#jcs 1971

[agayattheaces]

Universal Jesus Stance

Ted Neeley (1973 Film) / Ben Forster (2012 Arena Tour) / Paul Nolan (2012 Broadway Revival) / Glenn Carter (2000 Film) / John Legend (2018 Live In Concert) / Ola Salo (2014 Swedish Tour) / Jeff Fenholt (1971 Broadway) / Steve Balsamo (1996 London)

[tonicitaa]

me listening to the same songs on repeat (but in different versions!):

[raskti]

Jesus Christ Superstar original Broadway production (1971)

Found here

[jesuschristsouperstar]

so one of my favoritest things about musical theatre is how sometimes someone will play a role MANY times and each time that character is portrayed differently because of different directors AS WELL AS that actor growing to understand the character more

that being said, barry dennen played pilate like THREE TIMES! as any of you would guess from my pfp, i LOVE that guy! so! for funsies! im going to analyze (ramble about) his second pilate portrayal, which was in the 1971 broadway musical! im mostly going to break down his character in trial before pilate because pilate’s dream doesn’t offer anything much different from the 1973 movie version… trial before pilate however…

in case youre wondering how differently he plays the same character… this photo should be a good summary for what this analysis will contain… (hint: he is so angry)

here is the song so u may listen along while i break it down:

okay! so! first off, yeah he is literally so much angrier. and i mean as soon as the questions begin he is already shouting!

he is throwing everything out fast! he is pissed! babygirl drink some water! and also, he has a lot of silly sounding voice cracky moments? not voice crack but like sudden and unnecessary shifts in pitch that make me take him less seriously (ex. when he goes like “respect for caesAAA” bro it just sounds goofy what are u trying to do)

then he goes from this HIGH HIGH point of emotions to very low low soft emotions for “talk to me jesus christ” and its like. idk im just thinking bro where is this coming from?!! ur all angry and then u turn around like “jesus literally say smth jesus pls :3” like idk i think its a bad transition.

AND THEN WE GET! im going to put this clip here for those not listening along

this segment. i can literally hear him frothing at the mouth WHO GAVE MY BOY RABIES?!!! WHY IS HE SO FERAL?!!!!

i just. its almost like hes looking for a crime because he actively wants to kill jesus and just needs a reason to pull the trigger. which is like. so not true about his character??? he also sounds like hes insulting jesus here, mocking him. like bros, literally everyone else is already mocking and insulting jesus in this moment. alternatively, if this moment is played more like pilate showing pity on him it provides good contrast! it makes everything more complex and Layered!

i dont have much to say about the flogging except i think girlypop is doing a bit Much(tm) but its acceptable (anythings better than the concept albums robotic counting…. eugh)

OKAY! so when he starts singing the “where are you from jesus” segment, i think this starts out so well! perfect sense of how pilate is just desperate for jesus to speak, to say anything to defend himself. bro also lowkey sounds like hes about to start weeping?? get this man some tissues!

AND THEN he ruins it in the way he emphasizes “dead soon.” YOU WERE DOING SO GOOD! what now?! are you threatening him for answers? and then he goes back to that previous tone like that was nothing! HUH? AND THEN! by the end of “i dont believe you understand” hes just kinda suddenly shifted back into that anger we are so familiar with. dude get a nap or something. chill out my guy good lordt

and the way hes like “youre a foOOL jesus christ” is just such a weird delivery (like that caesar thing from earlier, odd changes in pitch) and it just! i cant take him as seriously! i do like his “how can i help you?” right after, though, it just sounds deliciously horrified and like desperate and sick. acceptable!

and then the climax of the song! the part where he SHOULD show some kind of anger and SHOULD outright yell! “DOOOONT LET ME STOP YOUR GREAT SELF DESTRUCTION!” it just doesnt stand out as much when you have set the precedent of “oh well hes just kinda. feral and angry like that for the entire time” NO! GIVE ME CONTRAST OR GIVE ME DEATH! and even in this final part, hes still just too angry! theres not much else to it! hes yelling the words but hes not comprehending them!

