Could Stratford JCS Transfer to Broadway?- Page 4

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/12/11 at 11:42pm

I think the videos look thrilling, and I think Josh Young looks and sounds terrific as Judas.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 7/13/11 at 10:15am

My thoughts on the Q Radio appearance (please note that these thoughts come from the mind of a JCS connoisseur and do not reflect opinions of the performers in general):

* Band is superb. If that's only a portion of the orchestra (5 players out of 11), it sounds fantastic. It really almost sounds at points like the concept album. Great sound, great arrangements.
* I intensely dislike Josh Young's voice. He sounds like Josh Groban lite trying to play Judas, and totally unsuited to the role for me. He hits the notes, sure, in fact he gets an impressive moment there on "...than the things you SAAAAAAAAAY," but I'd like to hear a little more grit rather than three seconds toward the end of the song and I'd like more high notes rather than singing it as written on the page. I mean no disrespect to the people who like him, but he doesn't do it for me. I will say "Heaven on Their Minds" was better than the "Superstar" clip, by far.
* Cilina Kennedy's voice vaguely, in places, resembles Celine Dion's (words like "don't," for example). Very good, sweet voice, hits all the right notes, but again didn't particularly move me. Might be from the fact that she's singing it for the radio and not playing the whole story. Just another Mary. Decent enough. (Is it just me or does "I Don't Know How to Love Him" sound a couple of steps faster than it's been played in the past few Webber-approved revivals? I like it that way.)
* Sounds like they heard the complaints of JCS fans about the lack of Paul Nolan coverage (some even went so far as to believe they weren't giving him audio or video coverage because his performance was in some way lacking), 'cause here comes (truncated) "Gethsemane." And, surprise surprise, Nolan is actually the winner here. Voice reminds me of Jeff Buckley as well. Some theatricality, but not enough to ruin it. In JCS terms, he's mostly Fenholt, but he's got an excellent Ian Gillan-esque High G (if somewhat cleaner). Also, "nail me to your cross" sounds like Fenholt doing it Neeley style. Good low notes, and powerful high notes that become "angry" in the right places.

The bottom line?

If this clip is any indicator, Judas loses the race in this production, for me. Should the show transfer, I want to see Paul Nolan come with it, he actually makes me believe Jesus is the superstar in this production! Of course, I'd have to see him on stage to get a complete view of his interpretation, but for now, it's really good!

Updated On: 7/13/11 at 10:15 AM

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 7/13/11 at 11:50pm

Timmerbo, that was so fabulous, thank you so much for sharing it here!

I find the two male singers, Josh and Paul to be excellent and their acting is really coming through in both songs. Each carries the momentum of their song well and drives it. They both seem well developed and mature in their acting, in contrast to the cast of the most recent and problematic Broadway revival, which lacked coherence, and I seem to recall a too young cast who just didn't get it and couldn't carry the show, plus no charisma (except some from Tony Vincent who was fine for Simon but when he moved up to Judas seemed a bit lightweight and had no one to play off though he had the vocals). David Burnham could also do a hell of a job on that Judas role, I just know it. He can do many things with his voice, even Piazza. I heard him do Sinatra type singing recently that was better than anything I ever heard Sinatra or Tony Bennett sing in the recent The Best is Yet to Come: the Music of Cy Coleman revue Off Broadway. I would make sure to get him in the cast if you can if it comes to Broadway as he could probably perform either Judas or Jesus or standby both roles. I have no doubt that Burnham could rock up a storm if he would do the show.

Josh has a fine voice. I think he could find a better delivery of "we are occupied, have you forgotten how put down we are" as I can't erase the glory of that part of the song (a-a-a-a-a-a-are) from the original album from my mind. I could accept a different delivery of it from the one on the album but it's not quite there yet to where it excites the fear in me as to the threat of the situation. I love the "it's all gone sour" part, though, and the rest of the song.

Paul probably has a great vocal instrument. It's a bit hard to tell as he's scratching the song up all over the place with angry or disturbed vocal acting. I have heard it sung more beautifully. Don Nahaku (Hawaiian) in Honolulu (who wanted to play Judas but nobody else could sing Jesus) did the most gorgeous singing and acting of Jesus you could ever hope to experience and LaSinga (a Tongan) was a superb Judas--those Polynesian men can have voices like angels. However, I like and will buy Paul in the role because he is definitely coming through as playing Jesus as a man and his vulnerability and frayed temper is coming through loud and clear with evocative acting.

