Best Recording of Jesus Christ Superstar? Or: Why is Josh Young so hot?- Page 3

[Kelly2]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 11:01am

TalkinLoud, I had pretty low expectations because of some of the chatter on here but man was I pleasantly surprised. I was raised listening to this show and have always adored the music. I've seen probably six different productions over the past 10 years, regionally and otherwise, so I think I have a good sense of what the show sounds like done properly. This production totally exceeded my expectations and I agree with those who said Paul Nolan's resigned take on Jesus was also a highlight.

Keb2, I think there's something powerful about Jesus looking like the European Jesus that people in America have come to adore and delusionally believe is a realistic depiction. I've always liked the juxtaposition of the fantastical Renaissance-era Jesus with the "Do you think you're what they say you are?" refrain.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 11:22am

I had actually never seen the show nor did I really know much of the music, so I'm glad that someone who is very familiar did really like it.

[PapaGe]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 11:33am

Jesus fit most popular American conceptions of Jesus so his whiteness didn't bother me (because it was familiar, not because it was accurate). To be honest, at least from a distance, I think Josh Young could almost pass for Israeli. Chilina as Mary was the only one who really bothered me, not because she was white but because she was squeaky-clean white, almost like a Barbie doll. (As my friends said: "Where's her hand bag?")

I still enjoyed her performance though, even if I found her look unsettling. That moment when she *screams* when Judas hangs himself is chilling.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 11:44am

PapaGe, I agree re: Chilina, but I don't think the costuming or makeup really helped her in that department. I feel like there are things that could've been done to her "look" to make her fit more with the feel of the production. The bottom of her dress was a little "princess-y" for my taste. I agree also that the moment after Judas' death is played perfectly.

[PapaGe]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 11:55am

I don't think the costuming or makeup really helped her in that department.

Oh, I agree. It wasn't her casting so much as the way she was presented that bothered me. That yellow dress just didn't seem to fit her character at all. I do think she could have worked a bit more to come across as a reformed former prostitute, though--I think if anyone went in not knowing the story, that's not at all the impression they would get from her.



Updated On: 6/13/12 at 11:55 AM

[mee.who]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 12:18pm

I don't have any issues with the style of Chilina's dress (and I like that the general style of the skirt is repeated in ensemble member Melissa O'Neil's costume), but don't understand why they chose to go with that wig for the Broadway run. I think this mostly bothers me because Chilina has such nice wavy hair, which makes the wig seem a big downgrade.

Regarding the color of the dress, I recently read a book that mentioned that many times in art Judas is depicted wearing yellow robes. The book associated the color with greed, but mentioned that yellow was also associated with prostitutes.

I just googled and came across this:
"Saffron was reputed to be the color of love and later also of lust. Venus, the Roman Goddess of love wore a yellow robe. These aspects of yellow led to a change of its connotation in medieval Christianity and it became the color of prostitutes, who were forced to make themselves recognizable by wearing an yellow ribbon, belt or cape."
from this website: http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/intro/yellows3.html

Not sure if it's coincidental in the case of the costume design for this production or not, but it's interesting!

Also, Josh Young is Jewish. He's discussed it in several interviews.

Aaand this post officially has absolutely nothing to do with which recording of JCS is the best. So I'll end by saying, if they were to record this revival, this would be the recording that would get the most play from me.





Updated On: 6/13/12 at 12:18 PM

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 1:47pm

Jordan, could you explain your hostility towards Josh Young?

You wrote: Have you ever met Josh Young? Spent more than 2 1/2 seconds in his presence?


Well, I have met Josh Young several times at the Stratford Festival over the years. I watched after a matinee of SUPERSTAR last summer as he very kindly spoke to a shy young girl - she could not have been more tan 6 or 7 - answering her questions, posing for a picture taken by her mother and signing her program. That made the little girl's face light up, and the rest of us watching. In chatting with Josh, I found him to be very well informed and passionate about musical theatre. He gave me a copy of his CD to play on my radio program, an I have programmed many tracks from it.

The day after the Broadway opening, he was still trying to recover from a throat infection that sidelined him during previews, yet he graciously consented to an interview with a journalist friend of mine that led to a great article. In all of my encounters with him he has always been very friendly, professional and pleasant to deal with. So I was surprised to see you write about him in such a negative way.

Did he treat you badly at the stage door or something?
Interview with Josh Young

[PattiLover]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 4:47pm

Sounds like Jordan is bitter, bitter, bitter. What's a matter honey, you get turned down after making a drunken pass at him?

I've worked with him and he's always been a fantastic person, very amicable, certainly a hell of a lot nicer and there's a 99.9% chance he's 99.9% sexier than you. I mean, Josh doesn't need to hide behind avatars of gay porn stars.

And yes, as far as I know, the boy is straight, as if it matters.

[PattiLover]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 4:49pm

BTW, he's not just naturally good-looking, the boy has worked and worked and worked to achieve his level best. So for someone to talk trash about him because of what obviously is a personal thing, is just typical theatrical bitchiness. It really drags the art down.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 4:57pm

^Didn't he actually lose a lot of weight? I remember him saying in an interview that he used to be over weight and never got cast in the romantic leading man roles that he wanted. He looks great now!
Updated On: 6/13/12 at 04:57 PM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 6:35pm

Eh, I just wish he had the voice of, say, a Carl Anderson or a Murray Head. I'm sorry, but comparison is inevitable in a show that is so well-recorded already.

