JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE Discussion Thread — Page 8

I was at the concert in the PIT for the Live Show and it was a great experience. I posted pictures and videos from the evening as well as made my own playbill that the cast signed. If you have any questions about the evening let me know.

https://www.facebook.com/brian.stoll3

bstoll1 said: "I was at the concert in the PIT for the Live Show and it was a great experience. I posted pictures and videos from the evening as well as made my own playbill that the cast signed. If you have any questions about the evening let me know.

https://www.facebook.com/brian.stoll3"

Very cool about the playbill, but weren’t phones confiscated until after the show?

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Loved it, overall.

Agree about John Legend. He was fine overall but his “Gethsamene” was painful.

Norm couldn’t really hit all the low notes - he’s amazing but Caiaphas needs do be sung by a true bass. Was he wearing platform boots to appear taller? His physical presence was perfect.

As for Pilate, it is best played by an “actor who sings” like Ben Daniels, but he was off pitch several times, and he sounded like he blew out his voice in rehearsals and was out of his element. Not sure why he’s getting such high praise.

BVD was amazing. More of a musical theatre performance than a rock performance, which was fine. What a great actor and singer."



Agree with pretty much all these points. Norm's Caiaphas=Norm's "Ol' Man River" in that Show Boat concert a few years back...scraping the bottom of his range. Why do they keep suggesting this excellent *baritone* for bass parts...?

And yes, "Gethsamene" started giving me second-hand embarrassment, it was so uncomfortable to watch...

I'm accustomed to grading these TV productions on a steep curve, and was half-dreading this one because I love Jesus Christ Superstar and didn't like the idea of a botched version. But despite qualms, I thought there were so many things that were fantastic that I feel churlish in complaining about anything.

It was a gorgeous production. The set and lighting designers who came up with the ending shot deserve whatever awards and plaudits they will receive. The scene with Judas and the pharisees also looked great.

John Legend had some off moments, musically and as an actor, but he acquitted himself well overall surrounded by far more experienced stage performers. Too bad his rehearsal performance of "Gethsemene" wasn't tonight, based on reports from people who were there, but that happens at every live show.

The sound issues got a bit frustrating sometimes, less so because I know practically the whole show from memory.

I didn't think the lyric changes improved the show, but that's the sort of thing that only I care about. And they were minor.

I didn't think Brandon Victor Dixon was perfect, but he did a lot of things well and interestingly (including all that well-staged seething in the background early in the show). While I was having trouble shaking Carl Anderson out of my head for a while, his performance of "Superstar" was just the right mix of kick-ass vocals, charisma, and an extraordinary flourish at the end. I'll watch that performance again and again.

Sara Bareilles met my expectations. She makes things look easy, and I agree that she was great in "Could We Start Again Please?" - a song I usually zone out.

I didn't enjoy Ben Daniels as much as the rest of you, and there were some sound and vocal issues toward the end. But some of that is my inability to shake Barry Dennen's work in the original. I did like his performance of "Pilate's Dream."

I understand the criticism of both the staging and of Alice Cooper's performance. But I didn't care. It was stunt casting that worked for me, and Cooper has a different approach than most Herods.

Norm Lewis and Jin Ha were great as Caiaphas and Annas.

That one-two punch of an ending really shows what can be done with top-notch Broadway talent and imaginative stagecraft.

Updated On: 4/2/18 at 02:26 AM

This was wonderful. Amazing what a STAGE can do for a STAGE MUSICAL. Best Live TV Adaptation - and it isn't close.

Sara B stole the show for me. I liked her Jenna better than Jessie's (which surprised me), and this was my favorite Mary I have seen. She needs to start taking the Lin Manuel route and giving herself the lead right away in all of her shows.

Norm and BVD were also stunning. Norm at the top, BVD at the end. I maintain that you can't judge a Judas until his final two scenes, and he killed those.

John Legend was nice. He had moments of eh, but overall a great performance given his background as a stage performer.

Alice Cooper was the biggest bust for me...but I just sloughed it off.

Great work.

Watching a couple of clips from BWW that I missed:

-Sara Bareilles's "I Don't Know How to Love Him". I'm literally crying. Utterly perfection.

-"This Jesus Must Die": Norm Lewis is everything as usual. I don't know who Jin Ha is, but he's great. I love love the direction and the black costumes. So Satanic-looking.

-"King of the Jews": I have a huge smile on my face. Alice Cooper is great and he's nailing the acting. Don't know why people don't like him. I also love the dancers.

there is a lot of commentary about the audience being loud, but I didn't notice that at all (obviously with the exception of the response in between songs and that didn't bother me).

being filmed at armory in wiliamsburg, brooklyn.. new york

It was worse in the begining....but there was screaming at other times....but I do think it helped make it feel more live. It had the energy that the other live musicals certainly have missed.