Jesus Christ, Superold

I saw Jesus Christ Superstar for the first time tonight! It was pretty great, except for Jesus. This travelling production starred Ted Neeley, from the "groundbreaking" movie. He had an annoying habit of singing not only slowly, but actually behind the music to the point where I'm pretty sure it was an error rather than a stylistic choice. Also, his hair was seriously thinning, even by scraggly Jesus standards. So during the intermission, I went to check out a display copy of the original movie. Which was filmed in 1973. That's right, tonight's Jesus was 63 years old.

It made his relationship with Mary Magdalene a little bit creepy- he could totally be her dad- and gave whole new meaning to the line "I've tried for three years... feels like thirty... feels like thirty/ Then, I was inspired... now, I'm sad and tired." I mean, imagine this guy being crucified several times a week for 33 years. "What do you do for a living?" "Oh, I'm Jesus."

The villains, all *coincidentally* played by black guys, were superb. And the score (especially the first act) just generally rocks.

There weren't many students there, and I came to the uneasy conclusion that most of the audience was Christian. It kind of hit home when every single person in the theater- except for the group of 11 Italians I went with- gave Jesus a standing ovation. I mean, Jesus SUCKED. So, bible musicals are sellouts here. No wonder they're bringing in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the spring. As long as they don't go so far as to play Godspell...