i think when it comes to pilate as a character, it is very easy to lean into “angry, intimidating, angry, intimidating” and that’s just kinda… no! yes, he needs to have presence and be at least a little intimidating but not because hes yelling at you all the time! hes also terrified, full of guilt, and he has sympathy for jesus! he doesnt want to kill him, but he eventually realizes that he has no choice in the matter and THAT is what leads to him snapping and finally yelling at the end! because everything is fixed and YOU CANT CHANGE IT! AND HE CANT!

and yeah! thats my thoughts and breakdown about this specific performance! lmao! i think a lot of things about pilate, also they shouldve hired me to direct the 1971 bway production… i woulda given good notes… and also barry dennen was still developing his interpretation of the character and it IS better than the concept album (and concept album pilate has like… 0 presence… he sounds like a little nerd dork… i COULD break down that performance but its not asssssss juicy.)

BONUS if you got to down here, this is another picture of jesus choking out pilate, which means this was literally in the shows blocking AHAJSJDJF

[fruchtchen]

just realized what this reminds me of

[forever70s]

1971 JC Penney catalog

[chthonictea]

I want to post some photos from Broadway production in 1971 because I love them so much and it is such a shame that there is apparently no footage left.

They are just so surrealistically-mesmerizing that I cannot help but think about old fantasy movies and I think it is incredibly beautiful.

(I also added some portrait photos of Jeff Fenholt, Ben Vereen and Yvonne Elliman in reblog)

[pretty-little-fools]

[wwillywonka]

new chapter is up!

[pinkfloyd-musicartnaturelove]

Roger Waters | Palais des Sports, Lyon, France | June 12, 1971. Photo by JC Grelier.

Set list: Careful With That Axe Eugene, Set The Controls For The Sun, Cymbaline, A Saucerful of Secrets, Atom Heart Mother (with 20 piece choir, 3 trombones, 3 trumpets, one tuba, conducted by John Aldiss).

[goldshirtleia]

Hello yes it is that time of year again, I am listening to the 1970 OG recording of JCS on vinyl and have decided to finally make a list my rankings for every role and aspect of this show. For the record I am a pagan whose only real knowledge of the Jesus story is from this show so forgive my unhinged takes.

Characters:

Jesus:

Ian Gillan (OG album/broadway)

Ted Neeley (1973)

Ola Sålo (Swedish 2014)

Jack Hopewell (North American Tour 2022)

Morgan James (all female cast 2022)

Judas:

Carl Anderson (1973)

Brandon Victor Dixon (2018)

Murray Head (OG album)

Shoshana Bean (all female cast 2022)

Peter Johannson (Swedish 2014)

Honourable mention to Colm Wilkinson (it is a CRIME that there isn't a full recording of the Irish cast)

Mary Magdalene:

Yvonne Elliman (OG album/broadway/1973)

That's it, no one else even comes close

(Maybe an honourable mention for Gunilla Backman)

Pontius Pilate:

Barry Dennen (OG album/1973)

Filippo Strocchi (Vienna 2018)

Orfeh (all female cast 2022)

Caiaphas:

Bob Bingham (OG broadway/1973)

Norm Lewis (NBC 2018) I will ALWAYS stan Norm

Victor Brox (OG album)

Simon Zealotes:

TIE - Larry Marshall (1971)

TIE - Eric Grönwall (NBC 2018)

John Gustafson (OG album)

Tony Vincent (2000)

Herod:

Alice Cooper (NBC 2018)

Mike D'Abo (OG album)

Chris Moyles (Arena Tour 2012)

Overall - staging/set design/costumes:

1973 Movie

NBC 2018

North American Tour 2022

Arena Tour 2012

Honourable mention to the OG broadway production -- I haven't seen enough footage to accurately rank it but I LOVE Jesus's cape in Superstar.

