#jcs50

[feerz]

Ranking all the Jesuses from every version I've watched/listened to so far

without further ado let's get into it 🙌

Ian Gillan - 1970 Original concept album

The True Doer that you cannot outdo. The og who made this role what it is today. And since the og album was were I got my start and obsession with jcs, I have a huge fondness for him. There's just something so- so... about him. His vocals? Insane, fantastic, the golden standard. His Gethsemane is Everything. He raised the bar so high (literally lol) and made this role harder for everyone that came after him and I respect that. I also love his characterisation. He is a rockstar and he knows it. Adore this whiny ass messiah and his dramatics. 9/10

Ted Neeley - 1973 movie

Sad little mouse man. He's like some small rodent to me. His gethsemane is iconic, but beyond it I don't care to much about his Jesus. He's perfectly inoffensive, but I find him a bit boring. Poor guy also had the disadvantage of performing against Carl Anderson, who's too powerful and who commanded every scene he was in, outshining Jesus. Tedsus is not for me personally, but he's definitely not bad. 6/10

Camilo Sesto - Madrid 1975 album

I like him! He reminds me of Ian's Jesus but sadder (love to see it). Really good vocals. That 'POR QUE' ate. And his Gethsemane in general too. I don't have that much to say besides that, but Señor Sesto is really good in this role. 8/10

James Whitson - San Jose Civic Light Opera's 1990 production

Uhhhhhhh. Watched this in a discord watch party and for half of it we were thought this was Ted. It wasn't. Don't really know what to say, there wasn't anything really memorable or notable about him. Also has the disadvantage of being pared up with Carl Anderson, except it's even worse here. If Carl was anywhere near him, no chance I was paying attention to Jesus. Um... he chased Santa out of the Temple! That's something! 3/10

Steve Balsamo - 1996 London revival album

Steve Balsamo Jesus, my dearly beloved. How can you not love him. Just rewatch his Gethsemane for the 1000th time. His vocals are out of this world, man has organ pipes in place of vocal chords. Props to him for actually crying in gethsemane and still killing it. Absolutely fantastic. And his beautiful hair and those brown eyes really add to it. He's such a sad pathetic man, it's great. No complaints 10/10

Glenn Carter - 2000 movie

I'm shaking, please buy him brown contacts. I am a glensus hater, although I have to admit that during my second viewing I didn't dislike him as much. Easily my least favourite gethsemane (lmm excluded), except his delivery of "what you started, I didn't start it", that was surprisingly good. Again, I'm a hater but bonus points for the entertainment factor. 4/10

Paul Nolan - 2012 Broadway revival

BORING! Sorry your trouple doesn't save you from being so incredibly bland. It's like looking at a white wall that has just been painted over and you're watching it dry. Gethsemane is solid vocally, I like his interactions with others. But Jesus himself? No thanks. The staging of the crucifixion was so great, but then there he is with his mouth agape like a baby bird being fed and unconvincing "suffering". Also, no blood? 3/10

Ben Forster - 2012 UK Arena tour

THIS IS THE ONE. My roman empire. My most dear blorbo. He's been living in my head rent free for months. I love him so much. He's just so incredibly stressed out and angsty and pathetic and constantly on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. His gethsemane is my favourite. Just pretty much everything I could want from a performance of it. The way he curls up on the floor? The little moments when his voice breaks a bit from emotion?? The knee thing??? Great, fantastic, stunning, no notes. Also I adore his costuming, finally Jesus is given something more interesting. 11/10

John Legend - 2018 NBC

Hot take, but he's not nearly as bad as people make him out to be. He's just fine. I do enjoy his voice, Poor Jerusalem is especially good. Although I don't love his acting in the second act, but I really liked him in the first one. This Jesus just seems really nice and friendly and I love that. Gethsemane is solid vocally, even without the G5. Anyways he's not bad at all! 6/10

Andrew Latobesi - 2018 Villanova College

This was another wildcard from the watch party. Jesus didn't stand out much because we were all a bit distracted by Judi. And Mary. He was bland and the acting was not fantastic, but this is a high school prod, and for what it's worth he's not bad. Gethsemane was solid enough considering everything. The crucifixion surprisingly hit, good crying there. ??/10 since I don't think it would be fair to rank him against all those adult professional performers.

