NBC's next NEXT live musical...- Page 3

[smidge]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 9:59am

They'll probably go after Josh Gad for Herod. Bruno Mars is a great idea for Judas. Adam Lambert would be unbearable as Jesus.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 11:23am

Oh my gosh, we totally watched a clip from Jesus Christ Superstar in my Catholic elementary school when I was a child!

On-topic, I agree with Plannietink that Lady Gaga should be Mary! My boyfriend has been showing me clips of Jack Black singing from this show for ages (it's his favorite).

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 11:40am

As the resident JCS fan who runs one of the biggest sites devoted to the show (still currently in development in its new form, but check it out!), all I ask is this:

Cast. Actual. Rockers.

I don't mean pop musicians.

I don't mean flavors of the month.

No Glenn Carters, no Ben Forsters, no Steve Balsamos, no light pretty airy theater-pop voices.

I mean ROCKERS.

Listen to that brown album. Listen to the movie. Cast people who sound like that. Earthy. Rock, folk, soul voices. People who will hit high notes that convince you they're gonna have a brain hemorrhage through their nose, who can sing the score as it has been performed to much success, not people that one would have to adjust keys or play with the arrangement to make "happen."

ROCKERS.

R-O-C-K-E-R-S.

(Oh, and for an actual named suggestion, Stephen Colbert as Herod. Dude is popular on the late-night circuit, he's irreverent to say the least, he's controversial, and he has expressed a love for the song and the role in an NPR interview. He's a good fit for something more dry and witty instead of just making Herod the "gay / music hall comic relief" figure as has been done in the past.)

Updated On: 5/11/17 at 11:40 AM

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 11:46am

To piggy back off the Ben Vereen idea, I would love it if they cast some of the other former players as bit parts. Ted Neeley and Barry Dennen as high priests with Yvonne Elliman as the Woman by the Fire

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 12:05pm

Oh, Nicole Scherzinger definitely makes sense with the ALW connection and the "recording artist" line.

[Fergalicious]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 12:27pm

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "As the resident JCS fan who runs one of the biggest sites devoted to the show (still currently in development in its new form, but check it out!), all I ask is this:

Cast. Actual. Rockers.

I don't mean pop musicians.

I don't mean flavors of the month.

No Glenn Carters, no Ben Forsters, no Steve Balsamos, no light pretty airy theater-pop voices.

I mean ROCKERS.

Listen to that brown album. Listen to the movie. Cast people who sound like that. Earthy. Rock, folk, soul voices. People who will hit high notes that convince you they're gonna have a brain hemorrhage through their nose, who can sing the score as it has been performed to much success, not people that one would have to adjust keys or play with the arrangement to make "happen."

ROCKERS.

R-O-C-K-E-R-S.

(Oh, and for an actual named suggestion, Stephen Colbert as Herod. Dude is popular on the late-night circuit, he's irreverent to say the least, he's controversial, and he has expressed a love for the song and the role in an NPR interview. He's a good fit for something more dry and witty instead of just making Herod the "gay / music hall comic relief" figure as has been done in the past.)

 

Guuuuuurrrrrrrl, CHILL. OUT.

We gotcha the first time. You want them to cast rockers. You don't have to capitalize the damn word and you sure as hell don't have to spell it out.

So damn extra, yo.

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 5/11/17 at 12:27 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 12:34pm

Left field: But Chris Stapleton as Judas?! His voice makes me WET. It's insane. Or John Legend somewhere in this.. 

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 12:53pm

John Legend as Pilate?

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 1:42pm

Fergalicious said: "Guuuuuurrrrrrrl, CHILL. OUT.

We gotcha the first time. You want them to cast rockers. You don't have to capitalize the damn word and you sure as hell don't have to spell it out.

So damn extra, yo."



I thought using the King James English was appropriate, given the subject matter of the show.

