#27
Posted: 3/22/12 at 9:47pm
I think your post is right on. I saw it in La Jolla. Josh Young btw is frigging amazing.
#28
Posted: 3/22/12 at 9:52pm
Hmmm AP is a bit harsh. It did find some shining points.
Those Blocked: SueStorm. N2N Nate. Good riddence to stupid! Rad-Z, shill begone!
#29
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:03pm
Matthew is Matthew and he doesn't count.
Keeping the action so tightly trained on this is McAnuff's most brilliant stroke in a take on this musical (which was first seen on Broadway in 1971) that is otherwise effective but mostly workmanlike. Members of the company trudge about in nondescript hipster-slum costumes (by Paul Tazewell), usually either trailing Jesus like lost puppies or blocking his way until they get what they demand. The religious leaders who are Jesus's most consistent antagonists are swathed in dark, threatening hues (most of them have voices to match) that leave no uncertainty as to whose side they're on. The temple from which Jesus ejects the moneylenders could easily be mistaken for a West Village leather bar, and King Herod's throne room for a punk fetish massage parlor. The towering crucifix at the end is lined with light bulbs. You get the idea.
A general lack of theatrical electricity doesn't help matters. Regardless of whether the (talented) ensemble is worshipping the man they revere as their god in a literal stadium or screaming for his death before the governor Pontius Pilate, they don't behave as though there's a great deal at stake. (Lisa Shriver's choreography is plentiful, but too constrained to ever communicate ecstatic abandon.) And though something is always in motion onstage (usually Sean Nieuwenhuis's video projections, either on an enormous screen backdrop or a stock ticker closer to the middle), Robert Brill's set is so time-, space-, and feeling-independent that you spend your time staring at it wondering whether it was borrowed from McAnuff's own production of Jersey Boys playing just across the street at the August Wilson.
The magic of Jesus Christ Superstar, however, is that it's so smartly and engagingly written that it can absorb more directorial foot-shuffling than most musicals.
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/
Keeping the action so tightly trained on this is McAnuff's most brilliant stroke in a take on this musical (which was first seen on Broadway in 1971) that is otherwise effective but mostly workmanlike. Members of the company trudge about in nondescript hipster-slum costumes (by Paul Tazewell), usually either trailing Jesus like lost puppies or blocking his way until they get what they demand. The religious leaders who are Jesus's most consistent antagonists are swathed in dark, threatening hues (most of them have voices to match) that leave no uncertainty as to whose side they're on. The temple from which Jesus ejects the moneylenders could easily be mistaken for a West Village leather bar, and King Herod's throne room for a punk fetish massage parlor. The towering crucifix at the end is lined with light bulbs. You get the idea.
A general lack of theatrical electricity doesn't help matters. Regardless of whether the (talented) ensemble is worshipping the man they revere as their god in a literal stadium or screaming for his death before the governor Pontius Pilate, they don't behave as though there's a great deal at stake. (Lisa Shriver's choreography is plentiful, but too constrained to ever communicate ecstatic abandon.) And though something is always in motion onstage (usually Sean Nieuwenhuis's video projections, either on an enormous screen backdrop or a stock ticker closer to the middle), Robert Brill's set is so time-, space-, and feeling-independent that you spend your time staring at it wondering whether it was borrowed from McAnuff's own production of Jersey Boys playing just across the street at the August Wilson.
The magic of Jesus Christ Superstar, however, is that it's so smartly and engagingly written that it can absorb more directorial foot-shuffling than most musicals.
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#30
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:04pm
Still, how would you categorize his review?
"There is no problem so big that it cannot be run away from."
~ Charles M. Schulz
#31
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:05pm
USA Today gives it 2 and a half stars
http://www.usatoday.com/life/theater/reviews/story/2012-03-22/jesus-christ-superstar-once-musicals/53713214/1
http://www.usatoday.com/life/theater/reviews/story/2012-03-22/jesus-christ-superstar-once-musicals/53713214/1
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#32
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:06pm
Still, how would you categorize his review?
Mixed to positive.
Mixed to positive.
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
Updated On: 3/22/12 at 10:06 PM
#33
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:08pm
New York Mag is mixed-to-negative:
http://www.vulture.com/2012/03/good-lord-its-jesus-christ-superstar.html
http://www.vulture.com/2012/03/good-lord-its-jesus-christ-superstar.html
#34
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:10pm
Matthew is Matthew and he doesn't count.
You made my night Blaxx! Ha ha!
You made my night Blaxx! Ha ha!
