Why Jesus Christ Superstar Failed - Page 3

[newintown]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 11:13am

I vote for the simple explanation that it was a crappy production that just wasn't good enough to sell tickets.

I also think it's an inherently stupid and boring show, albeit with some tunes that are delightfully familiar from many of our childhoods. But there's no book there, the "story" is told in as rudimentary a fashion as a kindergarten pageant, and the lyrics are generally just silly (when at all vaguely comprehensible).

[sabrelady]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 11:15am

Nooo I think ole Ric was definitely accusing New York audiences of not sharing in true artistic vision. The Philistines!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 11:28am

A conversation with my neighbors, who are only occasional theater-goers reiterated something that had been touched upon here: the ticket prices are prohibitive. Even at 1/2 price it's unreal to expect people to shell out money for dinner, a show and whatever transportation costs are involved.

Shows like JCSS, GODSPELL, SISTER ACT, et al ran during the regular theater season--when the NY theater-goers caught all the productions during previews or early in their runs, but once the summer season started and the audience changed precipitously, then the box office action dropped sharply.

Something has to be done about the spiraling ticket prices.

[newintown]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 11:38am

Wicked, Jersey Boys, Book of Mormon, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Spider-Man, The Lion King, Mary Poppins, etc., all charge the same prices and they're doing well.

Although I agree that ticket prices are rather ridiculous, the failure of an awful show can't be blamed on how much it costs to see.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 11:51am

I am OBSESSED with Yvonne Elliman's backphrasing in that clip. Atta girl.

[mybigsplash]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 12:03pm

1 in 5 shows don't recoup on Broadway. I blame statistics.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 12:32pm

"Wicked, Jersey Boys, Book of Mormon, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Spider-Man, The Lion King, Mary Poppins, etc., all charge the same prices and they're doing well."

These shows are either based on massive franchises or were critical successes. They also look (by way of marketing) like they might be worth the $100.00 ticket. You really think a family of four should risk $500.00 on a dated "rock" musical with religious subject matter?

Even someone who loves to see all sorts of NYC theatre and accustomed to paying $130 for a ticket has a hard time justifying a JSS ticket purchase. The show is just unappealing and I'm not even referring to this particular production.

[newintown]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 12:42pm

I don't think a family of four "should risk $500.00" on any show, actually. They can wait til the tour comes near them and get the experience cheaper, and they won't clog our streets so badly.

But my comment was merely that Superstar's failure can't be attributed to ticket prices alone (as Dolly seems to posit). It was a crappy production, and word of mouth spread that it was crappy, keeping ticket-buyers away in droves.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 12:59pm

The production also gave no discernible reason why the show needed to be revived. It was nothing new or unique, it didn't feature any big names taking on beloved roles (nor star-is-born performances), it's not a curio piece people would see because they'd never get the chance again.

It was just another Jesus Christ Superstar. And an unremarkable one. It surely did nothing to prove that it was a show worth exploring.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 1:17pm

To be honest, I'm kinda embarrassed to be a Canadian with this article. It makes us seem whiny that "our show" didn't succeed. I mean, the show was a hit in Stratford, and it sold out its run there.

I never got a chance to see the show in Stratford, and I wanted to support my fellow Canadians when I went to New York in May, but the ticket prices were crazy. Even with discounts, they weren't cheap. I understand that theatre/Broadway is a business, but if you have a show that isn't Wicked, Book of Mormon, Spider Man etc. where people are going to pay full price or obscene amounts for the show, then you need to make discounts reasonable, so people are a little more interested in seeing the show.

I think that for the Stratford Festival, the show was something unusual, and something different that what they are known for putting on stage. Take a look at their production of The Importance of Being Earnest from a few season ago that Roundabout took in. It was a simple, nice, "authentic" production of the show. Even the production of West Side Story Stratford had a couple of years ago, didn't really change too much.

I think that for the festival, the show was a hit, and one of the best things its had in a while, but when compared to the shows on Broadway, is fizzles.

And, personally, I hate the show to begin with. I don't think its very good at all.

Updated On: 6/21/12 at 01:17 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 1:37pm

I agree. Ticket prices are crazy high, but at the same time, it's not our money that's invested in JCS. If someone wants to put on a revival, go for it. For every "Mormon" there are 8 "Leap of Faith" that just bomb hard. That's life.

