jcs-study

[jcs-study]

Hey have you posted about YouTHeater/Jack Black as King Herod story on Lost Media wiki? It could get found, crazier things have happened.

I haven't because, as the post I made with lore outlines, we know exactly who has the footage/audio and where it is. The reason it hasn't been released, and is unlikely ever to be, is that they didn't properly dot the i's and cross the t's (i.e., cut through all the bureaucratic red tape in the most orthodox fashion) that would have facilitated its release, and the main rights holder who would have to sign off on it after the fact doesn't want to see it released, so it is likely to languish.

TL;DR: It's not lost, just tied up.

[jcs-study]

JCS Holy Week Watch Parties

So... this is something I've wanted to pull the trigger on for a while, but I haven't had the resources lined up to do it. Until now.

Presenting...

Jesus Christ Superstar Holy Week 2025

A series of watch parties of various versions of the beloved rock opera in the lead-up to Easter, in chronological order of release!

WHAT'S SHOWING AND WHEN?

Easter Sunday, April 13: 1973 film

Holy Monday, April 14: 1992 Australian revival cast (live)

Holy Tuesday, April 15: 1995 Indigo Girls Resurrection cast at SXSW (live)

Spy Wednesday, April 16: 2000 film

Maundy Thursday, April 17: 2012 Broadway revival cast (live)

Good Friday, April 18: 2012 arena tour

Holy Saturday, April 19: 2014 Swedish arena tour

Easter Sunday, April 20: 2018 NBC concert

WHERE?

This link, every night.

WHAT TIME?

11:30 PM (or 19:30, if you're on a 24-hour clock) UTC, every night. (To find out what that is in your time zone, go here.)

GROUND RULES

Feel free to invite friends -- the more, the merrier! Just make sure they see this post first so they know what is expected of them.

Some showings will have unique material beforehand, hence the slightly early start. (For example, tonight, '73 will be preceded by newsreel footage from on set, the trailer, and coverage of the UK premiere, to sort of prime the pump and get you in the mindset of somebody seeing the movie for the first time.)

None of these will be piecemeal or in chapters. Whole feature, start to finish, soup to nuts (as they used to say in the olden days). Plan bathroom and snack breaks accordingly. (Also, if you get there late, you see what you see when you see it. We're not rewinding just for you.)

No mics or cameras enabled. The focus will be the film of choice for the evening. If you want to chat or share thoughts, click the little speech bubble icon in the lower right hand corner to open text chat.

I recommend using a computer, whether desktop or laptop, so that no errant taps disrupt the viewing experience for others, which -- in my thick-fingered experience on my smart phone -- is all too easy on a mobile device.

Tonight, "the rocks and stones themselves will start to sing," so get out your palm branches and start wavin'!

[jcs-study]

Let's reward curiosity!

[jcs-study]

Some (More) Reflections on Casting

Hello, everyone! First, some recent updates to contextualize this post:

I've hung out my shingle! (For those who aren't American, it's a slang phrase that means one has started a business; it's commonly used by professionals like lawyers or doctors, and dates from the 19th century, when legend has it such pros would paint signs on the shingles of their house to advertise their new practice.) In my case, this means I'm opening my inbox -- both email and here -- to consult on productions of JCS as a published expert on the show, whether you want help with casting, dramaturgy, general advice, etc. Whatever your concept or your first impression of JCS, my efforts can help you make an incredible piece of theater that will satisfy your audience. The details are on the main page of my book (see pinned post), but I'm also reachable here. To date, Utopia Opera, Ltd. in Manhattan and Tumblr user @theredspecials can attest to the level of expertise I provide. I hope more will also be able to do so one day!

I've now sat in on the casting process for a JCS production. This means that I have some real-world experience in the screening and audition process for the show (in this case, Utopia's), and have some concrete advice to give for those casting the show in the future, which follows.

I've alluded elsewhere on this blog to the fact that there are two basic flavors of JCS, which I refer to as "pre-" and "post-1996." (This post breaks it down the most fully without getting too caught in the weeds.) Which version one was first exposed to plays a significant role in the type of JCS one wants to present, as one always remembers their first. This means every subsequent generation to 1970, or even to 1996, has had their own entry point with an established version. The Brown Album may not be the first version of JCS one experiences.

More specifically, each established version is "of its era." Popular music takes many forms, and these days, classic rock isn't exactly the lingua franca it used to be. Especially today, we're not trying to pull young folks who know how to sing this new-fangled rock stuff off the street anymore; theater kids typically know, and are maybe even trained in, some form of homogenized "contemporary musical theater" pop sound that is a lot like what you (mostly) get in post-1996 JCS. Not their fault, but still something you must deal with.

What this means for you, the prospective director/presenter/whatever: you have to decide early and firmly about what kind of JCS you want to do, because if you have the pre-1996 JCS in mind, your audition pool -- especially cis male vocalists primarily trained in this newer style -- will mostly sound like (and probably be most familiar with) some form of post-1996 JCS, and you must be prepared to adjust accordingly, whether that means familiarizing them with the form and breaking them out of their comfort zone (because you can't expect them to instantly "get" unfamiliar terrain) or re-setting your own expectations.

