THUMBNAIL SKETCH: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s vibrant and dramatic classic rock musical recounting the final week of the life of Jesus Christ, as seen from the perspective of Judas Iscariot. It highlights the political tension between Jesus’s movement and Roman-occupied Judea. The musical, which is sung through with no dialogue, focuses on the human doubts of Jesus and the conflicting motivations of his followers, complete with an iconic score that features well-known songs like “Superstar,” “Heaven on Their Minds,” “What’s the Buzz,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” and “Gethsemane.”
RUNTIME: 2 hours with one 15-minute intermission
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION: It’s springtime in WNY, and with that, we have another production of Jesus Christ Superstar. This is the fourth I have seen in this area in as many years since I moved back. It seems Western New Yorkers can’t get enough of this pop-rock opera. I remember seeing the 1973 film directed by the Oscar-winning Norman Jewison (Fiddler on the Roof, Moonstruck) on TV when I was a little kid, maybe 1979 or 1980. It starred Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, and Yvonne Elliman, famous for the number one hit “If I Can’t Have You” from the forever popular Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. I remember liking Miss Elliman and some of the songs, but it didn’t make much of an impression on me. I preferred the old MGM classic movie musicals instead. The next time I experienced Jesus Christ Superstar was in the early 1990s, maybe 1993. It was a national tour starring Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson reprising their respective Broadway and film roles, Dennis DeYoung (Styx) as Pilate, and Irene Cara (Fame and Flashdance’s “What a Feeling”) as Mary, in Toronto. I remember it was summertime and around my birthday. It was so electric and so spectacular that I went to see it again when it came to Shea’s in the fall. Around the same time, maybe spring, Jesus Christ Superstar was being presented by a local company. This production was directed by Randall Kramer (who co-directs this production), starring James Cammarata, John Cronyn, Bill Scott, and Lisa Ludwig. I’m not sure if it was under MusicalFare or Summerfare. Seeing such excellent productions of the musical on stage gave me a new appreciation of the piece, and I was much older than when I first watched the movie, and had expanded my tastes by then. I remember being enchanted by Miss Ludwig as Mary and enjoying that production so much that I went back. Fast forward to seeing the 1996 revival in London directed by Gail Edwards, the 2000 Broadway revival starring Glenn Carter as Jesus and Tony Vincent as Judas (which I loved and saw about 25 times), the 2002 national tour starring Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) and Carl Anderson once again as Judas, then the 2012 Broadway revival, which was painful. Josh Young as Judas, Brent Carver as Pilate, and Tom Hewitt as Herod could not save this Des McAnuff clunker. Then, in the same year, an arena tour of the musical at London’s O2. Ben Forster was chosen to play Jesus from an ITV competition series, which also starred Tim Minchin as Judas and my reason for going, Melanie C. (Spice Girls/Sporty Spice) as Mary Magdalene. It was really incredible to see it in a rock arena, which is what was initially intended by Sir Andrew. A whole new legion of younger fans came to worship at the altar of Jesus Christ Superstar when, on Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018, NBC aired a live concert version of the show starring John Legend as Jesus, Sara Bareilles as Mary, Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas, rock star Alice Cooper as King Herod, and Norm Lewis as Caiaphas. Many people cite this iteration as their favorite…