Best overall rendition of Superstar (incl. staging, costumes, etc)

1973 Movie

NBC 2018

Arena Tour 2012

Swedish 2014

Best facial expressions:

Carl Anderson during Simon Zealotes

Carl Anderson right before he engages in respectability politics to slut shame Mary

Tim Minchin when the priests take his joint lmao

Best Superstar costume:

Carl Anderson's white maxi fringe jumpsuit (come ON)

Peter Johannson's shirtless #lewk (I have a whole thing about how Judas should not look like a demon but the sparkly red pants and the Legolas hair are too fantastic)

Brandon Victor Dixon in the full silver fit

Best WTF moments:

That bit in the 1973 film where they all form The Last Supper for a quick second and no one comments on it

When the 1973 crowd says "won't you die for me?" in Hosanna and it just FREEZES on Jesus's face

The Swedish cast pushing Jesus into Jerusalem in a shopping cart

The fighter pilots swooping at Judas after Blood Money in 1973. What WAS that. How did they get that.

That is all lol. Every time we watch even a clip of a new production my mother and I spend 2-3 hours discussing how it fits into our rankings, so this could change.

[agayattheaces]

(i have only included as many as possible official releases from ALW, but if your go-to is unofficial or a bootleg, thats still cool! tell me about it!!)

[platadesangre]

we NEED to talk about jesus christ superstar 1975 original madrid cast!

read more for info, links, and archives!

i may be a bit biased, since this was my first jcs.

short story on how i discovered it

my dad used to be an apostle for a bootleg staged playback jcs in peru during the 70s! they used this version.

he had the cd. he also had the mp3 files. i used his computer, so that was how 13 year old me found it.

those were tough times, bc later i started doing catechesis and i kind of got depressed and started questioning my faith lol. judas' character really resonated with me

since this is a recording, i didn't have any footage to reference, so i made up everything in my mind. (this is why it was a bit weird for me to see the english productions, bc they looked nothing like in my head lol)

now, a bit of historical context for spain in the 70's

camilo sesto was a popular spanish singer and actor who went to see the jcs 1971 broadway production in london. he loved it so much that he did everything he could do financially to bring the show to spain.

spain was in a fascist dictatorship at the time

they fought with censorship for years, that's why the lyrics are a bit different (i'll make a post about that too)

they had to remodel the alcalá-palace theater stage entirely

franco (our dictator) died two days after the premiere (about time lol)

the "ultras" (conservatists) didn't like the show so they did lots of crazy stuff (for example, praying for the cast outside the theater or sending BOMB THREATHS?)

anyways, this was the first official translation for jcs!

on the main cast we have

camilo sesto as jesus christ (he wanted the role from the beggining)

teddy bautista as judas iscariot

ángela carrasco as mary magdalene

here's an old pic of them (and some apostles)

(now that i look at it closely, it kind of looks like a bootleg jcs 1973 lol)

on the recording

it's a stereo recording, so use both headphones or you'll miss out on half of it

musically speaking, it's similar to the og concept album (songs ending on fade-outs and shorter trial before pilate) but it has some interesting choices (teddy, the producer and the voice of judas, took a lot of... artistic liberties)

some things this version has

it adds lots of synth. it's very psychodelic. i understand this can be a turn off for some people

they kinda change the key to many songs. maybe to fit vocal ranges idk

teddy just loves to make up new melodies (please give this man some water)

EPIC GUITAR SOLO in what's the buzz

what's the buzz and strange thing mystifying are separated tracks for some reason

camilo sings so good

cute synth in everything's alright ángela has such an angelic voice she makes such a good mary

the drums and guitars during this jesus must die are so danceable

the BEST simon zealotes i've heard. shit goes HARD. he goes CRAY

i really love this pilate, in my rating he would be the best one

camilo's "¡SALVAOS VOSOTROS!" during the temple is really pathetic lol

damned for all time interlude replaced by synths. the SAX SOLO is also replaced by synth (questionable choice)

cool thing happens during the end of this song that i'll talk about in another post

judas' occasional nervous laughter really adds to his character

also he cries a lot

"you sad pathetic man" part during last supper is... fairly different! (i'm looking at you teddy...)

