What does "Superstar" in Jesus Christ Superstar represent?

[aces25]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 8:56pm

[jasonf]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 9:12pm

Umm - what now?

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 9:25pm

Do you know what the word superstar means? Is that what you're asking? In the title, it represents what superstar means. I'm not sure I understand your question. There isn't any hidden meaning, if that's what you mean. Jesus Christ, by anyone's definition of the word, is a superstar. And, it's certainly how Judas perceives him in the show.

[aces25]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 9:32pm

what does the SONG superstar mean?

[LifeoftheParty227]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 10:03pm

como what?

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 10:34pm

Just listen to the lyrics to understand what it's about. It's pretty obvious... it's Judas asking Jesus all sorts of questions that we'd all like to know, like why he came back then, etc.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 10:35pm

It represents Man's Inhumanity to Man, obviously.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 10:59pm

CARPENTERS Lyrics
SUPERSTAR Song Text


Long ago, and oh so far away
I fell in love with you,
before the second show
Your guitar, it sounds so
sweet and clear
But you're not really hear
it's just the radio

Don't you remember you told me
you loved me now baby
You said you'd be coming
back this way again, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby
I love you,
I really do

Loneliness, is such a sad affair
And I can hardly wait
to be with you again
What to say to make you come again
Come back to me again
And play your sad guitar

Don't you remember you told me
you loved me now baby
You said you'd be coming
back this way again, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby
I love you
I really do

[Merrydothe]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 11:00pm

Ha!

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 11:05pm

Superstar =

STREISAND!

Updated On: 6/16/06 at 11:05 PM

[Adam Chris]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 11:33pm

Actually there really is a legit answer to this question. I remember in an interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber he states Tim Rice had the idea of throwing in the word "Superstar" instead of calling the show Jesus Christ or Jesus!. During the sixies many musical artists were calling themselves "Superstars". Thus, Tim Rice thought "Superstar" would be appropriate.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 12:12am

[??]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 12:15am

Hi Aces,

I'll actually try and answer your question.

By using the word SUPERSTAR, Rice and Webber are letting us know that this Jesus is very different to what we are used to. To us, a Superstar is someone who is loved, admired, hated, envied....someone who is always in the spotlight, someone who people expect to be a certain way etc. Along with this, we too often hear stories of people trying to "cope" with the pressure of being a "Superstar". In this context, the word is used because we are given a Jesus that is thrust into a position because of what he can do and what he is rumoured to do. He represents to his apostles and the priests/romans a way for the jews to gain power, a king of the jews. For the priests, this means their downfall if the jews believe him, to the romans the idea of the jews answering to their own king creates political issues detrimental to the state.

What is great, and so controversial about the show is that it shows Jesus reacting to these pressures as a MAN. He is pushed one way and then another, forced to cater to people who are missing his underlying message. There is a great moment during Hosanna when the chorus swells and Jesus is raised on the shoulders of the crowd...clearly adored. At this time they scream "Hey JC, JC won't you DIE for me?" and Jesus realizes what he is being elevated too. He is shown crumbling under the pressure of BEING Jesus Christ, screaming through the temple, telling lepers to heal themselves...because as a human being he cannot take what is happening. When we finally reach Gethsemane (IMO perhaps the most powerful, and greatest song in Musical Theatre.....and thats a challenge to everyone yes!) he is crying out and asking WHY is it him...why is he the Superstar?


Then we get to the song "Superstar". I'm sure you know that the whole time, all I have said above is understood by Judas who is trying to warn Christ of the consequences if he doesn't get control of his masses. When Judas sings Superstar, he is not mocking Christ as is often interpreted, instead he is begging to know WHY did it have to be this way, does Christ really believe he is the son of god, was it worth it. Remember, Judas feels cheated and betrayed by God and this is where he is able to vent his inner frustration....that in essence, WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME. The song Superstar is Judas saying "Hey, look what I told you, do you STILL believe it, are you Christ, just tell me....if you even know".

The amazing thing about this show is that it portrays emotions that the real, historical Christ must have felt. "Superstar" represents the humanzing of Christ, that if done right, we can feel and suffer with him as he tries to be everything to everybody when he is just man who may or may not be the son of God.

Also, remember that in this show, and something alot of productions totally miss is that Jesus and Judas love each other, that Judas does what he does out of desperation to save the man he loves. In that way, the song Superstar is the final plea from Judas to try and help the man he loves.





Hope that helped somewhat.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 12:25am

The word "superstar" is commonly attributed to Variety, which claims to have coined it to to describe Julie Andrews, because of all the box-office and sales records that were set by works in which she starred. The star of the most watched television special, Cinderella, star of the biggest Broadway show, My Fair Lady, the biggest Disney film, Mary Poppins, the biggest Fox film, The Sound of Music, the biggest Universal film, Thoroughly Modern Millie and the biggest United Artists film, Hawaii, plus she had OCR and Soundtracks reach number 1 on the Billboard charts, as well. No one else had or has ever done that. Afterward, it was used to describe everybody, in any field.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 3:38am

Why does Judas sing "Superstar" posthumously? Is he supposed to have resurrected too? That never made sense to me. Didn't they originally write the song as a single and then someone convinced them to write an entire show around it?

[DG]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 3:45am

It's a reference to Paris Hilton.

Retroactively.

Just a reference to the second coming, you'll pardon the pun.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 8:52am

It was written as an entire album (still the definitive recording), and a high school is New York did a show around the album. Soon, lots of productions started cropping up, and ALW and company started to take action to have these productions closed down. Finally, they just came up with a show of their own, and opened it on Broadway, in 1971 or thereabouts.

[??]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 1:09pm

I think the point of Judas singing Superstar after the hanging is to give the character the ability to ask his questions and make his points AFTER having suffered. I suppose since, throughout the rest of the show he is so riddled with strong emotion that his decisions are rash and he is confused by what exactly he has done or what he has to do. I think that, by having him come back to ask his ULTIMATE question, it allows Judas to be free of those emotions and to ask Jesus straight out, face-to-face. I've also always thought that the song Superstar could actually just be Jesus' thoughts to himself as he prepares to be crucified, wondering if its worth it, is he really who he says he is etc, and that is manifested in Judas who is the ultimate voice of dissent.



That was poorly worded, sorry.

Posted: 6/17/06 at 1:28pm

"SUPERSTAR" represents Karen Carpenter
...because she died for my sins.