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Jesus Christ Superstar LIVE Review
Apr. 2nd, 2018 06:43 pmJesus Christ Superstar Live gets the award for the BEST television musical adaptation to date. (To give you a run down, NBC started this off with the embarrassingly stiff Sound of Music, followed by a decent and rather rousing The Wiz, with an unwatchable Peter Pan behind it. Then Fox, picked up the baton with a serviceable "Grease" (it's a simple musical that is really hard to screw up), and an unwatchable Rocky Horror Picture Show (I fast-forwarded during most of it). This was followed by either ABC or NBC doing Hairspray, which I also found dull and gave up on half-way three -- and I adored the films. Maybe I saw it too many times? (Only seen it twice. John Waters Original and the film adaptation from the Broadway Musical). And finally ABC's ill-advised and embarrassing A Christmas Story -- which I found as unwatchable if not more so than Peter Pan. Keep in mind that I adore musicals and will basically watch anything that is a musical. I watched High School Musical (also bad, but not as bad as some weird Disney villains musical that I found unwatchable.). And oh, let's not forget Tyler Perry's Unwatchable musical version of The Passion.)
So, hands down, without a doubt, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert was by far the best aired musical to date. None of them come close. The only other one that was worth watching was the Wiz and it had issues.
Also without a doubt, much better version than last two televised versions that I've seen, PBS's telecast of the Broadway Revival starring Glen Carter as Jesus, and the Live Arena Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, which starred Ben Foster as Christ and Tim Minchin as Judas (I saw it on Concerts via streaming last year). And I liked it better than the David Cassidy version at Starlight Theater in Kansas City that I saw in the 1980s.
I've seen four versions: Glenn Carter on PBS (have the album) that was the recent revival, the original movie version (have the album), the Live Arena Version, the David Cassidy one on stage, and now the NBC version.
I love the musical. It's not for everyone. Generally speaking the reviews were good. The NY Times and Post enjoyed it. EW -- is making me think I need to cancel my subscription. (Ahem.)
From a lover of the musical's perspective, it was wonderful. Most of the people I know who also loved the musical had a positive response and thought it exceeded expectations and among the best versions to date. The people who'd never seen it before and don't like rock musicals, didn't like it as much -- but we can't count them. I'm sorry, it's a bit like someone who hates Doctor Who and time travel stories, reviewing an episode of Doctor Who, or someone who despised opera, reviewing an opera. If you don't like the genre, this won't change your mind. It is among the best of the genre, but your reasons for disliking it ...are still on display. It's a rock opera. The focus is on signing the lines. It's all metaphor, nothing literal. And sort of like watching and listening to a poem.
John Legend, I agree was the weak link, but I knew that going in. And was rather worried about how he'd do, and he surprised me. He nailed Gesthemane, which is an insanely difficult song to pull off, well. It includes vocal gymnastics such as "I want to see, I want to see, my god, I want to know, I want to know, my god" delivered from a low bass to a high tenor, almost soprano level. The range required on that song is astounding. It is among the best songs written in theater and opera. If sung well, will blow me away.
Brandon Dixon was okay, I thought he struggled a little to get his footing in the opening numbers, but excelled in the latter ones. Heaven on their Minds got a bit lost that I almost forgot it was there.
Ben Daniels rocked Pilot, from start to finish. Very good, one of the best to date. (He's the older priest from The Exorcist)
Sarah Bareillis was amazing as Mary Magadelene among the best I've seen to date -- great rendition of I Don't Know How to Love Him, and Can We Star Again Please.
Simon Zealotes and Peter were both quite good as were the high priests, actually I liked this versions better than the others. Often I find them hard to hear.
King Herod aka Alice Cooper...eh, okay, I liked the version in the movie a bit better. Cooper was way too understated. It's a campy role - and the others were slightly better. But Cooper did convey the tones required by the production and musical.