Post-1996 JCS Prep

If you're fully prepared to embrace the revival sound, you're fine. In fact, you have far less of an uphill climb. I might urge you in the direction of, say, the 2011 Vienna concert cast rather than the 2012 arena tour or 2018 NBC Live renditions so that some of the original flavor is retained, but that's up to you. Other than that, you're pretty much all set. You will find a satisfying audition pool and have a Great Mcfriggin Time.

Pre-1996 JCS Prep

Your audition pool will still be the same, and you may have to live with that. However, there are ways to get the sound you want, even from those with "professional training."

Cast outside your typical pool. This is the most obvious piece of advice: lean into the club world and look for classic rock cover bands or anybody in metal, especially if they're the (sadly now rarefied) Rob Halford variety of screamer. However, because this is typically a steadier paying gig than theater (as tenuous as live music can be) or because theater is an unfamiliar realm to them, don't be surprised if you get a lot of pushback and nos, in which case refer to points 2 through 6.

Don't be afraid to bend gender. Seriously. Especially with precedents like the Indigo Girls cast and She Is Risen, my experience with Utopia was that female(-presenting) performers were the most ready to "go there" and really stepped up to the plate. Don't be afraid to guide them in the direction of a particular sound, but first don't shy away from casting them!

Immerse them in pre-1996 JCS. There are several solid examples of what to do (Brown Album, OBC, original French cast [in places], definitely live Australian cast, '73 film soundtrack, Camilo Sesto, California Youth Theatre, Australian revival cast, Indigo Girls cast) as well as what not to do (Alan Caddy studio cast, 1992 20th anniversary cast) from the pre-1996 era in the "Listening" section of my Recommendations chapter. For some, it may be even more nuanced than that -- yes to this from here, no to that from there, etc. Either way, the point is the same: the more they are influenced away from the newer sound, the less they'll refer to it.

Steer them toward the right variety of post-1996 JCS. There are at least three at the above link (2001 Hungarian revival, and the Vienna 2005 and 2011 concert casts) that manage to recapture some of the original energy musically while also erring on the side of post-1996 sounds and abilities. It'd be a shame to blindly ignore it.

Emphasize volume. Legend has it that George Abbott, one of Broadway's greatest all-time musical comedy directors (he lived to be 107!), used to stand in the back of the theater with a sign that said "Loud is Good." In the days before electronic amplification, this was very solid advice; you got your chin up, you projected with good support, and you aimed for the back row. "Loud is Good" is similarly useful advice if you're aiming for a pre-1996 JCS vibe, not just because it gives the soundboard something to pick up with the all-important microphones, but also because "contemporary musical theater technique" only goes so far. If you're telling your cast that they can vary their intensity for emotional shading, but that they must stay loud at all times, sooner or later, something that sounds more like classic rock is going to come out of them the harder they push, just because they're exercising the muscle to its limits and then some. Don't encourage this to the extent that they endanger their vocal health, but work for the results you desire.

Immerse them in music from the period in which JCS was written. This is perhaps the most important step you can take. If they're unfamiliar with the form, then they need to understand how it works. Devote time in the pre-production process to creating targeted playlists of music from the pre-1996 JCS era for your potential audition pool to hear, and reinforce listening to it during the rehearsal period. If they're steeped in the sound, that's what they'll start to emulate.

Playlist Suggestions

The following are some artist recommendations for music that you can target at specific groups you're seeking out to audition. The casting call for the 50th-anniversary tour was a particular help here, mixed with some of my own intuition.

(Note that wherever influence lists are combined, this is designed partly with logistical considerations in mind; for example, most productions target their PETER group to understudy JESUS and their SIMON crowd for JUDAS.)

GENERAL PURPOSES: The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, The Supremes (the "Soul Girls" in the title number in particular need this sort of tight pop-soul sound)

PETER/JESUS: James Taylor for the more tender moments, Rod Stewart or Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) for the real throat-shredding stuff

SIMON/JUDAS: Stevie Wonder, Murray Head, any Northern Soul or R&B artists of the era, maybe even a little gospel from the time

MARY: Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Gloria Jones, Janis Joplin

PILATE: Kind of a broad spectrum here, but think Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and especially Robert Plant for the big "Don't let me stop..." moment

Failsafe Options

Despite your best efforts, however, some performers just will not absorb this stuff. You get different turn-out for every show, and it's catch-as-catch-can. If you are specifically striving for pre-1996 JCS but have people who can't break out of post-1996 training, there are characters whose roles skew "typical theater" enough that they can probably get away with not quite matching the sound.

If you need to bury your "immovable theater kids" in the mix, the best spots are the authority figures: PILATE, CAIAPHAS, ANNAS, and HEROD.

PILATE -- Well, they cast Barry Dennen, after all, seeking an actor for that part as far back as the Brown Album. He didn't necessarily have to sound that rock.

CAIAPHAS -- With this one, you'll get a bass if you're lucky and a baritone if you're pressed, and as long as he can swing a little bit with the music, you're fine with a musical theater person.

ANNAS is a generic baritenor who's not asked to do anything too uncomfortable.

As far as HEROD is concerned, I mean… that's literally the old-fashioned brassy Broadway sound. That guy doesn't have to sound rock at all if he doesn't want to; hell, in many instances, he probably doesn't need to sing. This role is more about the comedy, and indeed a local production may be able to boost ticket sales by treating it as a revolving-door cameo for stand-up comics in the area, assuming a good director can break them of their tendency to be "on" and help them to improvise within the character's confines.

