My Review of the National Touring Production

superdave · My Review of the National Touring Production

This is from my blog on Myspace. I talk about a guy named Randal a lot in this review. Randal is a friend of mine, who went and saw the production with me. He is not an Andrew Lloyd Webber fan, but he really was blown away by the production last night.

Yesterday I finished my small get away with a big huge climax. I had been waiting since July--to see my favorite musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. I remember during Music Man, I had flipped out and told Randal-- "I am going to Abilene to see it" well... So... months of anticipation paid off. I went to go see it.

Really I was full of anticipation when the Overture opened. The overture was very interesting. I have in my mind, what JCS should look like. Really they are ideas, of how I want to do the show...but the Overture they did was quite different, than what I expected it to be. It was shortened from probably a 5 minute overture to 3 minutes... And at the end, when Ted Neeley (Jesus) comes out he raises a follower who is killed by a Roman Soldier from the dead. Which wasnt what I expected from this touring production. JCS, although, I love it to death--is not a "Evangelical" production...and that to me looked like something that an evangelical would put into the script. Oh well...

Ted Neeley, although, much older than I was use to!!! (haha, He's been playing Jesus for 35 years!) was beyond amazing. His voice has weathered some since 1973, but I loved how it's got grittier, and in my opinon, MUCH stronger. He kept his own throughout the whole production. When he sang "Gethsamene (I only want to say)" my hair was standing on the back of my kneck, it was so amazing. He deserved nothing less than a standing ovation on how well he did. Maybe it is because Ted Neeley is from Ranger, Texas--(close to Abilene) and had a lot of his family in the crowd--he felt the power to deliever an amazing "better than usual" preformance. I'd like to think that after 35 years, Ted Neeley has really mastered this role to nothing short of perfection. The play did focus the majority of the time on him, but being that this Ted Neeley's last time to play the Messiah, I do not object to how they approached the production.

Corey Glover, who played Judas Iscariot. Was fine. He was not as great as I expected him to be, but he wasnt horrible. The only beef I had with the production was Glover. During the opening song "Heaven on their minds", He did not nail some of the higher notes that, I think Judas should be able to sing. And I think also on "Everything's Alright"--he did not hit one of the higher notes as well. Another problem that I had and Randal noticed this as well, is you could not understand him half of the time. Maybe it's because he was use to singing Living Colour songs, or what not-- but in Theatre, when you are telling a story, you need to realize this isnt a rock concert--you have to make sure your audience can understand you. But that's really the only thing, it wasnt unbearable, by any means...

I cannot go without mentioning the amazing performance of Mary Magdalene, Christine Baskin-- Her voice was sweet and caring and beautiful. (She could be Jesus's grandaughter) but beside the point She did exactly what "I Dont Know How to Love Him" and "Could We Start Again Please?" were suppose to do--bring some beauty and feminity into a much masculine-dominated production. I was worried about who was going to play Mary. Because it really is hard to fill that role, with a female who can carry it--and do it with sincerity and honesty. She did just that, infact I believe she was much better than Yvvone Elliman--who played Mary in the 1973 film.

Set design was simple, but effective. The Hydrolic cross, was a little humorous--but perfect for this production. They made good use of drops to represent many elements of the story.

The Costumes, were a little bland. But not horrible. Keep in mind, that I believe Jesus Christ Superstar should be completely modern, with modern apparel for all the cast members. But-- they made a strange mix of biblical costumes and somewhat-modern apparel. No consequence.

When Randal had told me that the orcherstra was only two snyths, a guitar, and a drummer--I was quite dissapointed. I guess I had invisoned a full orcherstra. But this did not cause a problem at all. It was perfect.

All in All, JCS was amazing. I was so glad to see it. And would see it again, if I had the chance to go again. Randal, a huge staunch Andrew Lloyd Webber hater was blown away. And loved it. So I figure if that a critic as staunch as Randal and a huge JCS fan like myself, can be blown away--that this production has to be beyond amazing.

Big Kudos!

KY CANNIBAL

Interesting review! Thanks for sharing.

