Last night I went to see Jesus Christ Superstar, I've had my ticket since March and have been ridiculously excited about it and annoyed everyone on Facebook and Twitter in the run-up to the show.
I'll put my final thought first, because I'm an atheist, I always put this show to the back of my mind during my years of performing arts and musical theatre. It never occurred to me to view this from an outside perspective; to view it for what it is - a fantastic story.
Controversial as it might seem, it doesn't matter whether something like this really happened or not, what you believe doesn't matter. This is a beautiful story, full of beautiful music and lyrics.
I commend Andrew Lloyd Webber, I also thank him for masterminding such a captivating piece of theatre, and for being such a fantastic storyteller.
Credit: www.jesuschristsuperstar.com
I had the Jesus Christ Superstar tour DVD for Christmas from my other half, starring Tim Minchin, Melanie C, Ben Forster (ITV's 'Superstar' winner), Chris Moyles and Alex Hanson, and when I found out this cast was returning to tour again I bought a ticket straight away.
Ecstatic, I was much more than happy to pay through my nose for a decent seat, and I paid almost £70 (only to find out the tickets were selling 2 4 1 in the last few weeks, thanks ticketmaster).
I went alone, which was fine as there was a lovely lady with just as much of a Tim Minchin obsession as myself sitting next to me, we kept each other company!
It was VERY clear from the off that a HUGE percentage of the audience were there for Tim, how did I know this? The age range of around 16-18 years old, alternative, scraggly haired, skinny jeaned female majority who were squealing and crying before anything even happened on stage.
With age, I have become a 'closet fan', so I basically pretend I'm not dying with glee on the inside and silently judge the people who are before reminding myself, 'Hey, you looked like that once'.
Credit: www.theatrepeople.com
The show began on time, until then I had been avidly tweeting @JCSTheMusical before hand, and got a tweet back in the last second. Up until then I had been tweeting @timminchin to absolutely no avail (disappointing but my little tweet probably got lost amongst the people fan-girling and the people trying to have an intelligent conversation with him, I mean, he IS a genius).
The whole thing was fantastic, it went without a hitch and the vocal talent was even better than it is on the tour DVD. Especially Ben Forster's voice, it had SO MUCH improvement and he sent chills down my spine several times.
When those first notes of 'Superstar' play during the 'Overture', I knew the whole show would be fantastic, visually, vocally and musically. Well done to ITVs Superstar Band!
Here is the Running Order:
ACT ONE
OVERTURE
HEAVEN ON THEIR MINDS
WHATS THE BUZZ?
STRANGE THING MYSTIFYING
EVERYTHING'S ALRIGHT
THIS JESUS MUST DIE
HOSANNA
SIMON ZEALOTES
POOR JERUSALEM
PILATES DREAM
THE TEMPLE
EVERYTHING'S ALRIGHT (REPRISE)
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOVE HIM
DAMNED FOR ALL TIME/BLOOD MONEY
ACT TWO
THE LAST SUPPER
GETHSEMANE (I ONLY WANT TO SAY)
THE ARREST
PETER'S DENIAL
PILATE AND CHRIST
KING HEROD'S SONG
COULD WE START AGAIN PLEASE?
JUDAS' DEATH
TRIAL BEFORE PILATE (39 LASHES)
SUPERSTAR
THE CRUCIFIXION
JOHN NINETEEN FORTY-ONE
As previously mentioned, Tim is definitely a HUGE part of what makes this show so bloody fantastic, from the off he is captivating and he has such a strong vocal talent and an excellent presence, and I must say he has a bloody good catch too (if you've seen the show you'll understand this)!
It's Act Two where everything comes to a head, and the talent really shows. Gethsemane was fantastic and Ben's performance as Jesus is one of the most beautiful things, it really is touching (even for an atheist).
One of my favourite songs in the show is Could We Start Again Please, which runs into Judas' Death and had me hanging on the edge of my seat. Tim's breakdown as Judas and the suicide is so brilliantly played out on stage. It looks excellent on the DVD but on stage I can't stress how amazing that scene is to actually watch.
Credit: www.reallyuseful.com
I'd like to comment on Alex Hanson's performance as Pilate, I'm so glad he returned for this part. I loved his performance on the DVD and to see it on stage was fantastic. He really does make you feel empathy for this character who clearly doesn't know how to place Jesus and doesn't really seem to know what to do with him, he acts on the majority decision to have him killed even though he would rather help him. Alex puts this across so well and I was very happy I got to see him in the show.
I met Alex afterwards among a crowd of giggling girls waiting for Tim (never going to happen but always worth a try). Alex was lovely, and I keep accidentally calling him 'Alex Handsome' (good thing I didn't say that to his face, but it's an easy mistake to make)!
After the 39 Lashes comes The Crucifixion, which in the same way as Judas' Death, really does not come across on a TV screen in the way that it does in person. I can't begin to describe how wonderful (if that is the right word to use to describe someone being hammered into a cross looks) it is on stage. The use of lighting and music is fantastic and John Nineteen Forty-One ends the show fabulously.
No tears for me as I'm not emotionally attached to the story as much as I absolutely love it, but there were tears around me for the bows - I was annoyed that the people of Cardiff didn't really care about participating in the standing ovation, but all the same, the whole thing was brilliant.
I'm not very good at reviewing, but I give it an unbiased five stars and recommend it to anyone!
Credit: www.jesuschristsuperstar.com