[jcs-study]

Been a while since I've featured a fan edit on the blog, and I came across this in the tags, so give it a listen!

Here’s the Superstar Supercut for anyone who wants to listen/make it on their preferred platform/argue with me about my choices

[jcs-study]

Reblogging to pull a pin:

It's the first trans femme Jesus in the show's history (to our knowledge), and sales of the second weekend are slow.

Don't let me down.

I speak to you this evening, JCS fans, on behalf of the Manhattan-based Utopia Opera, Ltd. I call 'em "the little light opera company that could."

Well, they're taking their first bite at a big-boy rock opera, and they chose my favorite. More than that, they engaged me as a creative consultant to help massage the production to its fullest potential. (I also wound up doing program design and layout to go for that classic Brown Album look, go me!)

To quote Stefon from Saturday Night Live, "This... has... everything!"

Prominent female(-presenting) performers as male leads! Jesus, Judas (two of them, one for a night the other has off), Caiaphas and Annas (at least one night each), Pilate (two of them, one for each weekend), two miscellaneous priests... the fun never stops!

Incredibly talented singers with impressive ranges!

A full complement of musicians! Indeed, possibly the biggest orchestra to take this on in the Big Apple since the show debuted at the Mark Hellinger over 50 years ago.

Accessibility! Every performance will be equipped with projected English surtitles!

Cheap admission! The tickets are the tightest in town, especially for New York New York, and if that's not enough...

A queer-friendly discount! March 15 is "Queer Community Night," meaning at the link above, enter the code QUEERJESUS to get discounted tickets that almost literally cut the price in half for that evening's performance.

And now for the details:

Where?

Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College, south side of East 69th Street between Park and Lexington, New York City.

When?

The weekends of March 14-16 and March 21-23, exact times at the BrownPaperTickets link above. (If you might just buy in person, instructions are in the event description at the link as well.)

What if I can't go?

Well, you can still reward their pluck! If you can't make it physically, there's also an option at the ticket link to donate to support this fine crew in all their endeavors.

Don't let me down, people -- check it out!

[jcs-study]

I speak to you this evening, JCS fans, on behalf of the Manhattan-based Utopia Opera, Ltd. I call 'em "the little light opera company that could."

Well, they're taking their first bite at a big-boy rock opera, and they chose my favorite. More than that, they engaged me as a creative consultant to help massage the production to its fullest potential. (I also wound up doing program design and layout to go for that classic Brown Album look, go me!)

To quote Stefon from Saturday Night Live, "This... has... everything!"

Prominent female(-presenting) performers as male leads! Jesus, Judas (two of them, one for a night the other has off), Caiaphas and Annas (at least one night each), Pilate (two of them, one for each weekend), two miscellaneous priests... the fun never stops!

Incredibly talented singers with impressive ranges!

A full complement of musicians! Indeed, possibly the biggest orchestra to take this on in the Big Apple since the show debuted at the Mark Hellinger over 50 years ago.

Accessibility! Every performance will be equipped with projected English surtitles!

Cheap admission! The tickets are the tightest in town, especially for New York New York, and if that's not enough...

A queer-friendly discount! March 15 is "Queer Community Night," meaning at the link above, enter the code QUEERJESUS to get discounted tickets that almost literally cut the price in half for that evening's performance.

And now for the details:

Where?

Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College, south side of East 69th Street between Park and Lexington, New York City.

When?

The weekends of March 14-16 and March 21-23, exact times at the BrownPaperTickets link above. (If you might just buy in person, instructions are in the event description at the link as well.)

What if I can't go?

Well, you can still reward their pluck! If you can't make it physically, there's also an option at the ticket link to donate to support this fine crew in all their endeavors.

Don't let me down, people -- check it out!

[jcs-study]

Assembling a JCS cheat sheet

Friends, neighbors, people who tolerate me!

After assisting on a JCS production that's about to go up at the middle-end of March (tickets available here if you're in the NYC area; I highly recommend attending, as we have an amazing cast and perhaps the fullest complement of musicians to play the show in the Big Apple since it debuted), I decided that it would behoove me to streamline my consulting process for future involvement with the show.

To that end, I'm working on condensing my book, Impressions of a Crucifixion, into a JCS cheat sheet for first-time directors, musical directors/conductors, etc., something easier to wade through than a book-length website.

For those who are most familiar with said book, what areas do you think are key to include? Re-blog, send asks, straight-up DM me, send smoke signals, whatever is the best way for you to chime in!

[jcs-study]

My sole public comment on Cynthia Erivo's casting in the forthcoming Hollywood Bowl concert presentation of JCS.

(Spoiler alert: I am absolutely seated.)

[jcs-study]

for a long period when i was very small, circa 6 years old, absolutely any time we got in the car my mom would start playing jesus christ superstar (1970 original album). it is the first music i remember truly loving. so deep within my baby brain some neurons reached out to each other and said "oh! i get it now :) music is when men sob and wail and scream and rend their garments in the booth for 90 minutes," and they clasped hands and never let go. now this was great because i was right, but unfortunately i was then released into a wider world that hadn't learned about this yet and so i have suffered much disappointment. such is the way of it for those fortunate enough to find their path so young.