Jack Hopewell - 50th Anniversary North America tour

The only Jesus that made me cry while watching. He suffers real good (and looks very pretty while doing so). He's just so- so... I just wanted to wrap him up in a soft blanket and give him a kiss on the forehead and feed him soup. Tbh I think he's one of the best vocally too. His high note is my fav. Gethsemane in general is just great too. Love how much he's just some silly guy who then has to face the Horrors. He's just very cute :] 10/10

Jeangu Macrooy - 2024 Netherlands national tour

The most poor little meow meow Jesus ever. He's so pathetic it's great. Him smiling and being happy was also so cute. Really good vocals too, man killed those high notes. His gethsemane too... Jeangu Macrooy absolutely steels the show and it's fantastic and incredibly heartbreaking. Want to see his performance again so so badly. In the meantime everyone should check out a snippet of his performance 10/10

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[wise-rainfalls]

Having never watched any iteration of Jesus Christ Superstar, this was my first viewing, my first live viewing, and my first listen all at once. I entered the theatre with mild curiosity and a willingness to be entertained, having bought the tickets six months ago on the premise of leaving future me something to look forward to at the end of the year.

Two hours later, I left the theatre feeling like every wire in my brain had been struck by lightning.

The set was a marvel: industrial, rusty towers looming over an almost-bare stage, bifurcated by an elevated platform shaped as a cross. Creative use of spotlights could make it a shadowy place of horror, or a bright-lit street. Almost immediately the tone was set: the cross was already there, waiting. The costuming was bombastic when it had the incentive to be: the statuesque Herod within his golden cloak was incredible, as was the rhinestone-studded codpiece he wore beneath it. The priests with their bare chests bejewelled to draw attention to their nipples, all under traditional prayer shawls, was another example of camp used to strong (if somewhat comedic) effect. However, for the most part it was pared-back, simple, with a palette of muted, solid colours more suggestive than illustrative. Mary, for example, was draped in the second act in a blue wrap – a choice tying her closer to the Virgin than Magdalene.

Microphones were perhaps one of the key props throughout the show. Characters with ‘voice’ at any given moment passed between each other or fought over a literal microphone on its stand. As the musical progressed, it became a powerful symbol of a character’s ‘life’, so to speak, or at least their ability to define their own life. The microphone was the vehicle through which the character spoke their story as loud as they could over the grind of the larger story and the voices of others: Judas snatched the microphone stand from Mary after her iconic song while they glare hatefully at each other; on arrest Jesus is divested first of his microphone, and on reappearance a microphone dangles between his handcuffs. Judas hangs himself with the microphone’s cord. Jesus is literally crucified on the microphone stand.

Another standout area was the dancing. Frenetic, repetitive gestures in perfect sync by the ensemble as they prowled around the stage, somewhere between symbol and atmosphere. Even at its most peaceful and encouraging, the edge of potential violence within the mob was never truly lost on account of the energy of the dance. Demanding physicality became almost orgiastic, lending an erotic edge to every mob scene centred around Jesus that reached its metaphorical climax upon the crucifixion. Somewhere between a Greek chorus, a crowd of shades, the voice of Fate, and literally just some guys/Jesus’ deadbeat apostles, their undefined slipperiness introduced a faceless floating lack of identity to both those who followed Jesus and those who killed him, conflating the two into a singular non-entity, a being of actions alone.

But this was all set dressing. It would have made for fine entertainment, but passion pieces were a dime a dozen. Jesus, having the dubious honour of being one of the most discussed guys of the last few centuries, had no shortage of theatrical dedications that ranged the gamut from hilariously posh to throat-pulsing grunge. What made this production different? What part of it touched my soul? I think I would say: the interiority of Jesus himself.

There is no shortage of answers to the question of who Jesus is; as mentioned, he’s a talked about guy! But the subset of answers to the question of who Jesus is without the addition of humanity seems to be much smaller. Perhaps interest isn’t as strong in Jesus outside of ‘what can he do for us’. It’s unfortunate that it’s this exact question that has occupied my brain for years. Who is Jesus without the trap of the Saviour, the Messiah, the guy who’s got to die? Where does Jesus exist outside of what we need for him to do, what we want for him to do, indeed, outside ourselves at all? What sort of personality might have sustained the life we attribute to Jesus Christ, when we strip away the self-soothing impulse to have unconditional acceptance, acquiescence and serenity from a guy who died – as the Christian doctrine teaches, for our sake? What is, I suppose, Jesus’ perspective? Does this guy have hobbies, come on!