[darquegk]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 6:37pm

Somebody made a joke about Tom Jones as Judas... while vintage-lounge Tom Jones as Judas would be hystircally wrong, 2000s Tom Jones in his current blues-singer incarnation would not be half bad.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 7:36pm

As long as we're leaning toward stars for it, my feeling is to go younger. As much as I've voiced dislike for his work in the past, I've got to give it to Adam Lambert. He has been actively campaigning for the role, and we know at the very least that he can sing it (in fact, there's even a YouTube clip of him singing HOTM floating around out there).

I'm not totally confident that he's the right person for Judas, but better a celebrity who wants it and can do it than one who neither wants it nor can do it.



Lambert campaigns for the role

Updated On: 6/13/12 at 07:36 PM

[GatorNY]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 7:50pm

I'm in the group that thinks Josh Young is hot. Whoever asked what team he bats for...I would bet he likes the ladies, but what do I know? I was disappointed though that he was not performing at today's matinee.

Paul Nolan was beautiful as usual. Gethsemane is one of my favorite moments in musical theater. I was so moved that I felt compelled to tell him at the stage door after the show. I had not done the stage door routine in quite some time. He seemed to genuinely appreciate me telling him about my experience at the show.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 8:14pm

^Josh is engaged to a woman, unfortunately.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 8:34pm

Darn those hetero's.

[landlocked_mermaid]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 8:55pm

I'm partial to the original brown album as it's the one I grew up listening to. And I was also disappointed to hear that there won't be a recording of this current revival cast.

As for Josh Young, I had never heard of him until I saw him on the Tony's and yeah, he's very easy on the eyes. I really like him as Judas too but I won't be in NYC until October and it seems unlikely that this production will be around until then. Not sure why someone would have a problem with the guy; he seems to be a perfectly nice human being from what I've seen online from people who have met him.

Someone (I think it was on youTube) complained about the tightness of the blue suit. I'm still not sure how exactly that's a problem for someone.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 9:22pm

Kelly2, have you seen this?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 10:13pm

It makes sense that has lost a lot of weight, the looser clothes are flattering but the blue sparkle top and tight pants do him no favors. And the fact that he is the only one dressed disco-ish makes no sense. The costumes, in general are individually OK but they don't help the production at all. I understand they are spose to reflect the times but also look kinda modern, but that just falls flat. The set sucks also.
The reason I found this production enjoyable was the music and the male singers. The rest of it looks undirected to me.

If Lambert was interested in the role, he didn't get it, and I for one am very glad.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 6/13/12 at 10:34pm

Just like to add, re: the "Could We Start Again Please?" topic we touched on earlier in this thread -- I may have found an alternate placement that I actually somewhat like, although I think my argument in favor of the song still stands.

A pro-shot video of the 1992 Australian cast in concert (final performance) was recently leaked in certain corners to fans, and I was one of the first privileged to view it. That production placed "Could We Start Again Please?" after "Peter's Denial," which kind of makes sense, I suppose, making it grow organically out of a Mary/Peter moment rather than randomly appearing later in the act.

I still like it where it is, though. :P

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/14/12 at 3:15am

The revival blows. Horridly cast, designed, and directed. If this were a legit Broadway remounting, not a transfer from a regional theater, none of these people would be on that stage.

As for recordings, I think the German recording with Drew Sarich is the best. He is the best Jesus I've heard vocally, and he's just brilliant in the role. Also, it's a live recording so it has great energy. I appreciate the guy who plays Judas on that recording. That's how I want my Judas: rough, edgy, and surprising.

As for Young as a person, I saw him doing a Mondays New Voices thingy at 54 Below and he was on this phone texting throughout the whole thing in the corner, and wearing a baseball hat (indoors, in a fancy cabaret setting), and not talking to anyone and generally avoiding people. Seemed lame to me.

[bwaybby]

Posted: 6/14/12 at 9:56am

Ripped Man. YOU are being the awful person here. I was at that concert because I'm a fan of Lowdermilk/Kerrigan. I spoke to him and sat right next to the performers where he was sitting. BUT he was not "doing" the concert as you say!! He was there supporting his friends! What did he sing? And he certainly never was texting during the show. After the show he certainly was, but, um...so?! He's said publicly that he tries to avoid speaking to people on his day off to save it for the show. Why don't you go up and talk to him next time you see him instead of judging from afar?

As for your opinion of the show...when did you see it? I wan't a recording of this current cast. I think your opinion is completely valid but I LOVE every member of the cast for what they bring to the show. Though I respect that it isn't your cup of tea.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 6/14/12 at 10:12am

"He's said publicly that he tries to avoid speaking to people on his day off to save it for the show. Why don't you go up and talk to him next time..."

Wouldn't those two be mutually exclusive? "He doesn't talk on off days, so go talk to him"?

Updated On: 6/14/12 at 10:12 AM

[bwaybby]

Posted: 6/14/12 at 10:29am

good point Wynbish. I did say hi and he was very lovely if not brief. I've been a fan for a long time and he always seems happy to see me and calls me by name. I also can't quite tell if he's "saving his voice" but he seems like he may be shy? Anybody know if that's true?

[Kelly2]

Posted: 6/14/12 at 12:24pm

Honestly: Who gives a sh*t if he's nice or if he's a douche? It's not really at all relevant to the work he's doing onstage and indulging the psychotics and mental defectives who actually care about how nice people are at the stage door is pointless.