[PattiLover]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 1:37pm

It's a shame the show failed, and it's a bigger shame that regional theatre is being scrutinized right now, as if it's Canada's fault the show flopped on Broadway. It seems there's a lot of snobbery in the NYC community when it comes to theatre, as if theatre begins and ends in New York City (there's a pretty disgusting remark against Canadians on the first page of this thread). To contradict South Park, don't "blame Canada" for JCS's failure - too much went wrong.

It sounds to me that this is ALW's fault for building this production up to something it wasn't. If the show had originally planned to be a Broadway transfer, the entire creative process would have been different. It's a shame, the Walnut Street Theatre's production of Aspects of Love polished a major turd and turned it into a quality piece of work, but it was nowhere on ALW's radar.

We need places like Stratford Festival to keep producing quality work and keep the arts alive by employing actors, staff, and stage workers who rely on the arts to survive. It's sad that people consider Stratford at fault here. I've seen ambitious things at Stratford, many works quite above and beyond Broadway quality. Josh Young, in just a matter of years, went from local actor, to regional actor, to Tony nominee. That's pretty incredible for an actor.

Personally, I'm at the point where I'd rather support regional productions. They're doing it to keep the arts alive. And you don't have to pay over $100 a ticket to see something like Spider Man.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 2:00pm

Please take what I say with a grain of salt as I grew up with this show and it can do no wrong I have seen every production that I could get to (excluding the original production, of course, since I wasn't even born)

I saw the show on Tony Sunday, June the 10th, and I was blown away... Not only by Josh Young, but by Paul Nolan and Tom Hewitt. Visually it was so different from any other staging/set I had seen and perhaps I was just glad to see it re-invented. I am picky and a tradionalist (ie Prince's staging of EVITA, the original staging of INTO THE WOODS, ect) and I loved it. The 'band' was excpetional with the score.

Truth be told, the revival in 2000 was my least favorite.

This show will always be controversial because of the subject matter.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 2:04pm

How the heck was the show reinvented? They used scaffolding and some projections? I don't get it. Throw some computer clip-art up on a wall and suddenly we've reinvented the show?

And I still don't get why people like Young. He has a strong voice, for sure, but it's all wrong for this score and show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXaEafnklg4
That's how Judas should sound and act.

[newintown]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 2:10pm

Jesus Christ Superstar is as "controversial" as an episode of Gilligan's Island.

[landlocked_mermaid]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 3:42pm

I didn't find Josh Young's voice to be all wrong for this score or this show. On the contrary, I found it to be refreshingly different and it was one of the things I liked about this revival. That is not to say that I have not enjoyed quite a few of the other performers who have taken on the Judas role; but I found Young's performance to be a new take on it and one that I liked.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 3:53pm

I found Josh Young's voice exactly why this show failed. It lacked the passion, it lack the emmotional struggle Judas needs to project to make this show work. Had the role been sung like what is in RippedMan's video, I would venture to say it might not have posted closing notices this soon.

Updated On: 6/21/12 at 03:53 PM

[Bwaydide92]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 4:30pm

I think this might have been a better production for those that don't know the show very well. I didn't get a chance to see it and I really had no plans to because I hate ALW, but when I heard Young sing Superstar I actually contemplated buying a ticket for it. I didn't because I didn't think $140+ was enough just to watch Josh Young. I've listened to the brown album and thought it was okay, They big song were good but it has a lot of crap too. I know that the score has changed since then, but I didn't think it had changed enough for me to want to sit through it. I think since I didn't have a prejudice on what Judas should sound like, so I found Young's voice great and don't really see how his voice doesn't work for the score.. I like it. I would much rather pay money to see him perform than the guy in that video posted. He was a good singer , but I wasn't wowed. Young's rendition wowed. But that's only an opinion.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 5:01pm

Wow, Drew Sarich rocked that song. And this is coming from a diehard Carl Anderson fan who thinks that his performance will never be topped, haha.

[srtfan]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 5:41pm

LOVE LOVE LOVE Drew Sarich's Judas. He & Constantine Maroulis (who I saw in a non-eq production several years ago) have to be my favorites...quite similar in their take on the material, and the passion with which it's sung.
Josh is...pretty. I thought the Tony performance was pretty awful visually, and he didn't have the rock-edginess to his voice that to me is required of the part.
I actually have a quite old album of his from his days in small theater, and I have the same opinion of it as well. It was years ago so I'll cut him some slack, but he was too trained..didn't know when to leave that behind & go with the emotion of the songs.

