Well, I was blown away by Jesus Christ Superstar when I saw it on June 28th at The Orpheum.
I’d seen parts of the 1973 movie, but I’d never seen it on stage. I did catch the end, I believe, and I covered the cast party at a stage production years ago at The Orpheum.
I remember photographing Ted Neeley, the movie Jesus who also played Jesus in that earlier stage production at The Orpheum. Neeley was late arriving to the after party. Kate Pera, one of the guests, said, “Isn’t there a hymn called ‘Waiting for Jesus’?”
Honestly, I could go back night after night — and matinees — to see this current production of the musical by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice at The Orpheum.
It harkened back to when I went to see the 1970 production of Hair directed by Dr. Keith Kennedy at my alma mater, University of Memphis, when it was Memphis State University. I do remember being astonished at how much hair the musical’s co-writer, Gerome Ragni, who was at the presentation, had at the time. Maybe that’s why I kept mine growing all these years.
Like Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera. It was great to hear songs, including “Hosanna,” which I hadn’t thought of since I heard them on the album when it came out in 1970. The album preceded the stage production. I’m still singing songs after hearing them the other night, which, they say, is the test of a good musical. I’m sure my neighbor is a little puzzled after hearing me constantly singing the lyrics, “Always hoped that I’d be an uh-pahhh-suhl [apostle],” from “The Last Supper.”
Aaron LaVigne was fantastic as Jesus. His voice, his bearing, everything. This isn’t the Jesus with the long, dark hair, mustache, and beard. This is a lanky, light-colored hair Jesus with, what I first thought, was a man bun.
Jenny Mollet, as Mary Magdalene, was superb. She’s listed in the program as an understudy to “Mary.” Her rendition of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” was flawless. I realized I knew all the words to that song, thank you, Helen Reddy.
And I thought Tommy McDowell, who played Peter, was fabulous. He looks like what I’ve always imagined Peter to look and act like — blonde and sometimes clueless when dealing with Jesus.
I also liked Omar Lopez-Cepero who played the conniving Judas Iscariot with just the right touch of nastiness.
The production is basically non-stop music. And those dancers who have to play different characters in the musical are astonishing. All that writhing and dancing and twisting and turning and falling on the floor must be extremely strenuous. Elvis would have been impressed.
According to my nephew, who looked around while I was doing it, I was the first to stand up and give the cast a standing ovation. But I did wait until the show was over.
Jesus Christ Superstar runs through July 3rd at The Orpheum.