camilo's gethsemane is epic. he's a baladist singer but MAN he can ROCK

cool harmonica during the arrest

i'll never shut up about our pilate (he nervous laughs too)

herod is so fruity

judas' death really hits different when you were depressed and questioning faith (this version is BRUTAL) also lyrics change (i'll talk about it i swear)

teddy's one of the few judas who sing the i don't know how to love him reprise in the higher scale!! it sounds so painful and anguished

the album continues acceptably

other cool things it has

jesus and judas have this interesting accent difference. since camilo is from valencia, he has this pristine and traditional spanish accent. and teddy is from canarias (also lived in the usa) so his accent is rougher and more, crusty? idk how to explain it but it's neat and stablishes their dynamic a bit. (ángela is from dominican republic! but her accent is barely noticeable)

on the footage aspect, we only have old vhs videos and live audios uploaded on youtube. also some old photos

there is a book about this version. it has some anecdotes (only available in spanish)

now we have a 4 episode mini-series about the odyssey that it was to produce this. it's called "camilo superstar" (i won't be watching it bc it's a bit fan-ficy from what i've seen)

the posts i'll make about this production will be tagged as #jcs 1975 madrid

you can listen to it on spotify!

or on youtube (playlist made by me)

here's another playlist with EVERYTHING i could find about it on youtube

all that I could find about this version is here!

thanks for reading and if you liked it PLEASE listen to it we are like 3 people in the fandom i'm insane about this version i need to scream about it to more people :3

[lordroyalhighness]

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR • 2025 HOLY WEEK MIXTAPE (2025 digital album compilation; FLAC or MP3 - 320 kbps, individual tracks; MP3 single track also available)

DOWNLOAD: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lHCqSZAKGfourclN0P41wXLbsXoD7bxG

(read more for description + tracklisting)

Happy Holy Week! So this little idea I’ve had ready and been sitting on since January. I originally had the idea to share the tracks through the week as they occurred during each respective day but I thought it’d be better to go ahead and just let everyone have the full product to enjoy as Easter approaches this year. For this project I wanted to (for the most part) go with cast recordings completely different to what I used for certain songs in my “ultimate mix” from years ago (but again, in my opinion, there’s some particular choices repeated that I just think are the absolute best and definitive.) I also made a rule to myself to not *repeat* any cast recordings used in this mix, which was indeed challenging, but I honestly love the final product so much and I’m so excited the time has come to share it with you all. Enjoy, let me know what you think, and definitely let me know what YOUR own personal “JCS mixtape” might look like. Detailed tracklisting below. Happy Easter! xxtyler

Act One

1. Overture (2002 Bad Hersfeld cast)

2. Heaven On Their Minds (2012 Josh Young live in Harlem)

3. What’s the Buzz (1971 National Rock Company album)

4. Strange Thing Mystifying (1992 Australian cast)

5. Then We Are Decided (2021 il Baskerville performance)

6. Everything’s Alright (2005 Vienna concert cast)

7. This Jesus Must Die (2018 live NBC event cast)

8. Hosanna (2022 all-female studio cast)

9. Simon Zealotes (2011 Vienna concert cast)

10. Poor Jerusalem (2000 Carl Anderson live performance)

11. Pilate’s Dream (1973 live Australian cast)

12. The Temple (2000 film soundtrack)

13. Everything’s Alright (Reprise) (1995 studio cast)

14. I Don’t Know How to Love Him (1971 Broadway cast)

15. Damned for All Time / Blood Money (2012 live Arena Tour cast)

Act Two

16. Entr’acte (excerpt from 2005 Dutch cast)

17. The Last Supper (1994 New Zealand cast)

18. Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say) (1976 Ted Neeley live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl)

