JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE Discussion Thread — Page 11

NBC is going to push Brandon Victor Dixon for Emmy Award consideration.

But a respected theater vet like Dixon in an emotionally complex and theatrically showy role like Judas could be a force to be reckoned with for Best Movie/Mini Actor, where NBC is currently planning to campaign him.

I found the information in an article written on goldderby.com

CarlosAlberto said: "smallworld said: "I've needed some time to process this one. Here's my full, blunt review. No sugar coating.

I found it to be a mixed bag. Sarah Bareilles was fantastic, as expected. Erik Gronwall was the highlight of the evening for me as Simon Zealotes - he should have been playing Judas with that amount of talent. The orchestra was also incredible. I really enjoyed the ensemble and how the audience played into the show - it worked. Alice Cooper was a delight as King Herod, and I loved how campy his song was. Norm Lewis did the best he could, but his talents were not put to their best use with the notes that his role required. The crucifixion was incredible and gave me chills all over.

John Legend was a catastrophe up until the lashing scene, where he finally decided to take the subdued look off of his face and attempt to act. His voice was absolutely pitiful and his Gethsemane made me cringe multiple times. I also felt that Brandon Victor Dixon was a mess as Judas. The transition from the intense overture into his weak rendition of Heaven on Their Minds was laughable. He looked extremely uncomfortable and his voice was not suited for the role whatsoever. The only song I somewhat enjoyed him in was the Superstar.

This is how I see it: If you're going to put on a production of a ROCK opera, you need to cast ROCK singers - which Legend and Dixon are clearly not. This show needs to be raw. Jesus needs to convey his high notes with power, rather than squeak them out in falsetto with no stamina. Judas should be wailing out his notes and songs, not lightly belting them out.

I'll just continue listening to one of Drew Sarich's recordings of Superstar. That's how Superstar should be in my eyes. Gritty, raw, and edgy - three things that this production was not for most of the evening.
"

I don’t recall Ben Vereen ever being referred to as a rock singer - and he was the original Broadway Judas and did quite well from what I hear."



Carl Anderson wasn't a rock singer either and he was amazing in the productions I saw in 1995 and 1996. He was known for that Friends and Lovers song with Gloria Loring.

DigificWriter said: "Judas is presented as a "narrator" who colors a lot of the events we see with his own perceptions, but if the show were truly built around him, we would only witness the parts of the story for which he himself were present."

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber have described their concept for this show as an account of the last days of Jesus' life from the perspective of Judas.

The show is available to stream on the NBC app and on the website, they have several clips for those of us who can't figure out how to download the NBC app to their kindle (ahem...). It was really fun to watch those clips again. Heaven on their Minds is so amazing anyway, I really enjoyed BVD take on the role.

Mediamaven2 said: "This a.m. I was reading the NY Timesreview which remarked on, and I wanted to underscore as I didn't mention in earlier postings - how the live audience and its interaction with the performance was a fantastic element in the show coming off as well as it did. One key obvious moment was at the beginning when John Legend/Jesus enters the stage during Heaven on My Mind and strolls over to the mosh pit, shaking hands with screaming delighted fans. How was that for the layers of meaning on celebrity in our culture then and now, reality imitating art.That was one obvious moment at the start but it continued. I know some above complained about the noise from the audience but I agree with the review I was reading - it was a terrific element."

I had read that review as well and it was mostly right on point, in my view (save for any praise for Alice Cooper). The fact that Jesus preached to large crowds was perfectly reflected in the idea of having Legend interact with the audience. I thought it was a brilliant directorial idea, even if the arm waving got a bit ridiculous. Plus the whole idea that theater is a communal experience....they should find a way to make the crowd in all the future live musicals visible to the home audience at different points of the show.

Mediamaven2 said: "This a.m. I was reading the NY Timesreview which remarked on, and I wanted to underscore as I didn't mention in earlier postings - how the live audience and its interaction with the performance was a fantastic element in the show coming off as well as it did. One key obvious moment was at the beginning when John Legend/Jesus enters the stage during Heaven on My Mind and strolls over to the mosh pit, shaking hands with screaming delighted fans. How was that for the layers of meaning on celebrity in our culture then and now, reality imitating art.That was one obvious moment at the start but it continued. I know some above complained about the noise from the audience but I agree with the review I was reading - it was a terrific element."

Mostly yes to this - I agree, but do wish the sound mixing made the cast a little bit easier to hear. (And, I'll admit that at times, the cheering in the middle of a song bothered me... just wanted them to wait 30 seconds to let loose! Still, I get it.)

In addition to the audience's interactions with Legend, I felt like the greeting (cheering, screaming, clapping) for Alice Cooper added to that scene.

DOUBLE POST

But I’ll take this opportunity to add that my 83 year old mom approved! She is a fairly conservative Christian and has always resisted watching or listening to any version of JCS. Low and behold, she shocked the heck out of me when she told me yesterday that she had watched the entire production (her usual bedtime is 9 PM). She gave it very high marks and even said she now understands what all the fuss has been about. She gave particularly high marks to Legend, Sara, and the musicians. She said she loved the audience interaction as well. I never dreamed that she’d give it even a glance and I’m so glad she did!

Updated On: 4/4/18 at 06:44 PM

Is this where I ask "at what angle were the wings worn"?

Patash, re: being surprised by criticism about the crowd overwhelming the show...The sound mix was really cleaned up for the West Coast and streaming veraions, which helped a lot. What you heard was a lot better than the original airing, where the constant cheering really did take away even from the audibility of much of the show.

Updated On: 4/5/18 at 02:48 PM

Patash said: "Ah, thank you, scarywarhol. I didn't realize it had been cleaned up before the "on demand" airings."

Eh, I didn't really notice any excessive audience reactions even watching it in real time.

Watched some of the main clips on YouTube till I can get it here in Europe.

I wasn’t impressed (I rarely am lol) for the money, the stars and resources available to them it was bad.

They literally could have done anything or perhaps not judging by all the religious comments, we just don’t get that here in UK.

If you are gonna cast John Legend then cast John Legend don’t make him try sing a role he clearly isn’t cut out for. He’s a beautiful singer and I could listen to some of the soulful stuff of JC for days but those bigger notes. No. No.

Sara sounded beautiful. Dixon is great but the suicide was awful. For me it’s the moment with the biggest impact and they literally threw it away for fear of upsetting the pearl clutchers.

Cooper is Cooper is Herod I’d just like a different vision. Herod is the Herod of Salome to me so something a bit more Dionysian than Follies.

The lashings was terrible. No impact and out of sync. Again the money and resources were wasted.

Thats my two cents.

Without going back through the whole thread (where the answer may be) - does anyone know if NBC intends to repeat the broadcast around Easter 2020? (I originally typed re-air, but that revealed that I am not as young as I think I am)

I finally watched this over the summer and found it to be mediocre, which means it was better than most of the live musicals. Probably because I saw the London revival that played the Chicago Lyric Opera before seeing this broadcast. It's the best production of the show I've ever seen and I highly recommend it everyone.