#1
Posted: 11/24/04 at 12:41am
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR -- TORONTO, 11/23/04
I just got back from seeing the touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar, currently in Toronto for a week. I was pretty excited about the production, since the word on BWW was that it was good; but frankly, I didn't enjoy it very much. This tour is based on the 2000 Broadway revival, and I can see why the critics didn't like that production very much.
The cast tonight was a mixed lot. Eric Kunze was very disappointing as Jesus. I don't know if he was having an off-night or something, but he was quite terrible: he whispered most of his sung lyrics, didn't enunciate his words and, for some reason, chose not to follow the orchestra: he was always three or four bars behind. He lacked energy and passion, struggling through through "Gethsemane" and avoiding all those high notes. He gave a rather mundane performance overall. I couldn't wait until Jesus was crucified.
We had Judas' understudy tonight, Todd Fournier. He was alright, possessing a natural rock voice that unfortunately grew strained as the night went on. His portrayal of Judas was rather generic.
The performer who stole the show was Natalie Toro, who delivers a provocative and sensual Mary Magdalene. While all the male leads struggled through the score, Toro's powerful voice soared to the back of the theatre and dominated the stage. Mary is a pretty lame role, but Toro made the most of it; her "I Don't Know How to Love Him" was remarkable, one of the only times I've actually enjoyed the song (and now I finally understand its appeal). Also fantastic were the three female dancers playing the super-sexy Superstar Soul Girls.
The production itself is a strange one. I usually love conceptual, experimental re-imaginings of shows, but this one is just confusing and not very thought out. It's like Star Wars meets Rent: Jerusalem looks like a post-apocalyptic slum, with Darth-Vader lookalikes as police and soldiers. Jesus' disciples are dressed in battered street clothes. Jesus' enemies and the merchants in the Temple are a marriage of Wall Street businessmen and 1930s mafia lords. It all sounds very outlandish and interesting, but there's nothing unifying it all. It's just confusing and rather jarring.
Yet a lot of why I didn't enjoy the show has to do with the musical itself. Superstar has a place in my heart because I was in a college production of it a few years back, but watching it I can remember how bad the musical really is. Most of Tim Rice's lyrics are cringe-worthy ("Hey JC, JC, you're alright by me," or worse, "Always hoped that I'd be an apostle, knew that I would make it if I tried" -- what was Tim Rice smoking when he wrote that??), and Webber's score is rather tiresome. The show also makes no sense; if I wasn't previously familiar with the show, I wouldn't understand it at all. Songs jump from scene to scene with no dramatic transition (how did we get from Simon fawning over Jesus, to a supposed dream sequence with Pilate, to the temple in Jerusalem?). Half the time the audience has no idea what's going on. And unless you know the Biblical story pretty well, you're completely lost.
So I can forgive this production of Superstar for being so convoluted. I think the director and designers aimed for an eclectic, loose concept because the work itself is so anachronistic. Still, I think the original concept (echoed in the movie) of imagining Jesus as a modern-day hippie works a bit better, because the musical itself feels like some weird drug trip.
For those who've seen this production of JCS (spoilers!): I really liked how they decided to cut out the music in the coda (which was always jarring to the ears), and just have it silent onstage for Jesus to die slowly and sadly. I thought that was a powerful dramatic touch, and a great directorial choice. But then they ruin it: what's with that final moment, with the huge light-bulb-crazy crucifix lighting up and ascending into the sky like a spaceship? It looked so incredibly silly to me. Was it supposed to represent Jesus' soul going up to Heaven or something (*blech!*)?
One more thing: this production doesn't play well in Toronto's cavernous Canon Theatre. The Canon Theatre, while beautiful, is terribly designed. With 2000 seats on only two tiers, the sight lines are awful and performances often get lost in the space. I saw Rent here, and the huge auditorium killed it. Wicked will begin its tour at this theatre in March, and although it's a huge spectacle that will no doubt fill the space nicely (Phantom found in the Canon a comfortable home for 11 years, after all), I think this venue will make Wicked even chillier than it already is. At the Canon, you're often so distanced from what's onstage that you have to strain to feel connected to it.