#35
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:12pm
Isherwood is Mixed
http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/theater/reviews/jesus-christ-superstar-at-the-neil-simon-theater.html
wow who would of thunk, guess regardless of the production Jesus wasn't the smoking hot element this season.....
http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/theater/reviews/jesus-christ-superstar-at-the-neil-simon-theater.html
wow who would of thunk, guess regardless of the production Jesus wasn't the smoking hot element this season.....
Updated On: 3/22/12 at 10:12 PM
#36
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:16pm
Bloomberg gives it 3 stars
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-23/deafening-jesus-mellows-death-delivers-meal-.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-23/deafening-jesus-mellows-death-delivers-meal-.html
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#37
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:17pm
Theatermania is positive:
http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/reviews/03-2012/jesus-christ-superstar_52836.html
http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/reviews/03-2012/jesus-christ-superstar_52836.html
#38
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:18pm
Charles Isherwood reviewing for the New York Times.
Definitely mixed with some harsh words and a few good one liners. He seems to despise the show in general
http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/theater/reviews/jesus-christ-superstar-at-the-neil-simon-theater.html
Definitely mixed with some harsh words and a few good one liners. He seems to despise the show in general
http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/theater/reviews/jesus-christ-superstar-at-the-neil-simon-theater.html
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth!
Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming
You'll live forever here on earth.
#39
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:20pm
Like this?
The effect is of a mildly naughty floor show at Caesars Palace. And in fact Las Vegas, where Mr. McAnuff’s “Jersey Boys” has recently reopened, might be the ideal destination for this slick production of a show that turns martyrdom into a splashy pop spectacle. Nothing like witnessing a Crucifixion to whet your appetite for the slot machines.
Thank you, Isherwood!
The effect is of a mildly naughty floor show at Caesars Palace. And in fact Las Vegas, where Mr. McAnuff’s “Jersey Boys” has recently reopened, might be the ideal destination for this slick production of a show that turns martyrdom into a splashy pop spectacle. Nothing like witnessing a Crucifixion to whet your appetite for the slot machines.
Thank you, Isherwood!
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#40
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:20pm
AP was overly harsh -- but I did love this line.
Kennedy as Mary is bright and intense, although she seems to love her messenger bag as much as Jesus.
Kennedy as Mary is bright and intense, although she seems to love her messenger bag as much as Jesus.
#41
Posted: 3/22/12 at 10:23pm
Not a bad one, Blaxx! I don't understand why the NYT doesn't hire better reviewers. I actually like Isherwood better than Brantley and even this review falls very flat. The few funny lines not withstanding that are more an attempt to show us that he's clever rather than provide any insight into the show, the review has very little substance.
Anyways, looks like a pretty mixed bag for Superstar overall.
Anyways, looks like a pretty mixed bag for Superstar overall.
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth!
Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming
You'll live forever here on earth.
#43
Posted: 3/22/12 at 11:01pm
NY Daily News is mixed:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/jesus-christ-superstar-rocks-broadway-article-1.1048973
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/jesus-christ-superstar-rocks-broadway-article-1.1048973
#44
Posted: 3/22/12 at 11:14pm
Time Out NY is positive:
http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/theater/2880509/review-jesus-christ-superstar
http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/theater/2880509/review-jesus-christ-superstar
#45
Posted: 3/22/12 at 11:21pm
Isherwood's input doesn't even read like a review.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#46
Posted: 3/22/12 at 11:33pm
^It really doesn't. He clearly doesn't like the material in general, but he did at least have nice things to say about the cast and there's a little love letter to Josh Young stuck in there.
#47
Posted: 3/22/12 at 11:49pm
Agreed. Reading older reviews where there was thought provoking analysis really emphasizes how bad the vast majority of modern theatre "reviewing" has become. If I knew nothing else about that show, after reading Isherwood's review, I honestly don't even know what I would take from it.
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth!
Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming
You'll live forever here on earth.
#48
Posted: 3/22/12 at 11:55pm
New York Post is positive:
http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/praise_be_for_jesus_YHfdY7UA7PggPzIJVnFL8H
http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/praise_be_for_jesus_YHfdY7UA7PggPzIJVnFL8H
#49
Posted: 3/23/12 at 1:12am
I dunno. That NY Post review seems too sarcastic to be called positive. I'd say mixed at best. It does, after all, end by saying that maybe next time Des will get the story right.
#50
Posted: 3/23/12 at 1:17am
Well, it is really three stars out of four
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
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