[jcs-study]

JCS Ideas: Freedom of Choice

Unlike my last post, this is sort of a more vague, unformed, "wouldn't this be cool" notion, but as long as I'm getting chatty about my ideas, here's one that I've had recently.

Given the stark differences between pre- and post-1996 productions of JCS (especially the latter, as Tim Rice walked back some changes, made new ones, etc.), all of which I've enumerated both here and in my book in some detail, it'd be kind of fun to do a production with "choose your own JCS" as a central feature.

By which I mean... each night, the show is performed based on elements voted on by the audience (old vs. new lyrics, old vs. new arrangements, song placements/additions/deletions, etc.). And by "audience," I mean, like, an online poll in a hub like JCS Zone, not literally collecting a multiple-choice survey on the night or something. But to encourage future participation from repeat visitors, you announce during the pre-show patter that though all of the content of this evening's performance was written by TR and ALW, elements were chosen by the fans, and if you want to be part of the process, go to [blah blah blah].

It would take a shitload of rehearsal and coordination, and a very flexible licensing agreement, but it'd be neat.

[jcs-study]

Please do, and feel free to ask any questions you may have! In case it's not clear, I love dissecting this show.

(Pssst... I link to a pro-shot of the Avondale production in the "My Two Cents" section of the initial "Historical Background" chapter. ;D)

JCS Ideas: Casting

After my recent delightful interaction with @averagecygnet-blog that got me spitballing about a possible closing for Jesus Christ Superstar if I was ever to direct the show, I started thinking about all of the ideas I'd ever had for JCS, both big and small. I've posted about them before, but it's never a bad time to take a second look at the accumulation of notions and play around with them a bit. After all, I've been brainstorming how to stage this thing since the first grade.

So, let's start with some casting concepts, not all of which are meant to co-exist in a single production, but presented for contemplation nonetheless. I've probably had more ideas over time than are presented in this post, but for right now, these are the things that typically rise above the chaos in the theater of my mind's eye.

Cast Size and Age Ranges

A lot of JCS productions over the years have tended to over-stack their deck in cast size terms, at least in my opinion. While it's tempting to throw as many people at the stage as one can, I think the show benefits from the opposite of the Cecil B. DeMille treatment, especially given Andrew Lloyd Webber's statement (in Ellis Nassour's Rock Opera) along the lines that he saw it as an intimate drama of three or four people. With that in mind, while also not literally adhering to the letter of that statement (therein lies madness), I'd strip it down. Severely.

You've got your main leads, JUDAS, JESUS, and MARY, who obviously can't pull double duty. Then you have supporting leads, who can double as the ensemble in scenes where they're not needed as a named character -- people like CAIAPHAS, ANNAS, HEROD, SIMON/PETER (getting to this in a second), and PILATE. Lastly, to boost the overall vocal sound and spread things out somewhat beyond the supporting leads, you have an ENSEMBLE of 6 performers.

Not counting any separate understudies who may not appear onstage (and would add to the overall number), we've just demonstrated that at a base level, you can chunk JCS down to 14 people. 14 extremely hard-working, strong-voiced people.

Now, as for age ranges, I go into this in somewhat more detail in the "My Two Cents" section of the Dramatis Personae chapter in my book -- namely, it's possible to cast along an unusually varied age spectrum, so long as it makes sense and feels "of a piece." However, I personally think that youth should be a key component in casting, because of youthful performers' natural energy and vitality, and because it reflects the reality of "Roman-occupied Jerusalem and environs," as the show's setting is described; from what we know of Jewish society at the time, a boy would have been learning his trade by age 10, engaged at 13 (girls would typically be 12), and married by 14 (girls, 13). Precocious and unconscionable by today's standards, no doubt, but the reality.

With the above, and the fact that JCS was developed -- consciously or not -- with clear parallels to the 1960s hippie movements, including the generational clashes between youth and the older "establishment," in mind, I'd seek out a younger cast, with an average age of 18-25, while capping authority figures (HEROD, PILATE, etc.) at around 45.

Narrative Threads

I say, and not without reason, in my book that one of the biggest problems directors face with JCS is probably its lack of dialogue. Christianity has been on thin ice since the Sixties, but at least back in 1970, most people had basic biblical knowledge, specifically of the New Testament, which meant the decision to dispense with a script (which would traditionally, in theater terms, help things out from an exposition standpoint) didn't matter so much. Today, however, there is a glaring lack of knowledge about the story -- among believers and non-believers alike -- that exposes how underwritten the piece is in traditional terms. (Check out the stats on it in my "Historical Background" chapter; they raise gasps and giggles in equal measure.)

As no production is likely to get a special dispensation to add dialogue (nor, honestly, do I think they should, even though I acknowledge its absence as a likely flaw), I have a tendency in my casting thoughts to try to tie together the show's narrative in a neater bow and paper over the cracks in the plaster, so to speak.

(Plus, as a formerly religious atheist, I'm more familiar with the show's characters than most from a biblical standpoint, which often leads down intriguing paths and gives me a chance to flex.)

Thus, ideas like:

Casting MARY as a trans woman of color. In addition to all the dramaturgical and cultural reasons that @griffinmackleroy's idea is brilliant and worth borrowing, it also works for lazy directors like me. Anyone in the audience (or who is cast in the role) who knows (of) or has lived those experiences can fill in their own backstory, and suddenly I don't have to explain who Mary Magdalene is in exacting detail. They know (of), are, or have been that person, can fill in a lot of gaps with headcanon, and we're off to the races.

