jeronimo-verne

[jeronimo-verne]

At the performance of Jesus Christ Superstar today, our Jesus' handheld mic (his only source of amplification) completely died.... immediately after Judas' kiss

What a diabolical, thematic technical error

[jeronimo-verne]

For easter, some of my favorite JCS Judases since i've never made this kind of lineup and over the years i've seen a few artists make this for their faves

List of prods:

1973 JCS film

2000 JCS film

2005 Amstetten tour

1973 Godspell film

2012 broadway revival tour

2012 UK arena tour

2014 swedish arena tour

2018 NBC

2018 catalan production

50th anniversary US tour

[jeronimo-verne]

I’m going to *remembers suicide jokes are bad for mental health* god thy will be done. Take your only son.

[jeronimo-verne]

They say there’s no scene that humanizes Jesus more than his prayer at Gethsemane. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all reiterate the same desperate plea: “Take this cup away from me.” Luke goes even further in describing Jesus’ agony, so tangible it manifested as sweat that fell to the ground like drops of blood. It’s almost theatrical, in a way— the composed Christ inconsolable, the faithful Martyr faltering. 

But I know that anguish is not ephemeral. For it festers within you, bursts out from you when you can control it no more, and ends with you. They only see the eruption. We hear about Jesus as a precocious child, questioning his earthly parents, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” Does knowing his Father mean knowing his demise? Did that comprehension come later? Was he as oblivious as Issac then, asking his father on their journey, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” At what point did he realize that he was the lamb that God had provided? When he learned that fate meant him to die did he realize it entailed such cruelty?

It’s perfectly reasonable if he didn’t. The sacrificial lamb is always adored. Without blemish, without broken bones, without fault. They dote upon you like a prince until they pin you to the chopping block. Your father nurturing you with a knife in one hand, saying, I love you so much that I’ll let you bleed out for God. 

And you’ve internalized it. You’ll cry when you see the altar, but you’ve long ago conceded that you can’t escape doom. So you bargain to make it a little more endurable, to meet the end with a bit more poise and dignity. It’s the final resolute “May your will be done.” It’s Issac struggling in his binds until his strength is spent, taking one last glance up at Abraham to whisper, Make it hurt less.

"Elegy for the Messiah by the Sacrificial Child-Lamb on the Altar", E. G. Harcourt

[jeronimo-verne]

wip

[jeronimo-verne]

Since i last drew this glennsus/swedas cross prod ship in 2021 ive found out that another cross prod jedas pairing had become popular, namely bensus/bluedas, so per the request of the jcs server:

[jeronimo-verne]

The moment the image of catgirl Jesus pops into my head I see that one post about puppygirl Jesus about to be euthanized by Judas. What sort of sign is this

[jeronimo-verne]

[jeronimo-verne]

i wish i could experience jesus christ superstar for the first time again because the feeling when i realized judas was singing a reprise of I Don’t Know How To Love Him??? unmatched, it killed me dead

[jeronimo-verne]

Christian Lemmerz

http://instagram.com/patrickfty

[jeronimo-verne]

[jeronimo-verne]

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.

[jeronimo-verne]

I’ve gone insane so I’m hallucinating a Superstar + Crucifixion staging that’s basically just Lady Gaga’s 2009 VMAs performance of Paparazzi combined with the 2012 Broadway Revival’s own concepts. We take the extended bass intro from the 1973 film. Then during both that and the solely-choir sections we have Jesus speaking Bible verses only to get drowned out. Every time he’s not speaking he’s being forced to dance to the crowd’s whims. When the second choir section hits Jesus begins desperately reciting the “Love your enemies” verse before collapsing and bleeding horrifically, leading to the ensemble crucifying him. The audience then applauds his crucifixion during the Curtain Call.

[jeronimo-verne]

[jeronimo-verne]

hey. don't cry. jesus christ superstar 1985 spanish revival full footage here

[jeronimo-verne]

jesus christ superstar (1973) pilate moodboard

[jeronimo-verne]

God has made me unable to direct a production of Jesus Christ Superstar for a good reason (I would’ve made Jesus do a ballet number during the Crucifixion)