee Hudson (King Herod) provides the much needed comic relief in the second act, channeling his inner Little Richard for "King Herod's Song."

The show is backed up by a solid house band conducted by Zachary DelMonte with Phil DuPont (piano), Elena Maietta (piano and organ), Ben Canton (guitar), Max Kilcup (bass) and Tyler Birch (drums).

The emotional apex of the second act for me was not the crucifixion scene at the shows conclusion but when Jesus was whipped 39 times. Cast members covered their hands with red paint and left their mark on Donica's back until he was covered with "blood."

The message is clear. While a handful of people may have crucified Jesus, everyone was left blood on their hands.

The Weathervane Playhouse (100 Price Road in Newark) will present JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at 7 p.m. Dec. 19-20 and Dec. 26-27 with2 p.m. matinees on Dec. 20, 27 and 28.

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