I'm not a fan of Chilina Kennedy, the Mary Magdalene. Her voice sits on the flat side of so many notes, she seems not up on the breath. She sounds like a Country singer, and not a good one. Yes, I hear her hitting some high notes and she can belt but she's awful. She also does not have the momentum or pacing of the song and is not driving it. It is so boring. We have much better female singers on Broadway.

When I think of Kelli O'Hara, Laura Benanti, Rebecca Luker and so many other singers here I would not be happy unless our NYC talent got that role. If they like that kind of singing up in Canada let it stay up there. I don't want to see another situation where you have some lame import like that horror Josefina Gabrielle they dragged over from England (in Trevor Nunn's 2002 Oklahoma) who couldn't sing or act worth a damn. And to think they could have got Rebecca Luker for that role (and then the R & H Org. would have allowed a cast recording).

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 12:57am

Drew Sarich is the BEST Jesus I have ever heard vocally. Look it up on Itunes. Beautiful. He gives full voice, but also has that rock sound that it needs.

I think one thing is true of JCS: We expect AMAZING singing. It's a sung-through show so the vocals need to be there. Not sure they are with this production.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 9:08am

A new interview with Chilina K. at the place for all things JCS, Jesus Christ Superstar Zone!
Chilina Kennedy Interview

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 3:05pm

Drew Sarich in an incredible Judas performance.

How I wish I could see him do the show.

Bring the Canadian show down and rotate the roles between these geniuses. So you could see whoever you want perform whatever role.
Drew Sarich "Heaven on Their Minds"

[Rabekriegerin]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 3:19pm

^ I'm down with that.

(Speaking of Drew as Jesus: VBW just recently announced it's going to release a Gesamtaufnahme (2-disc live recording) from the 2011 production of JCS in Vienna. Mr. Sarich's interpretation has only improved leaps and bounds from the 2004 version currently available on iTunes.)

And here I am, derailing the thread. This is about Stratford. However, if the Stratford JCS did transfer to Broadway, I would love to see Mr. Sarich in the role of Judas, no matter how unlikely the chance may be.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 3:23pm

No, it's not a derailment of the thread because casting often changes when a production comes to Broadway, and further, it changes during runs if the show has any run.

Here's Sarich in the Judas death scene. Brilliant psychological portrayal of Judas coming unglued. I love this guy--what a talent!!!!


Drew Sarich in "Judas' Death"

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 7/16/11 at 8:52am

And now some new Webber comments on the production from the NY Times which will likely satisfy any fans who are tired of his meddling over the years with JCS:

Andrew Lloyd Webber has earned seven Tony Awards, a knighthood and hundreds of millions of dollars for writing some of the most popular musicals of all time, from his 1968 breakthrough, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” to “The Phantom of the Opera,” the longest-running show ever on Broadway. Nearly as legendary is his ego, a self-confidence worthy of an impresario whose success has long emboldened him to think on grand scales.

Which is why it was hard to believe Mr. Lloyd Webber when he said, during a recent interview, that he may stop involving himself in future productions of his work.

[...]

Mr. Lloyd Webber, 63, chalked up his ambivalence of late to the otherwise happy occasions of recently seeing “the two best productions of my shows that I had nothing to do with”: the revival of “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, which he hopes will come to Broadway [...]

“So I’ve now decided what I might do is to have nothing to do with my shows for the foreseeable future, which is probably a very sound idea,” said Mr. Lloyd Webber, who was tanned and relaxed in an open-collared shirt and slacks, and whose tone only now and then turned solemn.

Pressed on this notion of self-exile, he pointed out that he also played no role in Des McAnuff’s mounting of “Superstar” in Stratford, which opened last month to laurels from critics. While Mr. Lloyd Webber holds the rights for a Broadway transfer of the McAnuff production, he said he was inclined to assign them to other producers.

“I don’t think I should be involved in bringing it into New York, really, on the grounds that anything I get involved with seems to go wrong,” he said. “I’ve come to this new conclusion. I’ll just smile and turn up at opening nights.”

[...]

“Andrew has been very gracious, making it clear that he was happy to let us build our own ‘Superstar,’” Mr. McAnuff said by telephone last month.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 7/16/11 at 4:07pm

And here"s the link for that article.