The set design and effects jaw dropping. Particularly the final with Jesus disappearing into a sun-like star inside the cross. Beautiful. It maintains the mystery and magic of the musical. Providing both interpretations with interesting intellectual commentary.
Overall, well done. Particularly since they had to work around commercial breaks and perform on a sparse set, with sparse props, and a rowdy audience. It actually works best in that environment, the versions that have had too much set design, and too many props, don't work as well. This is story that works best with minimalism.
I'd give the production a solid A. I've got it taped and will definitely rewatch. Loved every moment of it. The networks should do more musicals like this one - rock operas, with minimalist sets and set in front of a participatory audience such as The Who's Tommy.
So, hands down, without a doubt, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert was by far the best aired musical to date. None of them come close. The only other one that was worth watching was the Wiz and it had issues.
Also without a doubt, much better version than last two televised versions that I've seen, PBS's telecast of the Broadway Revival starring Glen Carter as Jesus, and the Live Arena Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, which starred Ben Foster as Christ and Tim Minchin as Judas (I saw it on Concerts via streaming last year). And I liked it better than the David Cassidy version at Starlight Theater in Kansas City that I saw in the 1980s.
I've seen four versions: Glenn Carter on PBS (have the album) that was the recent revival, the original movie version (have the album), the Live Arena Version, the David Cassidy one on stage, and now the NBC version.
I love the musical. It's not for everyone. Generally speaking the reviews were good. The NY Times and Post enjoyed it. EW -- is making me think I need to cancel my subscription. (Ahem.)
From a lover of the musical's perspective, it was wonderful. Most of the people I know who also loved the musical had a positive response and thought it exceeded expectations and among the best versions to date. The people who'd never seen it before and don't like rock musicals, didn't like it as much -- but we can't count them. I'm sorry, it's a bit like someone who hates Doctor Who and time travel stories, reviewing an episode of Doctor Who, or someone who despised opera, reviewing an opera. If you don't like the genre, this won't change your mind. It is among the best of the genre, but your reasons for disliking it ...are still on display. It's a rock opera. The focus is on signing the lines. It's all metaphor, nothing literal. And sort of like watching and listening to a poem.
John Legend, I agree was the weak link, but I knew that going in. And was rather worried about how he'd do, and he surprised me. He nailed Gesthemane, which is an insanely difficult song to pull off, well. It includes vocal gymnastics such as "I want to see, I want to see, my god, I want to know, I want to know, my god" delivered from a low bass to a high tenor, almost soprano level. The range required on that song is astounding. It is among the best songs written in theater and opera. If sung well, will blow me away.
Brandon Dixon was okay, I thought he struggled a little to get his footing in the opening numbers, but excelled in the latter ones. Heaven on their Minds got a bit lost that I almost forgot it was there.
Ben Daniels rocked Pilot, from start to finish. Very good, one of the best to date. (He's the older priest from The Exorcist)
Sarah Bareillis was amazing as Mary Magadelene among the best I've seen to date -- great rendition of I Don't Know How to Love Him, and Can We Star Again Please.
Simon Zealotes and Peter were both quite good as were the high priests, actually I liked this versions better than the others. Often I find them hard to hear.
King Herod aka Alice Cooper...eh, okay, I liked the version in the movie a bit better. Cooper was way too understated. It's a campy role - and the others were slightly better. But Cooper did convey the tones required by the production and musical.
The set design and effects jaw dropping. Particularly the final with Jesus disappearing into a sun-like star inside the cross. Beautiful. It maintains the mystery and magic of the musical. Providing both interpretations with interesting intellectual commentary.
Overall, well done. Particularly since they had to work around commercial breaks and perform on a sparse set, with sparse props, and a rowdy audience. It actually works best in that environment, the versions that have had too much set design, and too many props, don't work as well. This is story that works best with minimalism.
I'd give the production a solid A. I've got it taped and will definitely rewatch. Loved every moment of it. The networks should do more musicals like this one - rock operas, with minimalist sets and set in front of a participatory audience such as The Who's Tommy.