Obviously, Jesus Christ Superstar is strongly concerned with the question of who Jesus is from the eyes of humanity, the entire musical is a debate from various concerned parties on the purpose, the nature, the consequences of Jesus as an existence. However, instead of an eternal cipher of conceptual ambiguity, Jesus exists as an actual presence buckling against the relentless probing/shaping effort that bombards him from all side, including above. A visible struggle for selfhood takes place onstage that ends in annihilation, from the initial tussle over his ministry in the triangle of Judas-Jesus-Simon (rip Simon you’re there for one song but TO ME you are a thematic cornerstone) to the various attempts to place Jesus within different frameworks of understanding; political (priests, the continuous references to the King of the Jews), personal (Mary, to some extent Judas), divine (God).

The Jesus we see cannot fulfill everyone’s expectations, more to that point, he is not what each of these predefined images are: what he is hovers, futilely resistant, beyond the ken of understanding and indeed almost evoking fear. Both Mary and Judas, in their songs of trying to understand Jesus, expose a deep fear: that of Jesus’ reciprocation. It speaks to an understanding of divinity that’s almost passive; God as a receptacle for human ideas, God as invocation as opposed to personality. The agency-destroying imprint of divinity leaves Jesus’ selfhood crimped even with those who get the closest, who profess the deepest understanding. It’s that resistance, that frustration, that defines a ‘core’ to the character of Jesus. In his evasion of the boxes pre-filled for him, he marks out the space of what he is. He pins himself down, so to speak, into something more than an ephemeral concept of sacrifice, inhabiting the clouded fairy-realm of fable with a body.

It's this that fascinates me. The trail of vulnerability Jesus leaves, his frustration, his deep abiding loneliness. The way his existence cannot be accepted on its own terms, is continuously twisted and reshaped to be palatable, understandable, while his attempts at self-expression are met with almost invariably shutdown, incomprehension, and mockery pings a deep chord within me: both in my understanding of myself and my understanding of the divine. It feels like Jesus is saying an endless repetition of “that’s not what this is about” and “that’s not who I am” to a million assumptions/accusations flying at him. At the end of the musical I too felt the full three-feels-like-thirty years of his ministry because Jesus (used in an exclamatory fashion) dealing with that on an exponential basis sounds soul-destroying. Which it did in fact turn out to be.

[pineapple-coffee]

jack hopewell if you’re reading this, thank you for everything you’ve done for the agenda of “pathetic bisexual jesus.” the jcs fans salute your work 🫡

[showme-thesun]

I am unreasonably going absolutely wild after seeing the Jesus Christ Superstar 50th Anniversary Tour so here I am with all the stuff I wrote down on the train of the things that were just so outstanding oh my gosh I'm losing it:

everyone passing their microphones around/sharing mics (like when Jesus took it from Pilate to answer him after he'd been beaten because his voice was gone!)

Judas and Mary giving little “I hate you" looks after her song/before he gives Jesus up

Jesus waiting on stage to see if Judas would try and look in the money chest (and then he did, of course!)

Judas’s hands actually being stained silver by the blood money and then his silver suit when he’s dead matching!

Herod with a machete/sword(!?!?!?) because he beheaded John, a threat to do it to Jesus too!

Pilate is a rockstar lol

Jesus taking off his crown of thorns and laying it between him and Judas when he gets off the cross 

The disciples recreating The Last Supper and being totally stupid and clueless. Ignoring Jesus to return to their songs and dreaming heaven LITERALLY on their minds and ignoring the present!

Gotta figure out who that dancing girl is supposed to be, fate? God? Both?

Yo those priests were hella weird 

Judas singing “I don’t know how to love him” the same way Mary did????

