I too liked the staging and production, and I agree the final scene interpretation over John 19:41 is a very good closing. Of the leads, agree, strong Judas and Magdalene, weak Jesus. As pointed out in this show it’s Judas who’s doing the heavy lifting so that’s where you want someone who can carry it.
Still, as earlier mentioned even within the modest expectation Legend badly undersold bits where Jesus should be forceful, and vice-versa. *Gethsemane *got fumbled for sure, even if not ruined.
Also I dunno, can’t put my finger on it but sure felt something was off in The Trial.
I question the directorial decision on why on Poor Jerusalem they do not have Jesus address his initial rebuke of Simon *to *Simon but instead to the table (I know it is so that he faces the audience, but then move Simon, dammit).
Props to longhair75 for coining “Klingon Caiaphas” :D, I got that same vibe when they first introduced the High Priests. Quite “alien” as were the guards (of whom we could have used more than two).
Alice Cooper is a natural for Herod, since his own act is about going over the top, but really it is a limited bit so he can’t really give it his all. I think the reaction of many people is a result of contrasting Legend’s sometimes morose performance with AC clearly being into his brief bit.
I’m telling your mother! But yeah, as others have said he was the original star and made me rethink my own views of Judas.
Hmm, the 1973 film had Zero Mostel’s son, Josh, playing him totally campy. In 2000 it was noted lunatic Rik Mayall. Didn’t Alice camp it up enough for you? I haven’t seen it yet.
I did see the '73 movie today. Ted Neeley, who I assume you mean, couldn’t hit the high notes cleanly in it, and played Jesus almost disinterestedly. Maybe Legend was following his lead.
A correction to my earlier post: I had my facts mixed up. It wasn’t John Farnham of the Australian cast I was thinking of, it was Steve Balsamo in this 1996 studio recording. Have a listen to his Gethsemane.
I was disappointed by Alice Cooper, and thought John Legend was decent but not great, but loved just about everything else. Judas was the standout, as seems to be the consensus, but I also really liked Pilate.
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.
Still, by a good margin the best of the recent crop of live televised musicals.
Jesus is always a problematic part in JC Superstar. He doesn’t *do *anything, except in the Temple scene (which was very odd in this production. What was pouring sand all over the table supposed to represent?). Otherwise, he just simps around and moans.
Judas is the star in every production I’ve ever seen. It’s his role.
I have seen some very overacted Pilates, this was underacted, I thought. Still, I enjoyed it.
I just read that Jennifer Lopez’s Bye Bye Birdie has been postponed yet again.
I enjoyed the whole thing. While I understand some of the criticisms of Legend’s performance, I was impressed by his vocal chops. I’m familiar with some of his pop work, and he showed range and ability I didn’t know he had.
My wife believes that what we saw was filmed a few days before broadcast, while I thought we (in the eastern time zone) were watching an actual live performance. Does anyone here know which is true?
The thing about JC Superstar is that Judas is really the main character and the primo acting role. As I said earlier, I think John Legend was fine. He wasn’t great, but was certainly good enough to make the whole thing work well. I also like the moneylending scene, and the glitter was a great idea. The problem with that scene is that Jesus had a chair as as his only prop, and he didn’t really do anything with it. Is the woman who played Mary Magdalene pretty famous? They seemed to have made a big deal about her (and she was very good), but I had never heard of her before.
Your wife would be wrong. I don’t know what would make her think it was filmed earlier. They filmed a rehearsal Saturday night and the live performance on Sunday evening. I know people who were at the rehearsal and the live show. They also said that at the rehearsal John Legend was much better overall and especially on Gethsamane.
I also know someone who was at the performance last night.
I thought they did an excellent job with the production. It’s the 4th time I’ve seen it:
Original US Production (at my high school, three months before it opened on Broadway).
Original Broadway production, with Tom O’Horgan’s over-the-top direction and design.
Movie.
NBC
It’s been a long time since I saw it (or even listened to the record), but NBC did a credible job with it. Their live musicals have been hit or miss and this was definitely a hit.
I would certainly say Sara Bareilles is pretty famous.
Is it even possible to do this show in a non-70’s style, or does the music pretty much force it? I was hoping it wouldn’t be a copy of the movie, but it pretty much was.
Good idea casting people with a fair amount of stage experience for this one - most of these live performances that are all the rage these days seem a little stiff, the stars a little too nervous. Maybe a live audience helped.
It’s funny…the only time I’ve ever seen this was in the 1970’s when my parents took me to the stage version to see it. There were dozens of protesters outside of the bulding, waving signs and screaming “BLASPHEMY!” at us as we walked in.
I can only imagine what they would have thought had they seen the production scheduled for (gasp!) Easter Day itself. On second thought, maybe they all would have not been there but in church instead.
But yeah, as others have said he was the original star and made me rethink my own views of Judas.
