NBC's next NEXT live musical...- Page 4

[daisybeetle]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 11:07pm

Luke Evans as Jesus. He was the best part of the recent Beauty and the Beast flick.

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

Posted: 5/11/17 at 11:33pm

If Luke Evans can do this, he's welcome to the part:

 

[Sondheimite]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 11:33pm

This is a board where we are to discuss the passions of theatre, no?  It seems to me a strange thing strange (mystifying) for some of you to seem to be be so personally hurt or annoyed or whatever by g.d.e.l.g.i.'s passion for Jesus Christ Superstar.  No worse than the elementary school kids who attack other kids for liking different things than they do..

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 12:16am

This is one of my favorite shows and while the only production I've seen live is the recent Broadway production which was downright awful - Josh Young, no thanks. Is this going to be LIVE? or is it going to be a crappy pre-recorded thing? I think Adam Lambert must have been offered this already? I think his singing would be incredible, but he's not much of an actor. Urie would be interesting. I think he'd nail the score. 

[hork]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 1:56am

Personally, I don't care if they get "rocker" voices or "Broadway" voices (Is there even such a thing as a rocker voice anymore? Is there still such a thing as a rocker?) I just want great voices, and great actors. Is it too much to ask for both? These live TV musicals are terrible, but I may tune in for this one, because even bad JCS is pretty good.

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

Posted: 5/12/17 at 7:27am

Sondheimite said: "This is a board where we are to discuss the passions of theatre, no?  It seems to me a strange thing strange (mystifying) for some of you to seem to be be so personally hurt or annoyed or whatever by g.d.e.l.g.i.'s passion for Jesus Christ Superstar.  No worse than the elementary school kids who attack other kids for liking different things than they do.."

Thank you. 

Fandom in general is about love, obsession, passion, admiration, rapt attention, and blathering on and on about details the average person would find trivial and uninteresting. Fandom of musicals in particular is about micro-analyzing the subtle arrangement differences in cast recordings, arguing into the wee hours of the morning about the relative merits of one performer versus another, feeling that exquisite little deep-shine shiver and chills when one's favorite song hits that magic moment.

Without these moments of connection, of kinship to share, there is no "fandom" of which to partake, and others moaning about the way someone chooses to participate is the single most terrible thing a fan can do; it deprives the fandom of that which it loves, denies it moments of bonding and communing in appreciation. It is selfish, and the puny, tiny "prize" of feeling good for slamming somebody is a lousy prize in light of all the happiness that could have been shared by being understanding.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 9:45am

I don't know the score too well, does everyone rock out? If so, how about Lena Hall for Mary? She's not a big enough name for an event like this, but she has a very solid fan base. Maybe she can be one of those theater people whom they can justify by casting bigger names for other parts.

[Babe_Williams]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 10:08am

qolbinau said: "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).

 

 

 

"

This is a strange comment. I am not religious at all. I love JCS. 

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 10:28am

Honestly, Lena Hall can play ANY part in this, and I'll be happy

[hork]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 2:58am

qolbinau said: "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).
 

Do you really think something called "Jesus Christ Superstar" is not satirical?

 

 

"

 

[NOB88]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 7:15pm

Constantine is doing Judas at the Muny in St Lewis this June. Good warm up.

[chernjam]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 9:14pm

Just catching up on everyone's posts... Lots of interesting discussion. As a devout Catholic with degrees in Theology, I think Easter Sunday is a good move for NBC. Religiously, probably the week before on Palm Sunday would've been a bit more appropriate since JCS ends with the death of Jesus and doesn't deal with His resurrection. But they probably figured that there's more of a likelihood of a family gathering to watch this Easter night rather than the week before.

And the reason it's not as controversial now as it was when it was first written is that people understand the piece as being written from Judas' perspective. Most people realize now that they're not watching JCS as a passion play... so the timing of airing a slightly controversial piece on Christians holiest day of the year won't be problematic. But it will be interesting if they go with some of the types of suggestions here for casting (Lady Gaga as Mary Magdeline would be fascinating)

As for NBC taking this on... yes there previous outings haven't been great. But that this is an ALW score, I wonder if he and RUG will have input? If anything, I'm just glad that NBC and FOX continues to make these... it helps musical theatre as a genre and makes it available to a wider audience.

[jo]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 10:25pm

Well said!

It's likely that ALW will have a big say in the casting of the key roles.  This is one of his most admired musical scores! But he has been open to casting from out of the box -- so it will probably be a good surprise for us!

[Steve C.]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 10:55pm

I, too think that having ALW producing should also give it a higher profile. It's saying something that with 4 shows on Broadway now, and then out to Long Island (I suppose), to shoot JCS, he will be the Prince of Broadway. 

Looking forward to some inspired casting too; but as much as I like him, if they choose Josh Gad for King Herod, I'll get out the cross and nails and use them on myself.

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

Posted: 5/13/17 at 11:49pm

After the 1996 revival, and considering casting choices made since then, Webber's involvement doesn't fill me with confidence.