I actually had tickets for July. Would've loved to have seen it, regardless, just out of curiosity. Ah well.

But I also agree with those who say the last tour wrung the very last drop out of the show...and that the hypersaturation of it contributed greatly to the lack of enthusiasm for the current production.

Updated On: 6/21/12 at 05:41 PM

[justoldbill]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 9:27pm

I didn't see it- was the production in English or French?

[sabrelady]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 10:54pm

mon crisse de char est brisé, tabarnac de câlisse !

Comprende?

Tais Toi!!!

[My Oh My]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 6:51am

Eric, not sure if I've mentioned this before, but my older brother saw that 90s London revival and he too thought it was one of the best he had ever seen. He said it was actually refreshing to see a straight-forward take on it rather than be treated to yet another over-stylized version, which is the problem this musical seems to not be able to shake. He brought back a souvenir brochure of the production and it looked amazing.

He and I were just as perplexed as you were when we saw Edwards had completely redone the production for the U.S. One of the single worst decisions ever made. My brother simply couldn't believe it as he thought that London revival was perfect. Edwards seemed to think that version wouldn't work over here and that it needed to be altered for American audiences. Rent had also upstaged basically every rock styled musical a few years back and was still all the rage at the time of the Broadway revival, and it was no surprise to see it mimic Rent somewhat. Why else did they have the apostles dress like some biker gang, Mary Mag looked more like Mimi, and Judas looked suspiciously like Roger.

I did not like that production visually but that will always be the most memorable live orchestra of this musical. I sat 2nd row orchestra center and the music reverberated within me. Hearing that iconic score played live that close up is a treat I'll never forget. It was more memorable than the show itself.

Having said that, I don't seriously believe the elimination of the whole string section in the 2012 revival to be the cause of its failure. As someone with deep affections for this musical (was only my second after Mary Poppins film and the musical that really got me hooked on musical theatre), I never felt an urge to see this year's revival. After being disappointed with the 2000 Broadway revival, I'd have jumped at a chance to finally see a good take on the material. This production looked absolutely BORING from the very first photos, which were of the cast in costume (pictures that were ridiculously photoshopped which just added another strike). Once again, it was frustratingly over-stylized but this time it has the same ugly American Idol aesthetic that was also ineffectively incorporated into that recent new Dreamgirls tour. Why must everything mimic that stupid, glittery American Idol set look? The look for JCS is not only reminiscent of that, it gives the impression it isn't a fully staged production but a half-assed concert thing.

I don't buy the explanation that it had no 'names' and especially the tired argument that the show is old and irrelevant. Give me a break. The musical itself is beloved by many and a GOOD production would be all that is needed to get people in; however, this production just looked boring. Once again, they charge the outrageous prices for a bare bones show, chuck the score's string section and expect to turn a profit.

Lately revivals look and sound so lackluster and unexciting with the same cheap look and the same video gimmicks. I was appalled when Jesus interrupted "Superstar" to say some random, lame crap via video at this year's Tony Awards. This is live theatre!!! ENOUGH with the cheesy video gimmicks and projections!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Updated On: 6/22/12 at 06:51 AM

[aliceripleysnumber1]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 9:53am

I youtubed Young's performance of "heaven on their minds" and found it one of the more boring takes on the song that I've heard! Plus, at times, he sounded a bit sharp. He's fun to look at, but that's about it.

Updated On: 6/22/12 at 09:53 AM

[Markecib]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 10:05am

When I saw this production back in March, I was bored throughout most of the first act, but did enjoy Paul Nolan throughout. Chilena Kennedy was just awful.I couldn't stand any moment when she was on the stage. Josh Young was out and Jeremy Kushnier was in, and was fantastic. Act II saved the show, but it's alway been that way for me.

I went back a few weeks later because 1) my ticket was free and 2) I wanted to see Josh Young since people were praising him, and I hated it.

I felt nothing from his performance. I just felt "meh" about the whole thing.

I thought Tom Hewitt was great as Pilate. The lashes scene was prety intense.