Updated On: 5/11/17 at 01:42 PM

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 1:47pm

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "Oh, and for an actual named suggestion, Stephen Colbert as Herod. Dude is popular on the late-night circuit, he's irreverent to say the least, he's controversial, and he has expressed a love for the song and the role in an NPR interview. He's a good fit for something more dry and witty instead of just making Herod the "gay / music hall comic relief" figure as has been done in the past."

When I went to a taping of Late Night, someone asked him in the pre-show audience Q&A what his dream Broadway role would be. He took one look at the band, and broke into an impromptu "Heaven on their Minds." It was glorious. And I'd be down with him as Herod - that role doesn't require exceptional vocals.

Also, people can roll their eyes at you all they want, but I'm 100% in agreement. This score needs to be sung by rock voices, not musical theatre voices. Some of the Broadway suggestions in this thread are seriously making me cringe!

 

Updated On: 5/11/17 at 01:47 PM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 2:05pm

JudyDenmark said: "Also, people can roll their eyes at you all they want, but I'm 100% in agreement. This score needs to be sung by rock voices, not musical theatre voices. Some of the Broadway suggestions in this thread are seriously making me cringe!"

Let the church say Amen! Of course, granted that NBC tends to cast the roles in their live musicals with some so-so "names" and some Broadway talent to fill out the rest of the ranks, that's probably not what we'll get, but if they are actually looking at singers from the recording world as Greenblatt claims, then rock is where they must start.

Posted: 5/11/17 at 4:41pm

Actually he's a good suggestion -- although I REALLY like Ato Blankson-Wood as well.

[sr4mjc]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 5:36pm

Admittedly I like Adam, but even if I didn't, I would think touring with Queen for 4 years would qualify him enough to sing a rock opera, to any casting director.  Their catalog opitimizes theatrical rock. 

And yeah I doubt Jeremy could sing it, I just think he's pretty to look at. :p

Updated On: 5/11/17 at 05:36 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 5:46pm

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "As the resident JCS fan who runs one of the biggest sites devoted to the show (still currently in development in its new form, but check it out!), all I ask is this:

Cast. Actual. Rockers.

I don't mean pop musicians.

I don't mean flavors of the month.

No Glenn Carters, no Ben Forsters, no Steve Balsamos, no light pretty airy theater-pop voices.

I mean ROCKERS.

Listen to that brown album. Listen to the movie. Cast people who sound like that. Earthy. Rock, folk, soul voices. People who will hit high notes that convince you they're gonna have a brain hemorrhage through their nose, who can sing the score as it has been performed to much success, not people that one would have to adjust keys or play with the arrangement to make "happen."

ROCKERS.

R-O-C-K-E-R-S.

(Oh, and for an actual named suggestion, Stephen Colbert as Herod. Dude is popular on the late-night circuit, he's irreverent to say the least, he's controversial, and he has expressed a love for the song and the role in an NPR interview. He's a good fit for something more dry and witty instead of just making Herod the "gay / music hall comic relief" figure as has been done in the past.)"

I think you need to chill out a li'l bit.  It's a year from now --- pace yourself!

They're going to cast names (not necessarily ROCKERS (see --- I used caps TOO!).  Also, Colbert is CBS --- this is NBC.  Plus he'd be COMPLETELY wrong!

 

[binau]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 6:16pm

Bringing back an ALW musical about Jesus? This sounds like an absolute nightmare, for me at least. Hoping it is a massive and absolute artistic and financial failure so in future people think twice before investing in religious musicals (unless they satirise religion, of course). To quote from one of my favourites here, bring back tea with jam and bead (I guess they had the wise sense of already doing this, though).

