I think there is a reason this show started as a Concept Cast Recording. I don't think it actually works on stage as a theatrical piece. I would agree based on the staging of the recent revival and the hideous Neely tour that's been around for a decade, but the first production I saw was more conservatively staged without the use of modern costumes or overconceptualized set designs and it was gorgeous. If you let the score represent the modern aspect of the show and just let the story speak for itself, it can be a very emotional and moving experience. But the show can easily get bogged down under the weight of a heavy directorial hand or massive ego and the focus immediately shifts to the concept or design rather than the tale.
For example, during the lashes, in the recent tour I found the use of the chorus running up and wiping their bloody hands on Jesus for each lash to be visually interesting, but the interaction took the focus away from the actual task at hand and the intensity of the scene was greatly diminished. The same could be said for Could We Start Again Please. The slo-mo beating of Jesus completely upstaged the song and appeared more trite and comical than horrifying.
I would love Renee Elyse Goldsberry as Mary.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Updated On: 11/5/08 at 01:54 PM
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