19. The Arrest (1996 London cast)

20. Peter’s Denial (1992 London cast)

21. Pilate and Christ (2017 Striving Artists album)

22. King Herod’s Song (1972 London cast

23. Could We Start Again, Please (2012 live Avondale cast)

24. Judas’ Death (1973 film soundtrack w/ intro from 1970 concept album)

25. Trial Before Pilate (1972 Australian cast)

26. Superstar (1998 Marcus Lovett live at the Royal Albert Hall)

27. Crucifixion (1996 BBC Radio concert cast)

28. John 19:41 (2012 Á la c’ARTe live at the Fool Moon a cappella Festival)

29. Superstar (Reprise) (excerpt from 1971 Kingsway Youth Opera Company album)

[jesuschristsouperstar]

a sequel

[lenathesingingcat]

Alright, I promised to post about the JCS production I saw last night, so here are my thoughts on the highlights! Bear in mind that I don’t know the musical super well, as I’ve seen the film and the pro shot of the arena tour once each, so things that surprised me might not be exclusive to this production.

@the-reynolds-pamphlet and @purple-confusion you both post about JCS so you might like to read this!

Oh, and if anyone’s going to watch the current UK tour of Jesus Christ Superstar and hasn’t yet, don’t read this post until you’ve seen it, even if you already know the musical! Some things I’m going to mention shocked me, and I knew the musical.

Spoilers for this production (and the musical in general if you don’t know the story of the crucifixion) under the cut!

So, I’m going to go through this as chronologically as I can, but I have so many thoughts!!

• Firstly, I want to say the alternate Jesus was on last night, and he was brilliant!! His name is Charlie McCullagh, and I’m shouting him out first of all because 1) he was brilliant as I said, and 2) alternates and understudies don’t get enough love!

• Jesus and co. (and ensemble) were all in modern costumes. I’ve seen/heard of it being done in 60s/70s costumes (originally performed in 1971) and in biblical costumes, and even a mix of the two, but the costumes being this modern was new to me.

• Jesus was played as a pop star, which made me think of how people today worship celebrities. He had a guitar which he appeared to be playing during Heaven On Their Minds. I wasn’t sure whether he was miming playing a song for his followers or whether he was actually accompanying Judas (Shem Omari James). He also had a microphone for some songs - I’ll come back to that!

• Looking at the programme, Shem Omari James is very new to theatre - this seems to be his first production! - which really shows as he’s placed next to Ian McIntosh (Jesus who I didn’t see) who’s done a lot. Well, let me tell you, he absolutely proved himself in Heaven On Their Minds and continued to be brilliant throughout the show!!

• During Everything’s Alright, when Judas sings about how the ointment could have been used to help the poor, and then Mary (Hannah Richardson) sings the chorus again (“Try not to get worried, try not to turn onto problems that upset you”…), usually she doesn’t acknowledge him and sings the chorus to Jesus (particularly in the Arena Tour, they’re face to face and she moves in between them to face Jesus, basically shutting Judas out) but in this production she sung the lines I’ve typed TO Judas! This was a lovely touch, especially as we rarely see them being nice to each other… usually too busy vying for Jesus’s attention however far they’d each like that attention to go and generally not seeing eye-to-eye, so I really loved seeing her try to comfort him despite their differences.

• The Pharisees (Jad Habchi as Caiaphas and Matt Bateman as Annas) had microphones that served double purpose as staffs. Also, they weren’t in modern dress but in shiny versions of biblical period costumes.

• Ryan O’Donnell accompanied himself on guitar for Pilate’s Dream.

• As always, I Don’t Know How To Love Him was very moving. It’s probably the part of the show I know best, as my mum’s a singing teacher and taught it to me for my grade 6 singing exam (I’m going to convince her to teach me some of the boys’ songs now!) and I think if you’re still moved by a song you know that well, the performer must really be doing something right. So, well done to Hannah Richardson for doing that for me!