[chernjam]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 11:56pm

its interesting... I don't know if JCS has ever succeeded (financially).  The last two Broadway revivals both flopped, the West End Revival may have returned it's investment.  Not sure about the originals or the films.  But at the same time, the score has been recorded umpteen times... it's revived pretty frequently...and it's a known commodity - so this is a bit of tricky one for NBC to go with.  I remember reading not too long ago that they had approached ALW to write an original musical for them, perhaps this is a first step to see how it goes.

[jo]

Posted: 5/14/17 at 2:40am

" I remember reading not too long ago that they had approached ALW to write an original musical for them."

Has ALW ever done that for anyone?  The only piece that  I have read about that he has written as a commissioned piece ( more like a gift) was a musical about CRICKET which was played for the Royal Family ( not sure if it was for the Queen's Birthday or for the Royal Couple because of a landmark anniversary). I think that was the time when Prince Edward worked for RUG for a brief time...And if I remember right, some songs eventually became part of ASPECTS OF LOVE.  I've always thought ALW drew from his own inspirations ( sometimes the subject does not even seem to fit a musical) when he composes a musical score. I could be wrong, of course.

[chernjam]

Posted: 5/14/17 at 2:45am

jo said: "" I remember reading not too long ago that they had approached ALW to write an original musical for them."

Has ALW ever done that for anyone?  The only piece that  I have read about that he has written as a commissioned piece ( more like a gift) was a musical about CRICKET which was played for the Royal Family ( not sure if it was for the Queen's Birthday or for the Royal Couple because of a landmark anniversary). I think that was the time when Prince Edward worked for RUG for a brief time...And if I remember right, some songs eventually became part of ASPECTS OF LOVE.  I've always thought ALW drew from his own inspirations ( sometimes the subject does not even seem to fit a musical) when he composes a musical score. I could be wrong, of course.

"

Jo - very good memory!  Yes Cricket was written for the Royal family and a lot of that music was recycled for Aspects and Sunset (which kind of ticked Tim Rice off who was the lyricist and who thought that perhaps they could come up with something for a full-length musical)

Outside of that, he did write the film scores for two films, so those could be considered commissioned "pieces"

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

Posted: 5/14/17 at 8:27am

And then there was that score for the Noah's Ark attraction at a Disney theme park that came to naught. Wonder which project recycled those tunes.

In on-topic news... early logo revealed today. Wrong shade of brown; this does not bode well.

Updated On: 5/14/17 at 08:27 AM

[chernjam]

Posted: 5/14/17 at 10:40am

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "And then there was that score for the Noah's Ark attraction at a Disney theme park that came to naught. Wonder which project recycled those tunes.

In on-topic news... early logo revealed today. Wrong shade of brown; this does not bode well.
 

"

g.d.e.l.g.i - wow... had never heard of that possibility of Noahs ark "musical" (by the way - how poorly written was that article?)

as for the logo - more than likely they rushed that out for the upfronts. I would suspect that will change by next Easter

[Jeremiah]

Posted: 5/15/17 at 12:49am

Can we get JC Chasez instead of Timberlake?

 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/15/17 at 1:06am

hork said: "
Do you really think something called "Jesus Christ Superstar" is not satirical?

 

 

"
Exactly. What surprised me was when Christians began to embrace the show (which did not happen immediately when the concept album was released). Judas specifically questions whether Jesus' entire mission was a p.r. stunt.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/15/17 at 1:07am

Speaking of brown, I'd love to see mostly actors of color in this. How about a black, Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern Jesus? And someone convince Bruno Mars to play Judas.

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

Posted: 5/15/17 at 1:44am

Jeremiah said: "Can we get JC Chasez instead of Timberlake?"

Funny you mention him; he was supposed to be Pontius Pilate in the U.S. arena tour that never happened. (He was the second choice; they approached Dennis DeYoung, who'd previously done it on the road with Ted Neeley, but he was more interested in devoting time to a live album/video of he and his band doing Styx music.)

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

Posted: 5/16/17 at 1:51pm

So... I realize I made a lot of noise about rockers, and then didn't exactly share what kind of voices I might want to see in JCS.

It's tricky to pick out a dream cast, especially for something like this; the common problem is that people make some good choices, but then undermine those good choices by creating a cast that doesn't fit together as a unit. As Michael Shurtleff (who incidentally cast the original Broadway and road companies, and the 1973 film, of JCS) once put it, "...there has to be a balance in casting -- the parts must fit like a jigsaw puzzle -- and there are times when the best auditioners don't 'fit.'" We also can't expect a host of Broadway names, because 1) ideally they're not looking for them; this isn't a typical Broadway score, and 2) look at NBC's past choices for leads. Given the choice between Broadway and a "name" that will serve as ratings bait, they'll take the "name."