[jittyjames]

the show lineup this year looks so snazzy i’m crying

[kazokunarou]

JCSを初めて見たのはもう半年ほど前のことですが未だにJCSの動画を観るしA03で無限にファンフィクを浴びています 世界の文豪への感謝が尽きません 本当にありがとうJCS50年の歴史、そしてイエス・キリスト2000年の歴史に感謝します

[feerz]

my blurry cutie patooties <3

y'all sleeping on jesus x mary like COME ON

she cares about him, he lets her take care of him, she gives him what he wants right here and now. he defends her, she sings him to sleep. he falls into her arms for comfort, she sings an entire song about her feelings. she's there when peter denies him. he's kind to her even at the hardest of times. she loves him, and wishes they could start again.

their love is pure and tragic.

i know doomed yaoi is cool but can we have a bit more recognition for jesus and mary?

[homecoming]

it’s a fee, nothing more.

[peremadeleine]

JCS: The 50th Anniversary Tour

My dad and I just saw the touring 50th anniversary production of Jesus Christ Superstar! We both grew up with the music and know it like the backs of our hands, so frankly our expectations were high.

It was...amazing.

A long, detailed, scene-by-scene discussion under the cut!

As the overture stars to play, the lights come up slowly and you realize that you can see the band--the actual rock band--on the second level of the set. They weren’t highly visible, not intrusive, but we both thought that was so cool. True to the spirit of what is, after all, a rock opera.

The cast came out, during the overture, from two of the audience doors in the orchestra and began hopping up on stage. Also very cool--we weren’t the only ones leaning forward in the balcony to look!

Full disclosure, Judas is my favorite character, so “Heaven on their Minds” is a make-or-break moment for me. Didn’t love all of his delivery, but Judas still sold it. (He clearly took a lot of inspo from Carl Anderson.) He was trying to reach Jesus both emotionally and physically without being weird and clingy (a la the terrible 2000 movie).

Ciaphas and Annas were both Perfect. Annas was an annoying little shit who sounded a lot like Geddy Lee--the lead singer from Rush--and Ciaphas had a deep, menacing, beautiful baritone just right for the part.

Though Simon’s performance was not quite as passionate as I would’ve liked, his voice was wonderful. Probably the best strictly vocal rendition of “Simon Zealotes” I’ve ever heard.

Really liked the way the Temple scene was set up...I would’ve liked it more if they’d given Jesus some prop to interact with/throw around, but the glittery/seedy feel of the scene contrasted perfectly with the low-key, muted set design up to that point.

This was the first scene where Jesus actually caught my attention. His delivery of “my Temple should be a house of prayer!” was a real show-stopper--as it ought to be.

The Lepers sequence was clearly overwhelming/stressful for Jesus without being too unpleasant (that’s always how I remember it from the ’73 movie) for the audience. As with “Hosanna,” though, I would have liked a slightly bigger ensemble to magnify the power of the scene.

Mary’s voice was lovely. She played “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” a little bit delicately, and there wasn’t much for her to do--Jesus was sleeping way off to side of the stage--so I think it could’ve been just a little more powerful, emotionally speaking, but again, her voice was very pretty.

When Judas, beckoned forward by Ciaphas, takes his reward for betraying Jesus from a chest at the end of “Damned for All Time,” his hands become stained silvery-white. As the show progressed the silver paint crept up his arms almost to his shoulders. A small prop would’ve been hard to see, anyway, so the Lady Macbeth-style staining of his hands was easily visible from our seats as well as perfect visual symbolism.

During the Last Supper scene, the apostles re-purpose the cross-shape platform in the middle of the stage as a table. They all froze in poses reminiscent of Da Vinci’s painting (as in the ’73 film) while Jesus sang his solemn lines about consuming his body and blood.

This was the scene that most explicitly explored the bond between Jesus and Judas. At the beginning of the scene, Jesus comes up behind Judas and wraps him in a cloak. Later, an obviously-distraught Judas kneels at the edge of the stage and gazes with desperate hope at his friend, even reaching for Jesus’ hand with his stained one. He wants Jesus to stop him, to keep him there--but of course, he’s sent away to betray him.

More disclosure: “Gethsemane” is my favorite song from the show. It’s raw, it’s angry, it’s powerful. I watched a video of the actor playing Jesus performing an acoustic version in a studio and was not impressed, and so far I was on the fence about his on-stage Jesus, which lacked a little bit of the “drama queen” (or, I guess, the “superstar”) element I expect from JCS!Jesus. tl;dr This was THE big make-it-or-break-it moment of the show for me...