Celeste_SM

I saw this tour also, and I wasn't quite as impressed as you, but it's interesting to hear another person's reactions. Cool

superdave	My Review of the National Touring Production This is from my blog on Myspace. I talk about a guy named Randal a lot in this review. Randal is a friend of mine, who went and saw the production with me. He is not an Andrew Lloyd Webber fan, but he really was blown away by the production last night. Yesterday I finished my small get away with a big huge climax. I had been waiting since July--to see my favorite musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. I remember during Music Man, I had flipped out and told Randal-- "I am going to Abilene to see it" well... So... months of anticipation paid off. I went to go see it. Really I was full of anticipation when the Overture opened. The overture was very interesting. I have in my mind, what JCS should look like. Really they are ideas, of how I want to do the show...but the Overture they did was quite different, than what I expected it to be. It was shortened from probably a 5 minute overture to 3 minutes... And at the end, when Ted Neeley (Jesus) comes out he raises a follower who is killed by a Roman Soldier from the dead. Which wasnt what I expected from this touring production. JCS, although, I love it to death--is not a "Evangelical" production...and that to me looked like something that an evangelical would put into the script. Oh well... Ted Neeley, although, much older than I was use to!!! (haha, He's been playing Jesus for 35 years!) was beyond amazing. His voice has weathered some since 1973, but I loved how it's got grittier, and in my opinon, MUCH stronger. He kept his own throughout the whole production. When he sang "Gethsamene (I only want to say)" my hair was standing on the back of my kneck, it was so amazing. He deserved nothing less than a standing ovation on how well he did. Maybe it is because Ted Neeley is from Ranger, Texas--(close to Abilene) and had a lot of his family in the crowd--he felt the power to deliever an amazing "better than usual" preformance. I'd like to think that after 35 years, Ted Neeley has really mastered this role to nothing short of perfection. The play did focus the majority of the time on him, but being that this Ted Neeley's last time to play the Messiah, I do not object to how they approached the production. Corey Glover, who played Judas Iscariot. Was fine. He was not as great as I expected him to be, but he wasnt horrible. The only beef I had with the production was Glover. During the opening song "Heaven on their minds", He did not nail some of the higher notes that, I think Judas should be able to sing. And I think also on "Everything's Alright"--he did not hit one of the higher notes as well. Another problem that I had and Randal noticed this as well, is you could not understand him half of the time. Maybe it's because he was use to singing Living Colour songs, or what not-- but in Theatre, when you are telling a story, you need to realize this isnt a rock concert--you have to make sure your audience can understand you. But that's really the only thing, it wasnt unbearable, by any means... I cannot go without mentioning the amazing performance of Mary Magdalene, Christine Baskin-- Her voice was sweet and caring and beautiful. (She could be Jesus's grandaughter) but beside the point She did exactly what "I Dont Know How to Love Him" and "Could We Start Again Please?" were suppose to do--bring some beauty and feminity into a much masculine-dominated production. I was worried about who was going to play Mary. Because it really is hard to fill that role, with a female who can carry it--and do it with sincerity and honesty. She did just that, infact I believe she was much better than Yvvone Elliman--who played Mary in the 1973 film. Set design was simple, but effective. The Hydrolic cross, was a little humorous--but perfect for this production. They made good use of drops to represent many elements of the story. The Costumes, were a little bland. But not horrible. Keep in mind, that I believe Jesus Christ Superstar should be completely modern, with modern apparel for all the cast members. But-- they made a strange mix of biblical costumes and somewhat-modern apparel. No consequence. When Randal had told me that the orcherstra was only two snyths, a guitar, and a drummer--I was quite dissapointed. I guess I had invisoned a full orcherstra. But this did not cause a problem at all. It was perfect. All in All, JCS was amazing. I was so glad to see it. And would see it again, if I had the chance to go again. Randal, a huge staunch Andrew Lloyd Webber hater was blown away. And loved it. So I figure if that a critic as staunch as Randal and a huge JCS fan like myself, can be blown away--that this production has to be beyond amazing. Big Kudos!
KY CANNIBAL	Interesting review! Thanks for sharing.
Celeste_SM	I saw this tour also, and I wasn't quite as impressed as you, but it's interesting to hear another person's reactions.

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My Review of the National Touring Production