So, taking into account vocals, acting ability, and what kind of voices best fit together, and the nature of NBC musicals of late, here's who I would cast and why:

Jesus of Nazareth…………Bruno Mars
I picked him partly because I think it'd be kinda cool to flip the '73 film on its head, and do a white Judas and black Jesus. Not only is it a nice poke at Hollywood's racially motivated casting practices, but it adds deeper subtext. I like the thought of Judas entering the scene the very picture of the classic Renaissance image of Christ, bearded, blonde, with watery blue eyes and a serene countenance, which is something Hollywood, and consequently the public consciousness, has never gotten away from (historically and racially accurate casting is grist for another program entirely), and then the real Jesus (in the case of my idea, a black Jesus) shows up, and who you think is Jesus in the beginning is really Judas, and hence maybe the Antichrist, because it says in some interpretations of the Bible that the Antichrist shall be taken for Christ. Mars has a nice range, and while he's not quite the rocker sound I'd like for Jesus, he's definitely got the range and he'd bring in the ratings.

Judas Iscariot…………Reeve Carney
He's got the voice, he just did Rocky Horror so he's a recognizable face to TV fans; all he'd need to tie in with my casting idea above is a saintly Jesus-y look.

Mary Magdalene………Sara Bareilles
Obviously NBC is gonna go with a pop tart instead and emphasize the hooker thing, even though historical research suggests Magdalene was by no means a "whore with a heart of gold." But I'd like to split the difference: someone who may indeed have lived a hard life, but has a little soul, a little stride in her step thanks to Jesus, an earth mother type. Further, I was reading an interview about the recent Polish (English-language) production, in which Emilia Klimczak, who played Mary, was quoted as saying something like, "Initially there was a certain amount of trepidation, as to how would I manage to find my way through the totally new musical & vocal content. But then I realized that I was lucky because Mary Magdalene does not have rock vocals, she is the soothing element, she sings very lyrically." Emilia brings up a very valid point: the role of Mary is not something we get nearly as worked up about in the JCS fan community as, say, Judas or Jesus. This isn't a role that calls for a belter or even a particularly strong actress. While it shouldn't be bland, it doesn't need to be a bravura performance requiring top-flight vocals and a lyrically beautiful voice. She just needs to fit. And Bareilles does.

Pontius Pilate…………Trent Reznor
An imposing authoritarian presence, a penchant for creepy balladry, what more do you need?

King Herod…………Stephen Colbert
As I said previously in the thread, he loves the show, and in an NPR interview he expressed love for this song in particular. He's the right fit for the comic relief, if CBS will let him do it.

Simon Zealotes / Peter…………Billie Joe Armstrong
"No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!" First with American Idiot and now more than ever, Billie Joe represents the disenfranchised youth: exuberant, militant, full of youthful idealism. Also, Simon doesn't do nearly the vocal acrobatics other roles in the show require. Perfect fit. You will note, however, that the listing says both Simon and Peter. Why? Well, one thing NBC has always done is make changes to the shows, and while it would be foolish to change JCS too much, this is one idea that I think wouldn't particularly annoy anyone. Simon's sole major appearance is in Act One, following which he is relegated to the background, while Peter is in the background for Act One and then makes his few major appearances in Act Two; in both cases, this happens without much set-up or any real follow-through. Without changing a word of the libretto, NBC could create one useful character arc out of two thankless ones and have one actor play both roles. (The few brave curious Christians in the viewing audience could simply infer that Simon Zealotes became Peter, just like the real, hot-tempered St. Pete used to be called Simon in the Bible. Just picture Jesus telling Simon he doesn't get it, and then Simon, now Peter, realizing he really doesn't, after one moment calling on his master to overthrow the Romans, and the next denying he even knows him to save his own skin.)

Caiaphas…………Terrance Zdunich
He's not super-known, but he’s the face of 21st century rock opera (what with Repo! The Genetic Opera and the Devil's Carnival saga), he's a baritone with a really great bass-end (listen to "21st Century Cure" from Repo!), he's the textbook definition of a good fit type-wise, and... he's a really huge JCS fan. Like, he geeks out over it so much that he cast Ted Neeley and Barry Dennen (and Ted's wife and daughter even!) in the Devil's Carnival sequel. This would be his dream role.

Annas…………Paul Stanley
I wanted to go deliberately against the grain here in terms of casting for age, because the show has long taken on a shape of its own that kind of departs from the Bible, and one key fact most productions ignore is that Annas was not only older, he was a former High Priest (sort of like a professor emeritus) advising Caiaphas, who was his son-in-law. Getting his son-in-law installed as High Priest effectively continued his control of the priesthood. This background information isn't necessarily explicated in the show, but one can see echoes of it in "Then We Are Decided," the song for Caiaphas and Annas that was added to the 1973 film. The song, taken at face value, is about Caiaphas trying to convince Annas that the council should take a firm stance on the Jesus issue and Annas attempting to dissuade his son-in-law's seemingly unsupported fears [until Caiaphas pulls the last card he has up his sleeve: "What about our priesthood?"], essentially a dialogue between a younger reactionary and the old guard who seems to want to let the matter die until he is reminded that they have others to answer to if he's wrong. So I needed an older rock singer who could both theoretically pull off the vocal of a "rock" Annas like Brian Keith on the concept album and not the countertenor of later renditions, and bring age-appropriateness as Caiaphas' father-in-law. I went with Paul Stanley partly because I didn't have a better idea, and partly because he's done Webber's work before, but I'm open to better ones.

Updated On: 5/16/17 at 01:51 PM