Oh, ye of little faith, Luth! All the hesitance and just-good-enough vocals went out the window; he sang with passion and power and conviction, improving steadily as the song reaches its climax. He didn’t try to imitate the vocal wizardry of Ian Gillan, but he hit the high note (“see how I die”) and held it.

At one point he ripped off his shirt and threw the microphone stand against another set piece in his anger, fear, and despair, which I thought was a nice visual for the audience.

I realized, by the end of the song, when the audience erupted into cheers/applause and my dad leaned over to whisper “He nailed it!” that there were tears in my eyes. I was actually crying! And I was so happy, despite my tears, because this Jesus had finally overcome my months-long misgivings and now I could enjoy the rest of the show for what it would be,

Pilate is usually played by an older man, sometimes in over-the-top flamboyant (often purple) costumes. Not so here. This Pilate was the image of a punk rocker in black leather, and he was young, and he was a certifiable rock star! What a voice!  He was the only one my dad “whooped” for at the curtain call.

Confession time...I’ve never truly seen the need for “Herod’s Song,” catchy as it is. But seeing the show live, the audience was into it. They clearly needed one wacky comic number. And boy was this one wacky. Very well-done, kind of had a cabaret aesthetic with Herod in a silver leotard and sparkly black boots.

Everyone clapped between Judas’ confrontation with the priests and his reprise of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” which meant the slow, sad beginning of said reprise was drowned out a little. Boo. It’s one of the most moving songs in the show. (“Does he love...does he love me too? Does he care for me? Oh!”) That said, the tension in the audience was palpable (or maybe it was just me) when Judas climbs the stairs and strings up his rope. Just the rope dropped as the lights went down, so it was tastefully done, but all I felt was dread. Which is the point, I imagine.

The ensemble did a great job of realistically haranguing and guilt-tripping Pilate until he abandoned his logical stance that Jesus had done nothing deserving of death and gave into their demands. The best use of the ensemble in the entire show.

I always skip the 39 lashes when I listen at home. They did it very symbolically--throwing “glitter bombs” of a sort at Jesus every time Pilate counted a lash so that he was covered in gold tinsel by the end of it--and it made it bearable to watch, though still tense.

When the instrumental hook of “Superstar” plays after the trial and before the actual song “Superstar,” Judas comes back out on stage and places the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. An interesting choice. It certainly got me right in the feels.

Would have liked a bit more one-on-one interaction between J&J during “Superstar,” maybe a new costume for Judas, but otherwise a good performance of that, too.

That’s where I always end my listen...but of course the show ends with the crucifixion. Of course that’s never going to be a pleasant scene, is it? It was, again, fairly tastefully done, with Jesus ending up back-lit on the cross.

The final image of the show was also the single-most powerful one:  the rest of the stage was still dark, with Judas* sitting at the foot of the cross gazing up at the still-backlit Jesus. Reader, I wept.

*it occurred to me that it MIGHT have been Mary--the stage was dark, and our seats were pretty high-up...but I prefer the symbolism of it being Judas.

The set was very minimalist, with two unadorned two-story platforms on either side of the long, much shorter protruding cross-shaped platform. It worked for me. (Much better than the weird “industrial” look they went for in the live TV special.)

The costumes were hit-or-miss, but I did like the simplicity of the design. It was quite monochromatic, with Jesus and the apostles (and Mary) mostly in white or beige, Pilate in black, and Judas appropriately in gray. (There were some much-appreciated pops of color during the Last Supper sequence, when the apostles wrapped themselves in red and blue cloaks; and some glitter/sparkle added visual interest in the Temple, Herod, and Trial scenes.)

I could probably say more, including about what I didn’t like as much--there were a few things!--but I’ll save that for another post. Bless you if you actually read all that.

As sad as I am that I didn’t get to see the 2012 Broadway revival, I’m so glad I got to see this.