I just got back from seeing the touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar, currently in Toronto for a week. I was pretty excited about the production, since the word on BWW was that it was good; but frankly, I didn't enjoy it very much. This tour is based on the 2000 Broadway revival, and I can see why the critics didn't like that production very much.
The cast tonight was a mixed lot. Eric Kunze was very disappointing as Jesus. I don't know if he was having an off-night or something, but he was quite terrible: he whispered most of his sung lyrics, didn't enunciate his words and, for some reason, chose not to follow the orchestra: he was always three or four bars behind. He lacked energy and passion, struggling through through "Gethsemane" and avoiding all those high notes. He gave a rather mundane performance overall. I couldn't wait until Jesus was crucified.
We had Judas' understudy tonight, Todd Fournier. He was alright, possessing a natural rock voice that unfortunately grew strained as the night went on. His portrayal of Judas was rather generic.
The performer who stole the show was Natalie Toro, who delivers a provocative and sensual Mary Magdalene. While all the male leads struggled through the score, Toro's powerful voice soared to the back of the theatre and dominated the stage. Mary is a pretty lame role, but Toro made the most of it; her "I Don't Know How to Love Him" was remarkable, one of the only times I've actually enjoyed the song (and now I finally understand its appeal). Also fantastic were the three female dancers playing the super-sexy Superstar Soul Girls.
The production itself is a strange one. I usually love conceptual, experimental re-imaginings of shows, but this one is just confusing and not very thought out. It's like Star Wars meets Rent: Jerusalem looks like a post-apocalyptic slum, with Darth-Vader lookalikes as police and soldiers. Jesus' disciples are dressed in battered street clothes. Jesus' enemies and the merchants in the Temple are a marriage of Wall Street businessmen and 1930s mafia lords. It all sounds very outlandish and interesting, but there's nothing unifying it all. It's just confusing and rather jarring.
Yet a lot of why I didn't enjoy the show has to do with the musical itself. Superstar has a place in my heart because I was in a college production of it a few years back, but watching it I can remember how bad the musical really is. Most of Tim Rice's lyrics are cringe-worthy ("Hey JC, JC, you're alright by me," or worse, "Always hoped that I'd be an apostle, knew that I would make it if I tried" -- what was Tim Rice smoking when he wrote that??), and Webber's score is rather tiresome. The show also makes no sense; if I wasn't previously familiar with the show, I wouldn't understand it at all. Songs jump from scene to scene with no dramatic transition (how did we get from Simon fawning over Jesus, to a supposed dream sequence with Pilate, to the temple in Jerusalem?). Half the time the audience has no idea what's going on. And unless you know the Biblical story pretty well, you're completely lost.
So I can forgive this production of Superstar for being so convoluted. I think the director and designers aimed for an eclectic, loose concept because the work itself is so anachronistic. Still, I think the original concept (echoed in the movie) of imagining Jesus as a modern-day hippie works a bit better, because the musical itself feels like some weird drug trip.
For those who've seen this production of JCS (spoilers!): I really liked how they decided to cut out the music in the coda (which was always jarring to the ears), and just have it silent onstage for Jesus to die slowly and sadly. I thought that was a powerful dramatic touch, and a great directorial choice. But then they ruin it: what's with that final moment, with the huge light-bulb-crazy crucifix lighting up and ascending into the sky like a spaceship? It looked so incredibly silly to me. Was it supposed to represent Jesus' soul going up to Heaven or something (*blech!*)?
One more thing: this production doesn't play well in Toronto's cavernous Canon Theatre. The Canon Theatre, while beautiful, is terribly designed. With 2000 seats on only two tiers, the sight lines are awful and performances often get lost in the space. I saw Rent here, and the huge auditorium killed it. Wicked will begin its tour at this theatre in March, and although it's a huge spectacle that will no doubt fill the space nicely (Phantom found in the Canon a comfortable home for 11 years, after all), I think this venue will make Wicked even chillier than it already is. At the Canon, you're often so distanced from what's onstage that you have to strain to feel connected to it.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
Updated On: 11/24/04 at 12:41 AM
I thought Skala was great (it's a difficult singing role because of those intense low notes -- demands a bass's bass), but Polk....not so much. Like Fournier, I felt like he was straining his vocal chords. I did rather like the fact that Skala is toweringly tall, and Polk is really short. You get that classic visual joke of quintessential sidekicks. 
