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

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).

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

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

John Legend as Pilate?

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

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

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!

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. :-

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?

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 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.

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.