If you are a fan of Jesus Christ Superstar and have the means, I HIGHLY encourage you to check out the tour if it comes to a city near you. It may not be the greatest production of this show ever staged, but it’s very entertaining, respectful of the material, musically excellent--and it blows that televised one from 2018 out of the water! All in all, just a wonderful tribute for JCS’s 50th anniversary.

[localcryptic]

hey uh any broadway people out there know where i can find a bootleg of the Jesus Christ Superstar 50th Anniversary Tour production 👀 i’m specifically looking for that version tho

[drachedraws]

Day 26: thorns

(I posted this on Instagram and both the actors liked and shared it in their stories AAAAHHH)

[feerz]

If they're not giving me an album of the current north american tour of JCS, I'm going to need to do it myself.

SO I DID 🫡

enjoy!!

[queenofbagels]

I am here the JCS50 tour cast being absolutely unable to figure out how to say and spell Des Moines properly

[willisbeth]

Jesus Christ Superstar at The Bass! • #broadwayatthebass #basshall #boxseats #JCS50 (at Bass Performance Hall) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgIklfCtKnq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[showme-thesun]

Jesus Christ Superstar (second to last show of the 50th Anniversary US Tour)

I have previously posted about the other two times I saw the tour here - https://www.tumblr.com/showme-thesun/744708028790652928/lol-so-i-just-saw-it-again-the-benefit-of-living?source=share Here are my notes from today because lol I'm dyyyying 1. Elvie (Judas) was NOT playing around today. He was truly amazing today. From the very first note, he was ON IT.

2. The microphones! The microphones! Today I also noticed that during Everything's Alright that Mary takes Jesus's microphone to sing and after Judas gives her crap for the ointment Jesus has to take Judas's mic to respond to him. - Subpoint to this, Jesus kinda sneaks up on Judas to take his microphone from him and he also does this same move later but to give Judas his shawl before The Last Supper.

3. After Judas dies and as Jesus is being dragged back onto stage, Fate/the lead dancer is also dragging herself up the back stairs, like she was suffering too because their fates are unavoidable and it made me wonder how much Fate also suffers!!!!

4. The ensemble was so so so together today, especially with their dancing.

5. I did stage door and literally met like 90% of the cast lol. I talked to Alex (Pilate) for a while and told him I had seen the show a few times and he asked if I noticed anything different between the shows and I whipped out my phone and I was like, "I have notes" and he goes, "LOL oh you mean it!"

6. I told Jack (Jesus) that his jacket had an Orville Peck vibe and he goes, "Oh that's the compliment I didn't know I needed today!"

7. Again, with Alex, we talked for a while about the microphones because I can't shut up and when I called the lead dancer Fate he goes, "oooooooh" because he'd been calling her Mob and he got so excited to talk about how the crowd is slowly turned against Jesus with her as the ringleader.

8. This entire cast is so nice and so dedicated and I'm so pleased to have seen them more than once. They were so nice to everyone that waited even though this was the afternoon show and they still have a night show to go. It was amazing.

9. Thomas (Peter) was also going around pretending to be a fan, he would go up to people and be like, "OMG Jesus? Jesus! YOu were auhmazing! I loooved it"

[jamesdbeeks]

LA REVIEW: (Quote) Still, James Delisco Beeks plays the betrayer with a perfect blend of Broadway chops and show biz savvy, even as he lacks distinction. Beeks is particularly dramatic in “Damned for All Time” (when accepting his cash for ratting on Jesus to Caiaphas) and in “Judas’s Death” when his guilt and grief ultimately consume his life (with the help of a noose, here a dangling orange mic cord). When he comes back from the dead, there’s enough super-rockin’ dynamism — and seriously tight back-up Soul Girls: Keirsten Nicole Hodgens, Sandy Redd, Jasmine Schmenk — to make you get a ticket to come back (there are many cities for this tour, but runs are painfully short, most a week, so act fast). Thank you Tony Frankel StageandScreen .com Get tickets not at Ticketmaster.com or - - https://ustour.jesuschristsuperstar.com/tickets/ Read full article here: https://www.stageandcinema.com/2019/10/30/jc-superstar-50th-tour/ - - #jesuschristsuperstar #jcs50 #judas #christ #superstar #review #hisstory (at Las Vegas On The Strip) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4hK3bQA4Nv/?igshid=1j3soxqxgfbl7