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Jesus Christ Superstar by Broadway-San Diego  It’s the revolutionary 1970s rock opera that put Andrew
Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice on the map, telling the story of that superstar who
began quite a revolutionary change of his own some 2,000 years ago. It is, of
course, Jesus Christ Superstar – a musical staging of the last week of Jesus’
life, mostly as seen through the eyes of his reviled disciple Judas Iscariot.
And this national tour is headed up by none other than the star of the
award-winning 1973 film version.
Thirty-four years later, longer than the real Jesus actually lived, and Ted Neeley can still bring it. His vocals aren’t far off from what they were in 1973. His acting has more depth, now providing us with an introspective Jesus trying to teach his disciples whatever he can with what little time he knows he has, often silently communicating with his God. His best scene from the movie is still his strongest and most powerful scene, his humanity that we see as he pleads for God to take the cup of death away from him during his lonely night in Gethsemane before his arrest, struggling between his human fear and his desire to do God’s will no matter how harsh God’s will seems. The rest of the cast is sort of a mixed bag. Corey Glover from the band Living Colour is Judas, turning in some great rock vocalizations, while his emotions and acting performance is okay if largely one-dimensional. Tiffini Dodson is a soothing Mary Magdalene with a singing voice that can spellbound, making for a lovely rendition of one of the show’s signature hits I Don’t Know How to Love Him. Craig Sculli delivers a fairly compelling Pontius Pilate. Darrel R. Whitney digs deep for the deep-voiced high priest Caiaphas, but seems to drift in and out of that ultra-deep voice. Aaron Fuksa is an over-the-top King Herod whose humor starts off well but then spirals off into something that feels forced. The youthful ensemble keep the energy and the buzz high throughout. Director Dallett Norris and his creative team have certainly staged an original production of the show. A lot of strong visuals try to gloss over the bare set. Much of that is done through not-very-subtle lighting effects (Rick Belzer) that are used for such things as Jesus kicking people out of the temple and Judas’ death scene. The costumes are a strange mix-match that doesn’t seem to work. One of the more intriguing scenes is when Jesus is begged by the poor and the sick for help. Norris firmly depicts this as a nightmare Jesus is having, a mass of people behind him poking out of a sheet, struggling to get his attention as they writhe in torment, and Jesus reluctant to turn around, frustrated that he is unable to help them all when he finally does turn to face all those that are in need. Both the opening and closing scenes are done so slowly that the drama portrayed almost becomes a comedy. The show begins with the struggle between the oppressed Jews and the Roman guards, depicted in a slow-motion fight that begins to look silly. The prolonged death of Jesus on the cross keeps making it look like Jesus has died, only to see him stir and begin talking again. I began to hear a line from Monty Python in my head: “I’m not dead yet!” And he wasn’t. Usually the ending is ambiguous. In this production, Ted Neeley rises up to heaven on his cross to live again, not forsaken by his Father after all.Performs January 2 - 6, 2008.
~ Cast ~
Jesus of Nazareth: Ted Neeley Judas Iscariot: Corey Glover Mary Magadalene: Tiffini Dodson Caiaphas: Darrel R. Whitney Annas: Michael Wright Pontius Pilate: Craig Sculli King Herod: Aaron Fuksa Peter: Nate Aylworth Simon: Matthew G. Myers First Priest: Thomas C. Lash Second Priest: DaRon Lamar Williams Third Priest: Chris Boerner Maid by the Fire: Lorelei Prince Soul Singers/Disciples: Rasmiyyah Feliciano Natalie McKnight Beth Sobo Disciple Girls: Cristina Sass Desi Shurelds Apostles: Phillip C. Armstrong Andy Bero Jason R. Cook Jonathan Fiske Hill Ricky Johnston Jonathan D. Lovitz Troy Valjean Rucker Evan Shyer Ethan Wilcox Director: Dallett Norris Choreographer: Arlene Phillips Scenic Designer: Bill Stabile Costume Designer: Fabio Toblini Lighting Designer: Rick Belzer Musical Director: Michael Mitchell Sound Designer: Duncan Robert Edwards |