Image courtesy of newsweek.com
Translating a musical from the Broadway stage to film is a difficult task, and the transfers rarely do justice to the original production. In recent years there have been some success to some critical acclaim and with modest returns at the box office. Dreamgirls, Chicago, and Hairspray come to mind.Even more of an arduous task is performing Broadway musicals live for a television audience. For the past few years NBC has tried its hands at this very ambitious endeavor, with not a lot of success—The Wiz being the network’s most calamitous faux pas. Still, NBC soldiers on in spite of not being able to deliver credible re-interpretations of Broadway classics repurposed for television.
Image courtesy of NPR.org
Jesus Christ Superstar is NBC’s latest blunder. Though the televised production has a noteworthy cast, the production value and main character performances fall way below what the iconic Broadway classic aptly deserves.When Jesus Christ Superstar debuted in London and on Broadway in the early 1970s, the now-iconic musical was a revolutionary approach to presenting the historical Jesus in a more contemporary and humanistic way. No longer was Jesus only a heavenly, divine God figure who performed miracles and was to be the divine Messiah of all of mankind, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus was a relatable God-like prophet who spoke words of wisdom, love, and rebellion. All this set against the backdrop of folksy, lyrical songs and rock n’ roll recitatives that helped push the story forward of Jesus’ last week before his crucifixion.
Image courtesy of thewrap.com
Though this Jesus rock opera received lots of criticism at the time of its premiere, the rock opera was a huge hit among young theatergoers and received well-deserved popularity among followers of the Jesus movement that was sweeping the US in the late 60s and early 70s. And though there have been many reincarnations and reinventions of the classic rock opera over the last 40 years, Jesus Christ Superstar is still able to move audiences because of the incredible Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice score.Well, maybe not this time around. That said; the producers of this televised version of Jesus Christ Superstar did do some things right. Surrounding a not tried-by-Broadway fire main character with strong Broadway performers was a very good choice. Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas Iscariot, Norm Lewis as Caiaphas, and Erik Gronwall as Simon Zealot gave much support to John Legend (Jesus Christ)—in spite of being in strong voice—whose lack of charisma and stagecraft did not convince as Jesus Christ.
Images courtesy of IBTtimes.com, fashionista.com, and gettyimages.com, respectively
Paul Tazewell stage costumes also worked in this production; well, sometimes. While Jacquemus dress served Sara Bareilles’ Mary Magdalgene well, the Issey Miyake geometric coats worked for the Sanhedrin, and Anne Demeulemeester’s punked-out, white layered, monkish robes also made sense for the priests, the Rick Owens’ looks for the disciples and Jesus Christ (Balmain white moto jeans and Rick Owens’ torn tee shirt) made Jesus and his disciplines look like underground rebels from some dystopian society. We know that historically, Jesus and his disciples, with the exception of the zealot Judas Iscariot, were not outsiders in their community, but an integral part of the formative Judaic community at that time. Still, Jesus and his disciplines looking like grunge, goth moles is hard to digest.Still, Tazewell gets a pass in favor of artistic license. However, the Conan the Destroyer set does not get a pass. Many of the songs and rock recitatives speak of the light and love of Jesus Christ; however, the set and the costumes detail the darkness and gloom of those times, perhaps, referencing the Roman occupation of Palestine. This incongruence does not help push the story forward and the Beatles’ like screams from audience members every time John Legend opened his month distracted from the production.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE IN CONCERT — Pictured: Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)
Overall, this was by far the better of NBC’s Broadway musical productions. Perhaps, this signifies some light at the end of the tunnel!!—William S. Gooch
Speak Your Mind