# Jesus Christ Superstar **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610 "2018-04-02T00:22:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/101 "2018-04-02T18:19:03Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I thought it was clever that with each lash, an ensemble member in the background painted a big red slash through the “Jesus” written on the back wall. I read they didn’t do that at the rehearsal (too much to clean maybe?) In the 2000 production, members of the ensemble run past Jesus and slash him with a handful of paint. I saw a live version in London in the mid-70s, and Pilate had a hand mike and lashed Jesus with the mic cord ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/102 "2018-04-02T18:22:56Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Clearly you’ve never seen Alice in concert. I _wish_ I had his energy! Not for 40+ years! Now if he’d brought what I enjoyed during the Welcome to My Nightmare tour… 😃 When he walked down the stairs, I thought he looked a little unsteady, but my wife and I agreed as to how good he looked for a septuagenarian. But then he basically just walked through his song. Pretty much played Alice Cooper, rather than Herod. Based on the book, no idea why the Herod actor would get star billing along w/ Jesus/Judas/Mary… Big Alice fan from way back. But I’m generally averse to casting celebs just because they are (or used to be) celebs. I assume we all CAN agree that that bubblegum pink Explorer-ish guitar was the most hideous guitar ever televised (short of a furry ZZ Top axe)? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/103 "2018-04-02T18:24:13Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Am I the only one who was waiting for Alice Cooper to say, “ANY QUESTIONS?!” in the voice of David S. Pumpkins? FTR, that line comes from Leonard Bernstein’s _Candide_ - Pangloss asks the audience that right before the final curtain, after the closing bars of “Make Our Garden Grow”. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/104 "2018-04-02T18:28:38Z")
Looks like 1 of the guitarists was [15 yrs old.](https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/family/jesus-christ-superstar-1.17829919) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/105 "2018-04-02T18:38:27Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Not for 40+ years! Now if he’d brought what I enjoyed during the Welcome to My Nightmare tour… 😃 I’ve seen him a few times over the past few years (and we’re going back in August). He’s pretty darn spry for a septuagenarian! I mean, he doesn’t go leaping off stage props anymore, but he moves around a lot and has an amazing level of energy. I agree he wasn’t showing his usual energy during the JCC song, but I’ve never seen the musical before so I just assumed that was the part. Maybe he’s saving his energy for his tour. 😃 ’ ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/106 "2018-04-02T19:04:05Z")
For some reason, our dvr didn’t pick up the recording. I was really looking forward to it, oh well, life goes on. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/107 "2018-04-02T19:21:24Z")
It’s currently available online at [NBC.com](http://NBC.com). ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/108 "2018-04-02T23:51:13Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It’s currently available online at [NBC.com](http://NBC.com). With commercials. I missed the first hour, so I’m putting up with them. Something that always bothered me, from the very first time I heard the original album. In “Poor Jerusalem”, Jesus sings that “neither Judas, nor the twelve”. But Judas was PART of the twelve. Was it just that Rice couldn’t figure out a way to get eleven in there? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/109 "2018-04-03T01:25:14Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Something that always bothered me, from the very first time I heard the original album. In “Poor Jerusalem”, Jesus sings that “neither Judas, nor the twelve”. But Judas was PART of the twelve. Was it just that Rice couldn’t figure out a way to get eleven in there? Yeah, I remember going 😕 even the first time hearing the album when it first came out. Also, I was reminded how they were propagating the almost certainly erroneous meme that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. “It’s not that I object to her profession”. Perhaps that makes for better theater. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/110 "2018-04-03T01:51:40Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yeah, I remember going 😕 even the first time hearing the album when it first came out. Also, I was reminded how they were propagating the almost certainly erroneous meme that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. “It’s not that I object to her profession”. Perhaps that makes for better theater. I thought that was accepted canon at the time Weber & Rice were writing the show? Hasn’t it only been in the last 20 years or so that scholars have (mostly) agreed that Mary Magdalene was not also the prostitute? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/111 "2018-04-03T13:20:38Z")
Okay. I was around when JCS was released in 1970 (!) and I can honestly say that it changed my life, getting me into more music than just rock, musical theatre, and especially the works of ALW. The production used the original orchestrations by ALW. And I’d forgotten how hard rocking that show really was. I loved Judas the best. The rest of the cast was adequate, but nothing special. All the original singers from the 1970 concept album are still alive. How cool would it be if they re-recorded it in 2020 as a 50th anniversary CD? Remember, Tim Rice and ALW wrote this in their early twenties. The show holds up amazing well for a 50 year old work. When the show has been done very well and extremely poorly, it has never been staged correctly. I wonder if that is even possible. And if you haven’t seen Norman Jewison’s movie version, do so. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/112 "2018-04-03T15:38:42Z")