Casting three performers to play JUDAS' TORMENTORS, PRIESTS, and SOUL GIRLS in triplicate, in a manner that can be interpreted by the audience either as filling those specific roles or symbolic of fate/destiny/motivation. It's a little avant-garde, but it also sells the basic idea that fate was at play, we're only human, however you want to phrase it. (If you find this is too weird or a step too far in an otherwise conventional -- if small -- production, then you keep the same numbers from above for a tight cast size, but you take the 3 PRIESTS' lines, assign them to a single soloist, and double-cast them as HEROD. That also creates a nice little through-line about the ubiquity of authority, how it is more alike than different no matter what paper it's wrapped in.)

Combining the roles of SIMON and PETER, in principle/for all intents and purposes if not on paper. Two character arcs that go nowhere become one character arc that goes somewhere, and it flies just fine as long as there are twelve bodies (and one JESUS) around the supper table in Act II.

Casting PILATE as a white cis woman, and more specifically, depicting her as a deconstruction of a modern center-left (American) legislator who means well but lacks the backbone to prevent this judicial murder from taking place because of what it means for her political standing. (I alluded to the idea in brief on the blog, but it's much better explicated in the "My Two Cents" section of my chapter on Pilate, which is the primary link.)

Some of these suggestions also help shake up how male-centric the story traditionally is, which is always a plus.

Miscellanea

These are just ideas that didn't fit in the other two sections, so I'm happily dumping them here.

Fleshing Out a Character With a Deleted Song

For once, I'm not talking about "Then We Are Decided," which I could do (and have done) for hours, though this does involve a priest. I'm talking about the slightly more obscure "What A Party."

The JCS completist in me that recognizes any amount of storytelling, in casting and dramaturgy (more about the latter in the next post) alike, can only help the audience has seen the merit in re-adding "What A Party" to the show, though I've struggled with whether or not it was strictly necessary. At last, I've come to a compromise. If I add it, this is how I'd use it: I'd reassign the "party host" soloist, and in the process, create a character that ties two strands of the narrative together.

When considering the setting of the number, I thought of the Gospel story in Luke of Jesus being anointed in the house of Simon the Pharisee and realized that since "What A Party" doesn't explicitly say he's Simon the Leper anywhere in the lyrics (we only know the soloist is that character in John's Gospel from Nassour), we could instead make him Simon the Pharisee: a priest on the council trying to feel this guy out and being unimpressed, perhaps even discomfited, by the drama brought to his doorstep.

Put yourself in his shoes for a second: you're a respectable religious leader, and before pre-judging this rabble-rouser like your superiors, you want to know what he's all about. You're willing to hear what he has to say over dinner, but he brings his whole crew, including 12 hangers-on, at least one person you know (to preserve my SIMON/PETER doubling, I have one disciple's name escape his memory and have the "Judas, Simon" moment be an exchange of greetings between JUDAS and this person), and a woman you suspect to be a sex worker, with all the judgment of your era implied and applied. (It's entirely possible, given the circumstances, that "You know that you're always welcome..." comes with a backhanded delivery.)

Moreover, they party relentlessly and squabble amongst themselves without caring about the impression they make and whose house they're in. Plus, that Peter guy, a former (?) Zealot, has weapons that are setting off more than a few mental alarm bells. "What a party! Lordy, Lordy..." indeed. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Your inner monologue might sound something like:

"Messiah my tuchus! This rock star and his entourage are out first thing in the morning. I give them my best wine, introduce myself, and ingratiate myself with all of them, and they descend into petty bickering and platitudes about living in the present instead of thinking ahead. Feh. They are out of control, and if this is what our people are chasing instead of us, we're screwed."

More than that, we explicitly make this character one of the priests reporting back in "This Jesus Must Die," maybe "The man is in town right now…" guy, watching "Hosanna" and "Simon Zealotes" with concern, and possibly even the first person JUDAS seeks out during "Damned for All Time," knowing his concerns will be heard.

(You might say, if you're well-versed in Hollywood epics, that this character has similar vibes to Zerah in Jesus of Nazareth. Why yes, yes he does, and thank you for noticing. If you must borrow, borrow from the best.)

Double Trouble

This, honestly, is just an idea I think is neat that other productions have adopted and that I toyed with myself in a possible star vehicle take that never got off the ground (for which see here).

I would like JESUS and JUDAS to have the vocal stamina to withstand alternating roles during the performance schedule (i.e. some nights Person A is JESUS and Person B is JUDAS, some nights vice versa), allowing them to play both sides of that remarkable relationship and giving the cast and audience two equally valid ways to see these powerful characters. (From a selfish commercial standpoint, it also really encourages repeat viewings, given the different interpretations each performer -- including understudies -- would bring to the characters, sort of like how the current [at the time of writing] Broadway revival of Sunset Boulevard has led some theatergoers to come back for a re-watch and compare Caroline Bowman's and Mandy Gonzalez' performances to Nicole Scherzinger's.)

