JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE Discussion Thread- Page 8

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 1:59am

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.

[bstoll1]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 2:01am

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

[artifact11]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 2:04am

Did they show the curtain call?  My dvr recording cut off, but I’ll bet they were electric and given the viewing audience an emotional outlet when it ended.

Since the concert was so beautifully visual, I’m surprised there’s no mention of a Blu ray with some extras- isn’t it a surprising omission, considering they are already releasing a cd-

 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 2:10am

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? 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 2:12am

For what it's worth, it looks like NBC has posted all of the musical numbers from ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' at YouTube, including that gorgeous closing sequence. What a stunning piece of stagecraft!

Updated On: 4/2/18 at 02:12 AM

[aimeric]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 2:14am

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...

 

[Becky]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 2:26am

Judas has such passion, intensity, and angst - and it didn’t come across for me. I’ve seen men in that role that left me with chills in their facial expressions alone, and I wanted to feel that so bad....

(Edited to say I very much enjoyed tonight - overall I thought it was a phenomenal production with standout performances). 

 

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

[bear88]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 2:26am

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

[Owen22]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 3:18am

CallMeAl2 said: "RaisedOnMusicals said: "This brings back so many memories of buying the OCR in 1971 and rushing home to play the records on my stereo. (Yep, I’m old). I remember thinking that the score was a masterpiece. I still think so."

Yeah. I first heard the score in my Catholic high school religion class. As soon as the record was released the priest that taught the class brought it in and played itfor us. Back then it was a while before I could afford to buy the multi-LP set for myself."

A Jesuit I would guess.

 

[bstoll1]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 3:20am

They let us keep our phones abd take pics and videos as we pleased!

[gypsy101]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 3:35am

Miles2Go2 said: "Very cool about the playbill, but weren’t phones confiscated until after the show?"

i saw an audience member texting on their phone at one point during a shot of the crowd so i’m pretty sure phones weren’t confiscated (i was so annoyed that someone in the crowd wasn’t appreciating the show)

[antonijan]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 3:45am

Nice to watch the cast instastory for backstage footage

[broadwaytbay]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 7:58am

In response to note criticism for Ben Daniels, I too am an "actor who sings", and the shades and depth he brought to the characterization in my opinion far overshadowed any missed notes.  It was nice to see a Pilate who I thought brought fresh and vital energy to the proceedings.  And Pilates Dream which sometimes can be a snooze for me, was crackling with energy, as was the post whipping harassment by the crowd.

Also on the Norm Lewis front I thought it might have been a mic issue, especially in the first Council... several of the priests were hard to hear over the music... Also I did miss a sharpness from Jin Ha as Annas.

[BobbyD3]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 8:11am

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.    

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 8:28am

For those who missed it, didn’t tape it or just want to rewatch:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEO-Watch-the-Full-Broadcast-of-JESUS-CHRIST-SUPERSTAR-LIVE-20180402

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 9:00am

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.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 9:01am

I thought it was very well done. Although I've heard some of the score over the years, I've never seen a production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

I didn't have any issues with John Legend.

Brandon Victor Dixon seemed to lose stamina vocally towards the end.

Sara Bareilles was wonderful.

I love Norm Lewis, but was thinking, couldn't they find someone who could actually sing those low notes.

Some of the ensemble solo lines seemed a bit self-indulgent during Make Us Well. 

[Babe_Williams]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 9:07am

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).

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 9:12am

JCS is one of my favorite musicals. Overall I loved this production, but I did think that John Legend was the weak link in the cast. He's a good singer but IMO vocally not a good match for Jesus. I would have preferred someone with more the sound of the guy who played Simon Zealotes. Good acting could have made up for it, but he fell flat there too IMO.

Brandon Victor Dixon was probably the best Judas I've seen since Carl Anderson. The rest of the cast was good. I really loved Norm Lewis as Caiaphas, even if he did struggle with some of those lower notes. I liked the staging, too.

[phan418]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 9:15am

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

[greenifyme2]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 9:23am

Babe_Williams said: "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)."

I was confused about that too.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 9:37am

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.

[greensgreens]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 10:08am

Agreed on most of the praise and criticisms that all have mentioned previously. My one big regret is that the original orchestrations were used (or at least they were nearly identical to those). I really hoped there would be a bit more modernization to these, especially for Herod's song, which just doesn't work with Alice Cooper doing it as-is. Why not ditch the vaudeville arrangement for something more rockish and campy in that direction for Alice? I mean, he's been doing this role for like 20 years now and could do it justice if it were slightly more aligned with him. As it stands, it should've been a Josh Gad or Steven Colbert or similar comedian/B'way type. Even Jared Leto or Adam Devine would've been more interesting and appropriate for that type of song. Anyway, that's the only comment I had that I don't think has been brought up yet. Otherwise, it was great!

[ZellMorrowsPledge]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 10:08am

I was in the audience last night. I haven’t been able to see the show yet on tv but I really hope it transferred well. The energy was INSANE. Being in that pit was indescribable, and the fact that they let us keep our phones was a plus. I could write an entire essay on my experience, which was amazing from start to finish since I checked in up until I left Marcy Armory, but thanks to 1iota and NBC for the opportunity!

[Alexander Lamar]

Posted: 4/2/18 at 10:30am

As someone totally unfamiliar with JCS I thought that was absolutely fantastic.