 

 

Updated On: 5/11/17 at 06:16 PM

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 6:27pm

If they wanted to go for Easter/Christian related and more family friendly, Dreamcoat would have been a better choice. The tunes are more accessible and hummable to a wider audience than Superstar, it would easily fit compactly into the three hour slot, maybe even 2.5 hours. Lots of star cameo roles: Potiphar, his wife, Baker, Butcher, Pharaoh, etc. Uplifting ultimate story of love and forgiveness (after that whole, you know, fratricide thing). Though I suppose a group of impoverished men traveling to a foreign land seeking assistance and prosperity might not play as well in this country today. :-

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 6:43pm

JSquared2 said: "I think you need to chill out a li'l bit.  It's a year from now --- pace yourself!

They're going to cast names (not necessarily ROCKERS (see --- I used caps TOO!).  Also, Colbert is CBS --- this is NBC.  Plus he'd be COMPLETELY wrong!"

1) We've already established I don't give a **** about anything anyone has to say in that vein.

2) See post #60, where I concede names will happen.

3) Explain how he's wrong for the part, aside from contractual obligations to another network, and I'll listen. Otherwise, quit your pearl clutching, Mary.

Updated On: 5/11/17 at 06:43 PM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 6:45pm

qolbinau said: "Hoping it is a massive and absolute artistic and financial failure so in future people think twice before investing in religious musicals (unless they satirise religion, of course)."

...you do know it's by no means a religious show, right?

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 6:47pm

PatrickDC said: "If they wanted to go for Easter/Christian related and more family friendly, Dreamcoat would have been a better choice. The tunes are more accessible and hummable to a wider audience than Superstar, it would easily fit compactly into the three hour slot, maybe even 2.5 hours. Lots of star cameo roles: Potiphar, his wife, Baker, Butcher, Pharaoh, etc. Uplifting ultimate story of love and forgiveness (after that whole, you know, fratricide thing). Though I suppose a group of impoverished men traveling to a foreign land seeking assistance and prosperity might not play as well in this country today. :-"

Except...

1) It has nothing to do with Easter. Like, at all.

2) For that matter, it's more a Jewish story than Christian, drawn as it is from the Old Testament ("It's all there in Chapter 39 of Genesis," to quote the lyrics).

3) More accessible and hummable to a wider audience than JCS? Yeah, that's why the studio album that was an absolute dud in England had to be marketed in America as the follow-up to JCS, and why the official website even now cites the success of JCS as allowing Joseph to find a world audience that had previously eluded it. Is Joseph popular? Maybe. But you're sorely mistaken if you think it's more widely known or remembered than JCS.

Updated On: 5/11/17 at 06:47 PM

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 7:05pm

My apologies, my post wasn't intended to be a slam against JCS. Certainly both recordings have their fans. I was just implying that Dreamcoat's more mainstream musical theater score would be in my opinion an easier sell on network TV than JCS's rock-opera. FWIW, I like both scores equally well. 

And true, Dreamcoat is Old Testament and not specifically about  Easter, but hey, that doesn't stop ABC from airing The Ten Commandments every Easter for what, four decades straight now?  

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 7:49pm

Isn't Ten Commandments aired because of the Passover?

Anyway, I'm not super excited about this.  I love JCS but there is already a movie and filmed stage productions that you can watch.  I wish they'd pick slightly less well-known shows.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 8:01pm

SporkGoddess said: "I wish they'd pick slightly less well-known shows."

That I can confidently state is never gonna happen. They want ratings grabbers. Forgotten shows, even packed with stars, are too much of an unknown commodity. Too risky, market-wise.

[jo]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 8:21pm

What about Chris Daughtry as Jesus ?  This video is from THE PASSION.

He's also the third best-selling AMERICAN IDOL artist ( behind Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson).

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 8:42pm

If there's one thing I can be confident of, it's that they probably aren't so dumb as to cast people who appeared in The Passion. It's still too recent a memory, it did solid but not spectacular in ratings, and got critically lambasted. Even if the talent was good, I don't think NBC will be drawing from that pool, especially as it's the talent pool of a competitor whose last major live musical did better with the critics than them.

[smidge]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 8:57pm

How about Brendon Urie as Jesus? As for Justin Timberlake,  who would he play? Mary Magdalene?