If it helps you to conceptualize this notion, there is ample precedent. For example, Brian Yorkey's 2011 production at the Village Theatre did this to great effect, with the help of two incredible artists, Aaron Finley and Michael K. Lee. Also, Scott Miller's New Line Theatre did the same in 2006 (albeit with the slightly more stable idea of alternating weeks rather than performances) with John Sparger and Khnemu Menu-Ra.

[jcs-study]

a production at my university last year did your idea for pilate almost down to the letter! she was a short blonde woman in a blue blazer who was immediately giving american congress vibes, and she was completely domineering and terrifying before she realized who jesus was and then switched to so afraid that she almost couldn't move. ily problematic fem!pilates ❤️

This just goes to prove the idea has legs!

However, I cannot take complete credit. My dear friend Megan (@ozymegdias, though she's not on here much anymore) came up with the initial spark. I just expanded on why it's a good idea to justify it. She's the real superstar in this case!

[jcs-study]

JCS Ideas: Casting

After my recent delightful interaction with @averagecygnet-blog that got me spitballing about a possible closing for Jesus Christ Superstar if I was ever to direct the show, I started thinking about all of the ideas I'd ever had for JCS, both big and small. I've posted about them before, but it's never a bad time to take a second look at the accumulation of notions and play around with them a bit. After all, I've been brainstorming how to stage this thing since the first grade.

So, let's start with some casting concepts, not all of which are meant to co-exist in a single production, but presented for contemplation nonetheless. I've probably had more ideas over time than are presented in this post, but for right now, these are the things that typically rise above the chaos in the theater of my mind's eye.

Cast Size and Age Ranges

A lot of JCS productions over the years have tended to over-stack their deck in cast size terms, at least in my opinion. While it's tempting to throw as many people at the stage as one can, I think the show benefits from the opposite of the Cecil B. DeMille treatment, especially given Andrew Lloyd Webber's statement (in Ellis Nassour's Rock Opera) along the lines that he saw it as an intimate drama of three or four people. With that in mind, while also not literally adhering to the letter of that statement (therein lies madness), I'd strip it down. Severely.

You've got your main leads, JUDAS, JESUS, and MARY, who obviously can't pull double duty. Then you have supporting leads, who can double as the ensemble in scenes where they're not needed as a named character -- people like CAIAPHAS, ANNAS, HEROD, SIMON/PETER (getting to this in a second), and PILATE. Lastly, to boost the overall vocal sound and spread things out somewhat beyond the supporting leads, you have an ENSEMBLE of 6 performers.

Not counting any separate understudies who may not appear onstage (and would add to the overall number), we've just demonstrated that at a base level, you can chunk JCS down to 14 people. 14 extremely hard-working, strong-voiced people.

Now, as for age ranges, I go into this in somewhat more detail in the "My Two Cents" section of the Dramatis Personae chapter in my book -- namely, it's possible to cast along an unusually varied age spectrum, so long as it makes sense and feels "of a piece." However, I personally think that youth should be a key component in casting, because of youthful performers' natural energy and vitality, and because it reflects the reality of "Roman-occupied Jerusalem and environs," as the show's setting is described; from what we know of Jewish society at the time, a boy would have been learning his trade by age 10, engaged at 13 (girls would typically be 12), and married by 14 (girls, 13). Precocious and unconscionable by today's standards, no doubt, but the reality.

With the above, and the fact that JCS was developed -- consciously or not -- with clear parallels to the 1960s hippie movements, including the generational clashes between youth and the older "establishment," in mind, I'd seek out a younger cast, with an average age of 18-25, while capping authority figures (HEROD, PILATE, etc.) at around 45.

Narrative Threads

I say, and not without reason, in my book that one of the biggest problems directors face with JCS is probably its lack of dialogue. Christianity has been on thin ice since the Sixties, but at least back in 1970, most people had basic biblical knowledge, specifically of the New Testament, which meant the decision to dispense with a script (which would traditionally, in theater terms, help things out from an exposition standpoint) didn't matter so much. Today, however, there is a glaring lack of knowledge about the story -- among believers and non-believers alike -- that exposes how underwritten the piece is in traditional terms. (Check out the stats on it in my "Historical Background" chapter; they raise gasps and giggles in equal measure.)

As no production is likely to get a special dispensation to add dialogue (nor, honestly, do I think they should, even though I acknowledge its absence as a likely flaw), I have a tendency in my casting thoughts to try to tie together the show's narrative in a neater bow and paper over the cracks in the plaster, so to speak.

(Plus, as a formerly religious atheist, I'm more familiar with the show's characters than most from a biblical standpoint, which often leads down intriguing paths and gives me a chance to flex.)

Thus, ideas like:

Casting MARY as a trans woman of color. In addition to all the dramaturgical and cultural reasons that @griffinmackleroy's idea is brilliant and worth borrowing, it also works for lazy directors like me. Anyone in the audience (or who is cast in the role) who knows (of) or has lived those experiences can fill in their own backstory, and suddenly I don't have to explain who Mary Magdalene is in exacting detail. They know (of), are, or have been that person, can fill in a lot of gaps with headcanon, and we're off to the races.