[According to this](https://twitter.com/awards_watch/status/976867090375303170) if this show wins an Emmy, it’ll give ALW, Rice and Legend their EGOTs at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/113 "2018-04-03T16:02:42Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I thought that was accepted canon at the time Weber & Rice were writing the show? Hasn’t it only been in the last 20 years or so that scholars have (mostly) agreed that Mary Magdalene was not also the prostitute? See the [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene), and especially its section on [“the composite Magdalen”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene#Development_of_the_composite_Magdalene) for perhaps more than you want to know about it. Apparently the identification of Mary Magdalene with the prostitute comes from the Middle Ages; it’s not in the Bible. It was common at the time, but I’m not sure you could call it “accepted canon.” ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/114 "2018-04-03T16:27:37Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > They _almost_ nailed my favorite moment of the show, which is Pilate’s shout-singing at the end of the trial: > > **Don’t let me stop your great self destruction** > > Maybe it’s because of whatever recording I first became accustomed to, but I have this mental audio picture of what that’s supposed to sound like, nearly all yelling with just a hint of singing, and then the awesome transition into _Superstar_… and it wasn’t quite there. But I’ve seen at least three filmed productions, and several live on stage, and it’s never quite lived up to my internal hype for it. That would be Barry Dennen’s Pilate from the original concept album, original Broadway production, and the 1973 movie. I never understood how his vocal cords didn’t just get ripped to shreds, but I loved it. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/115 "2018-04-03T17:41:35Z")
Hee, shows what I know. I just asked my office mates if they had watched JCS (none had) and I told them how wonderful I thought John Legend was. Maybe because I’m not familiar with the music (or the story in any great detail). I remember seeing it performed years ago and was bored to tears so perhaps my expectations were extremely low but I thought it was first rate. To those who mentioned that JL was a bit soulless / wooden, that’s what I was thinking about Sara Bareilles. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/116 "2018-04-03T17:50:07Z")
Well there’s no right or wrong answer; if you enjoyed it then you enjoyed it (and I did too). 🙂 However, you should also, for context, check out [the original recording of “Gethsemane”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azawb907Bjg), just so you know where people are coming from when they say Legend didn’t have the high notes. I recommend the whole thing of course, but if time is short then start around the 3:00 mark. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/117 "2018-04-03T18:17:43Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > Well there’s no right or wrong answer; if you enjoyed it then you enjoyed it (and I did too). 🙂 > > However, you should also, for context, check out [the original recording of “Gethsemane”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azawb907Bjg), just so you know where people are coming from when they say Legend didn’t have the high notes. I recommend the whole thing of course, but if time is short then start around the 3:00 mark. Wow. Truly, John Legend is no Ian Gillan (but then who is). That is terrific; thanks. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/118 "2018-04-03T19:46:25Z")
No problem. Here are some interesting tidbits I didn’t know before, as well: > [@](#): > > In 1970, Gillan received a call from Tim Rice, asking him to perform the part of Jesus on the original 1970 album recording of Jesus Christ Superstar, having been impressed with his performance on “Child in Time”. After rehearsing a few times with Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, he recorded his entire vocal contributions in three hours. [ETA: **3 hours??** Holy shit.] He was subsequently offered the lead role in the 1973 film adaptation. Gillan demanded to not only be paid £250,000 for his role in the movie, but also insisted, without the consent of his manager, that the entire band be paid because filming would conflict with a scheduled tour. The producers declined, instead casting Ted Neeley in the Jesus role, and Gillan continued on in the band. A shame, really, as I much prefer Gillan to Neeley. And so it goes… ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/119 "2018-04-03T19:48:24Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > [According to this](https://twitter.com/awards_watch/status/976867090375303170) if this show wins an Emmy, it’ll give ALW, Rice and Legend their EGOTs at the same time. Note that the Emmys did some category shuffling - instead of Variety Special and Special Class Program, now it’s Live Variety Special and Pre-Recorded Variety Special, so JCS has to compete against, for example, the Oscars and the Grammys (not the Emmys, however; it used to be an unwritten rule, but now it actually appears in the rules, that the Emmys (nor the Daytime Emmys, for that matter) can’t win Emmys.) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610/120 "2018-04-03T22:16:45Z")
Here’s an interview with one of the musicians from the show, who is a friend of a friend. > **[Drummer Jamey Tate Talks “Jesus Christ Superstar Live”](https://prologixdotblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/drummer-jamey-tate-talks-jesus-christ-superstar-live/)** > > This past Sunday night, nearly 10 million viewers tuned in to see the latest in network TV’s broadcasts of star-studded popular musicals.  Somewhat appropriately, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-christ-superstar/811610.md?page=7)