He looked nice and healthy on that recent video earlier in the thread and I hope he stays cancer free now. Seems they caught the prostate cancer early enough and the impotence he discussed a while back in other articles is a small price to pay for your life.
NY Times - Lloyd Webber’s Latest Creation: Breathing Space

[budfrump]

Posted: 7/16/11 at 10:30pm

I saw the production and it's truly one of the most inventive, intriguing and gorgeous productions I've ever seen. Plus, the talent is INCREDIBLE. Josh Young is marvelous. I really hope it transfers to b-way.

[PastorErnst]

Posted: 7/18/11 at 1:10pm

@nestruck: This just in: Stratford Shakespeare Festival's production of Jesus Christ Superstar transferring to La Jolla Playhouse in November.
Twitter / @nestruck: This just in: Stratford Sh ...

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 7/18/11 at 2:42pm

"La Jolla Playhouse has announced that the acclaimed Stratford Shakespeare Festival production of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar ... directed by Playhouse Director Emeritus and Stratford Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Des McAnuff...will run in the Mandell Weiss Theatre November 18 - December 31, 2011."

This is a good and sensible move. It will give an idea how American audiences and critics respond to the production and casting without having to roll the dice as yet for a transfer to Broadway's huge financial risk.

Not to mention the cast can enjoy the pleasant weather of San Diego instead of the iceberg Nanook of the North, Canada, in November and December.

C'mon down, snowbirds, haha!
BWW on JCS La Jolla transfer

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 7/22/11 at 3:38pm

They've extended at Stratford until November 6th, so they will have a very short rehearsal period in La Jolla before they begin their run November 18th.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 7/22/11 at 11:23pm

According to BWW's Pat Cerasaro, Stratford's JCS is moving to Broadway after La Jolla:

"With the recent news that the highly-praised Stratford Festival Des McAnuff directed revival of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is making its way to La Jolla and then Broadway..."

When did that big decision get announced?
FLASH FRIDAY: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Resurrected

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 7/22/11 at 11:39pm

BWW's Pat Cerasaro used to be BWW board's Pgenre, and as anyone here can attest, the guy is about 75% speculation.

[Keira]

Posted: 7/23/11 at 7:56pm

Saw the show last night and LOVED it. I can attest that the videos on YouTube do not do it justice. Josh Young's Judas was electrifying, and Paul Nolan's was terrific as Jesus. Bruce Dow's Herod was a show stopper, and Brent Carver is always great. I thought Chilina Kennedy did very well as Mary, but she didn't stand out as much to me as the other leads. Could just be the role, though.

Lighting, staging and use of LCD screens were all very effective. I'd see this show again.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/23/11 at 8:45pm

"It will give an idea how American audiences and critics respond to the production and casting without having to roll the dice as yet for a transfer to Broadway's huge financial risk."

See, I personally feel that the Stratford run is already a pretty good indicator of how well the show would do in NY. It draws a fairly decent amount of tourists, and critics, from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and even Michigan and Illinois.

[RobbieD]

Posted: 7/31/11 at 4:38pm

I have to agree completely with Kiera.

Paul Nolan and Josh Young were great - and their voices really held up well. Bruce Dow was funny, but at times hammed it up a little too much.

Chillina Kennedy sang well - especially during the more 'rock' numbers than in the ballads - but she wasn't that memorable.

The audience loved the show though. Almost an immediate standing ovation at the end - and huge applause for Paul Nolan and Josh Young.


PS. Found some new clips online that sounded pretty good.

[Tag]

Posted: 8/10/11 at 12:35am

Riedel mentions in this article that JCS will open next Spring at the Neil Simon Theatre. Is this the first confirmation of an actual Broadway run and theatre?
Mid-Article Mention

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/10/11 at 12:37am

Yay! I really hope this will do well.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 8/10/11 at 7:28pm

So Cerasaro and Riedel got the memo. And yes, Tag.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 8/11/11 at 8:41pm

Not yet a "go" for the Neil Simon, per the director.
Toronto article Updated On: 8/12/11 at 08:41 PM

[showchoirguy]

Posted: 8/11/11 at 9:04pm

It sounds like it going to transfer...

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/12/11 at 12:06pm

Maybe they are waiting to see what happens in California? Is it going to transfer intact? Congrats to Josh Young for making his Broadway debut! I feel like he's so well known for not even having been on Broadway. I can't wait to hear his Judas! Though Sarich will always be the definitive one to me.