Casting three performers to play JUDAS' TORMENTORS, PRIESTS, and SOUL GIRLS in triplicate, in a manner that can be interpreted by the audience either as filling those specific roles or symbolic of fate/destiny/motivation. It's a little avant-garde, but it also sells the basic idea that fate was at play, we're only human, however you want to phrase it. (If you find this is too weird or a step too far in an otherwise conventional -- if small -- production, then you keep the same numbers from above for a tight cast size, but you take the 3 PRIESTS' lines, assign them to a single soloist, and double-cast them as HEROD. That also creates a nice little through-line about the ubiquity of authority, how it is more alike than different no matter what paper it's wrapped in.)

Combining the roles of SIMON and PETER, in principle/for all intents and purposes if not on paper. Two character arcs that go nowhere become one character arc that goes somewhere, and it flies just fine as long as there are twelve bodies (and one JESUS) around the supper table in Act II.

Casting PILATE as a white cis woman, and more specifically, depicting her as a deconstruction of a modern center-left (American) legislator who means well but lacks the backbone to prevent this judicial murder from taking place because of what it means for her political standing. (I alluded to the idea in brief on the blog, but it's much better explicated in the "My Two Cents" section of my chapter on Pilate, which is the primary link.)

Some of these suggestions also help shake up how male-centric the story traditionally is, which is always a plus.

Miscellanea

These are just ideas that didn't fit in the other two sections, so I'm happily dumping them here.

Fleshing Out a Character With a Deleted Song

For once, I'm not talking about "Then We Are Decided," which I could do (and have done) for hours, though this does involve a priest. I'm talking about the slightly more obscure "What A Party."

The JCS completist in me that recognizes any amount of storytelling, in casting and dramaturgy (more about the latter in the next post) alike, can only help the audience has seen the merit in re-adding "What A Party" to the show, though I've struggled with whether or not it was strictly necessary. At last, I've come to a compromise. If I add it, this is how I'd use it: I'd reassign the "party host" soloist, and in the process, create a character that ties two strands of the narrative together.

When considering the setting of the number, I thought of the Gospel story in Luke of Jesus being anointed in the house of Simon the Pharisee and realized that since "What A Party" doesn't explicitly say he's Simon the Leper anywhere in the lyrics (we only know the soloist is that character in John's Gospel from Nassour), we could instead make him Simon the Pharisee: a priest on the council trying to feel this guy out and being unimpressed, perhaps even discomfited, by the drama brought to his doorstep.

Put yourself in his shoes for a second: you're a respectable religious leader, and before pre-judging this rabble-rouser like your superiors, you want to know what he's all about. You're willing to hear what he has to say over dinner, but he brings his whole crew, including 12 hangers-on, at least one person you know (to preserve my SIMON/PETER doubling, I have one disciple's name escape his memory and have the "Judas, Simon" moment be an exchange of greetings between JUDAS and this person), and a woman you suspect to be a sex worker, with all the judgment of your era implied and applied. (It's entirely possible, given the circumstances, that "You know that you're always welcome..." comes with a backhanded delivery.)

Moreover, they party relentlessly and squabble amongst themselves without caring about the impression they make and whose house they're in. Plus, that Peter guy, a former (?) Zealot, has weapons that are setting off more than a few mental alarm bells. "What a party! Lordy, Lordy..." indeed. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Your inner monologue might sound something like:

"Messiah my tuchus! This rock star and his entourage are out first thing in the morning. I give them my best wine, introduce myself, and ingratiate myself with all of them, and they descend into petty bickering and platitudes about living in the present instead of thinking ahead. Feh. They are out of control, and if this is what our people are chasing instead of us, we're screwed."

More than that, we explicitly make this character one of the priests reporting back in "This Jesus Must Die," maybe "The man is in town right now…" guy, watching "Hosanna" and "Simon Zealotes" with concern, and possibly even the first person JUDAS seeks out during "Damned for All Time," knowing his concerns will be heard.

(You might say, if you're well-versed in Hollywood epics, that this character has similar vibes to Zerah in Jesus of Nazareth. Why yes, yes he does, and thank you for noticing. If you must borrow, borrow from the best.)

Double Trouble

This, honestly, is just an idea I think is neat that other productions have adopted and that I toyed with myself in a possible star vehicle take that never got off the ground (for which see here).

I would like JESUS and JUDAS to have the vocal stamina to withstand alternating roles during the performance schedule (i.e. some nights Person A is JESUS and Person B is JUDAS, some nights vice versa), allowing them to play both sides of that remarkable relationship and giving the cast and audience two equally valid ways to see these powerful characters. (From a selfish commercial standpoint, it also really encourages repeat viewings, given the different interpretations each performer -- including understudies -- would bring to the characters, sort of like how the current [at the time of writing] Broadway revival of Sunset Boulevard has led some theatergoers to come back for a re-watch and compare Caroline Bowman's and Mandy Gonzalez' performances to Nicole Scherzinger's.)

If it helps you to conceptualize this notion, there is ample precedent. For example, Brian Yorkey's 2011 production at the Village Theatre did this to great effect, with the help of two incredible artists, Aaron Finley and Michael K. Lee. Also, Scott Miller's New Line Theatre did the same in 2006 (albeit with the slightly more stable idea of alternating weeks rather than performances) with John Sparger and Khnemu Menu-Ra.

[jcs-study]

Reblogging because I came to a similar conclusion after seeing (for the first time in a while) the staging of the 2014 Swedish arena tour in a watch-party today. I don't talk much about my staging ideas on this blog, though I certainly have many, but this coincidence is too wild to pass up.