• Now for the part that absolutely stunned me! Look at the poster/programme cover again. That’s Judas. At the end of the first act (the end of Damned For All Time) the Pharisees presented him with a treasure chest. He put his hands in to take the silver, and when he took them out, they were stained silver!! The symbolism of the blood money/blood on his hands just shocked me! There was this moment just before the curtain fell where he just looked at his hands stained with silver, it had me speechless!!

• Onto Act 2. GETHSEMANE WAS STUNNING!!! It was the only time the ensemble fully left the stage, which I think represents how those we idolise often have no privacy. The one time Jesus really wants someone to hear him is the one time he’s truly alone. Charlie McCullagh started by accompanying himself with the guitar and standing at the mic, but as the song went on, he moved away from the mic and discarded the guitar, mic, and part of his costume. Jesus didn’t want to be the superstar any more! He wanted a way out of this, of going through with his death! The staging, combined with the way he sang the song, took my breath away and was just so moving!!!

• He also let his natural accent come through in Gethsemane (he grew up in Northern Ireland).

• The kiss… MY HEART!! It was quite slow, very tender, like it was an apology at the same time as the betrayal. Like “this is the only way I can protect you, I don’t know if I’ve done the right thing, and I really wish it hadn’t come to this, I hope one day you can forgive me.” Judas (at least the musical version of him) didn’t want Jesus dead, he thought handing him over would protect him by stopping him from going too far, he really thought this was the only way!

• I’ve tried asking why, out of all the ways to betray someone by identifying them, you’d choose a kiss. No-one can give me a straight answer… (get it?)

• I was quite far back in the audience, and my eyesight isn’t great over long distances, but I think he went for the lips. (Anyone else who saw the tour, can you either confirm or correct me?)

• He still had the silver on his hands for all of this, by the way.

• Jesus sounded so sad when he said “Judas… must you betray me with a kiss?” and that was heartbreaking! He sings it quite angrily in some other versions, but in this one he just seemed heartbroken. I think I prefer it this way, with him sounding sad rather than angry.

• Maybe it was my imagination, but I feel like with the sadness in the above line in particular (as well as the caring touches throughout), they were leaning into the Jedas angle. He seemed to be saying “I hoped you would kiss me one day, but not like this…” (Or maybe I just spend too much time on Tumblr!)

• For the rest of the show, Jesus just looked so defeated, it was really sad to see.

• During the lashes, they were throwing gold glitter at Jesus while making it look like they were whipping him, making it look like he was bleeding gold. I wonder if that was just for aesthetics or if it was deliberately connected to the silver staining Judas’s hands (Jesus’s blood on his hands, gold and silver both represent money, blood money).

• Talking of the silver! When Judas came on stage to sing Superstar, he still had the silver staining his hands, which made me really sad. In direct contrast to the Arena Tour, in which he was lowered on from the flies (that’s above the stage for non-theatre people) and dancing with ensemble in angel costumes, implying he’d gone to Heaven and therefore implying that Jesus had forgiven him, this production had him come on from the wings (the sides of the stage for non-theatre people) rather than from either above or below. They didn’t choose either way, to imply that Jesus had forgiven him or that he hadn’t, but the silver still being on his hands showed that, even in death, Judas hadn’t forgiven himself.

• The crucifixion always upsets me. I’m very much NOT Christian (no disrespect if you are, I’m just not) but a man existed who taught people to be kind to each other in a way that he knew how to reach them, and he was brutally murdered for it.

• On a happier note, albeit not exactly part of the show, the cast were really nice! There weren’t many people at stage door, so they were able to spend a bit more time with those of us who did come to meet them, and they seem to be lovely people. I had particularly nice conversations with Charlie McCullagh (Alternate Jesus) and Jad Habchi (Caiaphas). He has a great sense of humour, he joked about how he gets to kill Jesus (and when I said something like “Not everyone can say they’ve done that!” he responded “And I get to do it 8 times a week!”) and jokingly bragged about how great he was, though I don’t think we’d have objected if he’d been serious!

A brilliant production that made me love the show even more than I already did!!!