The iconic musical is still a dynamic, frenetic, energetic staging of a story that is just as moving today.
I was having a conversation with a friend about the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. His point-of-view? He loved the movie and the original production, both of which came out in the ‘70s. So he was curious if the current staging, brought in by GMG Productions and running at the Theatre At Solaire, was faithful to that version.
I said, if you are expecting a show with the actors sporting long locks and tunics taking us through a rock music-fueled journey about the passion of Jesus Christ, you will be very disappointed. Not that it is, by any measure, a bad show, but because this iteration of the iconic Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical is designed to cater to these modern times—and the audience who populate the theater these days. The good news is, pun intended, is that they wear it well.
In the Olivier Award-winning staging by the UK-based Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, the story unfolds in a cacophony of lights, sounds, movement, and music, just a few shakes shy of sensory overload. In a world where it is the norm to doom scroll (not that you should while in the theater) while other things are happening around you, the frenetic energy onstage entrances the audience, keeping us locked in for the next two plus hours.
It is quite a spectacle, to be honest. Jesus Christ, in the context of the musical so we don’t risk the ire of the religious ilk, emerges from among brass beams and scaffolding, dressed in joggers, athleisure wear, and sneakers—same as the rest of the cast. For the briefest of moments, it feels like catching them on a really good rehearsal day, but playing to a packed house.
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Situated on the scaffolding are the live band playing music live—making the whole show feel more like a concert than a straightforward musical. So for those expecting something close to JCS of the ‘70s—this is not that show. High priests Caiaphas and Annas marching in wearing capes, a gold breastplate, and combat boots as though part of a Mad Max-esque boy band? You get the picture.
Where this production succeeds is in giving it a place in the here and now. Of course, credit goes to Webber and Rice for writing a score that can be easily juxtaposed into different staging interpretations of the story. Its rousing rock soundtrack lends itself well to the timelessness of the show. We’ve seen it done before in the 2018 Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert TV special with John Legend and Sara Bareilles, and in last year’s Hollywood Bowl presentation with Adam Lambert as Judas, and the highly controversial choice of Cynthia Erivo as Jesus Christ.
As mentioned earlier, the Regent’s Park production transposes the events leading up to Christ’s crucifixion against the backdrop of a dystopian steampunk-esque landscape. Everyone is moving about, crunking and street dancing their way through the songs. Judas, by an impressive Javon King, walks us through his encounters with a guitar-toting Jesus Christ as he makes his way to Jerusalem.
As he comes face to face with his betrayal, the use of plot devices add an unexpectedly complex layer of gravitas and depth to his character’s tragic story arc. Joshua Bess, who was filling in for show lead Luke Street that evening, definitely looked the part, but fell short in vocal power and range. But he does earn back his stripes as he poured it all out on stage as Jesus faces Sandhedrin, is scourged, and crucified. Gab Pangilinan brings on Pinoy pride as Mary Magdalene, the former prostitute who became the woman who stood by Jesus side through it all. I Don’t Know How To Love Him could have been her big moment, but you feel her heartbreak more in Could We Start Again Please, complemented by Thomas McFerran’s clear vocals.
From start to finish, the air between Judas and Jesus hung thick with envy and vitriol that you could cut it with a knife. Akin to rivaling popstars, adulation for the latter grew. This tension comes to a fore at the Last Supper, set against a brass cross-shaped platform, with the apostles mingling like friends seated around a bar. If a character had pulled out a smartphone right here, it would have, honestly, made total sense.
Even JCS’s villains found their place in this modern milieu. Ethan Hardy Benson’s Pilates channels a sinister gang leader clad in a leather jacket and dark jeans as he washes his hands of Jesus’ fate. While Herod (played by the adobo-loving Erich Schleck) only had one spotlight number, he was giving major Michael Jackson energy in a gold body suit straight out of MJ’s Dangerous World Tour era. But it was the big bad duo of Grant Hodges and Kodiak Thompson, as Caiaphas and Annas, that commands your attention when they appear. That Hodges’ sings in rich bass notes, and Thompson in a lush tenor voice made for quite a contrast, too.
But let’s be clear—juxtaposing Jesus Christ Superstar into a theatrical production that is, by leaps and bounds, so different from its original version does little to lessen the overall impact of this musical. I’d say it even amplifies it, ensuring that one day in the future, someone could get creative and reimagine this show for the theatergoing audience of that time.
And it will still resonate just as loudly, and far beyond its own spiritual roots. So now we wonder if Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice saw this in the future of Jesus Christ Superstar when they first put pen to paper over 50 years ago.
Tickets for the remaining shows of GMG Productions’ Jesus Christ Superstar, which runs until May 31, are available via Ticketworld.
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