As Kevin Smith once astutely pointed out in his griping about The Passion of the Christ, "Any movie about Christ is gonna end the same way. Jesus is gonna hit the iceberg." We know how this story ends if we know anything about it at all.

It is perhaps in that spirit that many productions, going back to a pirated one at Gettysburg College in spring 1971, have opted to dispense with the execution and the closing string recital entirely and end with "Superstar." (This choice is most commonly made in concert.) It makes some dramaturgical sense as well as crowd-pleasing sense: end on a high note (the latter), and focus on the central questions of the work, which Judas has just summed up (the former).

What sparked my creativity in the Swedish video was how there is no one onstage (or at least no one visible in the camera angles chosen for the pro-shot) except Jesus dying on the cross. He felt very isolated, very alone. You're left with this uncomfortable focus on a man dying. Very painful to watch and to listen to. Then, perhaps with a little help from creative editing, it played as though there was a blackout, he was hastily removed, lights bumped back up, and we were into the curtain call almost instantly with the empty cross just hangin' around upstage. It was jarring. And naturally, my dark little brain figured out how to make it more jarring.

In the same sense as Moulin Rouge had a fake-out happy ending before its tragic conclusion, and drawing on the rich tradition of "Superstar" as a bang-up closer, what about this?

"Superstar" is played entirely as the closing number. Judas asks the central questions, has his triumphant told-ya-so moment, and we lean into it heavily as the ending: like, during the long fade, people come forward, take their bows, let their hair down, totally shed character, and "ARE... YOU WHAT THEY... SAY... YOU... ARE?" is the big crowd-goes-wild moment.

Just as the crowd is going nuts, the cast basking in the applause, still in costume, sweaty, catching their breath from the choreography and the adrenaline, boom, total blackout, and the sound of nails being hammered. That tangible reminder: oh shit. Right. Someone died.

And then the crucifixion plays out in all its sheer dissonant horror. Everybody is uncomfortable. We're all sitting with that distress and those atonal vocal clusters and the band going nuts as a man dies. We're watching a broken, bleeding human being, a lopsided crown of thorns atop their head, strung up on two planks, silhouetted on a hilltop, dying. No pretty filigree; this ain't no illuminated manuscript or stained-glass window.

And... he dies. There's not a sound in the room. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone is awkwardly grappling with what just happened. It's like Pippin, Catherine, and Theo facing the world with no colored lights, no magic, no makeup or costumes at the end of Pippin.

Finally, hesitantly, even haltingly, first one person and then another go to take him down, and "John 19:41" starts, at first very spare and then building up to the full lush string-laden Straussian goodness by the end, over which everyone falls into sort of a ragtag procession, shell-shocked. No sense of a funeral cortege, just... leaving, some trying to put on a brave all-part-of-the-show face, others visibly disturbed. No curtain call, the bows have already occurred. Sit with the reality. (Which, to be fair, doesn't rule out hope. I think we're left with the empty cross, and lighting that suggests the barest hint of sunrise on the first day of the week. There is light at the end of the tunnel. But the darkest hour of the darkest night must come before the dawn.)

I welcome thoughts!

if it were up to me i'd have the curtain call take place while jesus was still up there on the cross. he doesn't bow he's just up there dead. the last one to come out is judas in the outfit he wore during superstar, he beams at the crowd, bows, and leads the company in gesturing up to jesus' corpse and they all clap and the crowd goes wild

[jcs-study]

Ah, the Venn diagram of my interest in Beatles and JCS briefly becomes a perfect circle!

Time to interject with the facts:

John and Yoko were regular fixtures in the media at this point, the world's first influencers. Every time you turned around, they were sending world leaders a couple of acorns each to promote peace, returning an honor bestowed by the Queen, inventing the Bed-In and Bagism, and generally catching the attention of the masses with outlandish premises to present sociopolitical messages to the world.

The British press reacted as one might expect, generally treating them as objects of ridicule. (To which Lennon responded, "Yoko and I are quite willing to be the world's clowns; if by doing it we do some good.") This naturally led to some stories being invented about them, usually for a slow news day, including this corker.

What actually happened, per Andrew Lloyd Webber in a 2018 interview: "I think a journalist rang up John and said, 'Would you be interested in playing the role of Jesus Christ in this musical?' It wasn't a musical yet, it was just an idea at the time. He probably said no. Then somebody rang us and said, 'If John Lennon were to say yes, would you say yes?' We said, 'We haven't written it yet!' Then it turned into John Lennon is playing Jesus Christ!"

Lest this be misconstrued as hurt pride rewriting history, we even have John rejecting it on camera.

So, we weren't actually that close. Makes for a fun story, though!

I can't believe we were so close to a John and Yoko Jesus Christ Superstar

From the Daily Express, 4 December 1969

[jcs-study]

Seeking help from the fan community!

Hi, gang!

I'm working on correcting the French libretto of JCS for wide release, and would appreciate help identifying a line (from the 1973 film's French dub) missing from the copy I have.

Specifically, it's the line the crowd is singing at 0:58-1:00, the equivalent of "Tell us that you're who they say you are."

I already checked the subtitles on my numerous home video copies (DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) which also have the French track and subtitles to match, and none of them record that line.

If you can identify it by listening, please reach out!