"My mind is clearer now..."
WOW.
I. LOVE. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR.
I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it!!!!
Two guesses as to what I did tonight, and the first one doesn't count.
Two guesses as to what my absolutely favorite musical in the whole wide world is...and again, the first one doesn't count.
My first exposure to JCS wasn't a happy one-it was in high school-I was working on a big homework assignment, and my family was watching the 1973 movie in the living room. I was tired of working on my homework and upset that my family was watching an Andrew Llyod Webber musical without me, and when I walked in the livingroom, the first thing I saw was Judas being chased by a couple of tanker trucks-so my first impression was, 'what the heck are tanker trucks doing in B.C.?!?!?!' I was told that I needed to watch it from the beginning. So, the following weekend, when I was in a better frame of mind, I got to watch JCS from the beginning, and fell in love with it.
I found out that the stage production was coming to Dayton a few weeks after I would graduate from high school, so I started dropping hints-first subtle, then not so subtle-that I would really, really really love to get tickets as a graduation present. Unfortunately, it didn't work. So, of course when I found out it was coming to Cleveland, I was determined to go see it. Kim, Arthur and I went to see it together (btw, all the musicals I've seen in my adult life, I have seen with one of these two-kinda cool I finally get to see one with both of them!! My Broadway buddies. ;) )
I should know better than to read Plain Dealer reviews-I almost never agree with any of them. One critic said that although the cast was outstanding, the production (well, the staging and scenery) seemed a bit over the top and took away from the show as a whole. I was also a little hesitant when I found out the original director was the same one who worked on the (I think it was 2001) production that PBS aired-I didn't care for that version very much, and it'll take awhile to explain...
Maybe it was the fact that this was an entirely different cast than the PBS one, maybe it was the fact that I saw it live, or maybe a combination of both-all I know is that I was wrong to be hesitant, and I am so glad I went to see it!!! I don't think I can even begin to describe my feelings adequately enough. WOW. Eric Kunze made a great Jesus, and Lawson Skala made a totally creepy Caiaphas. I totally got into "Simon Zealotes" (my favorite number). I started to cry during "Gethsemane" (good thing I don't wear mascara-I would've looked like a fricken' raccoon), and laughed hysterically during "King Herod's Song" OMG-it was such a riot!!! This little old guy came out in a tux and an oversized crown and started singing, with dancing girls and guys, and a big lighted sign that read "HEROD" with flashing lights-totally vaudeville-ish. At then end, after they took Jesus down from the cross, the lights went out, and the ensemble came out in black cloaks carrying lit candles and softly singing the chorus from "Superstar". That was awesome. At the end, after the entire cast came out and we whooped and hollered and gave them standing ovations, they did a little encore of the chorus from "Simon Zealotes", and the audience was totally getting into it-clapping and swaying in time with the music. Awesome, I say-totally awesome.
I have seen the movie, heard at least 5 different cast versions (yay, libraries that carry cds!!!), and now I have finally seen it live. Woo-Hoo!!!
...and that's all I have to say about that. :)
I. LOVE. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR.
I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it!!!!
Two guesses as to what I did tonight, and the first one doesn't count.
Two guesses as to what my absolutely favorite musical in the whole wide world is...and again, the first one doesn't count.
My first exposure to JCS wasn't a happy one-it was in high school-I was working on a big homework assignment, and my family was watching the 1973 movie in the living room. I was tired of working on my homework and upset that my family was watching an Andrew Llyod Webber musical without me, and when I walked in the livingroom, the first thing I saw was Judas being chased by a couple of tanker trucks-so my first impression was, 'what the heck are tanker trucks doing in B.C.?!?!?!' I was told that I needed to watch it from the beginning. So, the following weekend, when I was in a better frame of mind, I got to watch JCS from the beginning, and fell in love with it.
I found out that the stage production was coming to Dayton a few weeks after I would graduate from high school, so I started dropping hints-first subtle, then not so subtle-that I would really, really really love to get tickets as a graduation present. Unfortunately, it didn't work. So, of course when I found out it was coming to Cleveland, I was determined to go see it. Kim, Arthur and I went to see it together (btw, all the musicals I've seen in my adult life, I have seen with one of these two-kinda cool I finally get to see one with both of them!! My Broadway buddies. ;) )
I should know better than to read Plain Dealer reviews-I almost never agree with any of them. One critic said that although the cast was outstanding, the production (well, the staging and scenery) seemed a bit over the top and took away from the show as a whole. I was also a little hesitant when I found out the original director was the same one who worked on the (I think it was 2001) production that PBS aired-I didn't care for that version very much, and it'll take awhile to explain...
Maybe it was the fact that this was an entirely different cast than the PBS one, maybe it was the fact that I saw it live, or maybe a combination of both-all I know is that I was wrong to be hesitant, and I am so glad I went to see it!!! I don't think I can even begin to describe my feelings adequately enough. WOW. Eric Kunze made a great Jesus, and Lawson Skala made a totally creepy Caiaphas. I totally got into "Simon Zealotes" (my favorite number). I started to cry during "Gethsemane" (good thing I don't wear mascara-I would've looked like a fricken' raccoon), and laughed hysterically during "King Herod's Song" OMG-it was such a riot!!! This little old guy came out in a tux and an oversized crown and started singing, with dancing girls and guys, and a big lighted sign that read "HEROD" with flashing lights-totally vaudeville-ish. At then end, after they took Jesus down from the cross, the lights went out, and the ensemble came out in black cloaks carrying lit candles and softly singing the chorus from "Superstar". That was awesome. At the end, after the entire cast came out and we whooped and hollered and gave them standing ovations, they did a little encore of the chorus from "Simon Zealotes", and the audience was totally getting into it-clapping and swaying in time with the music. Awesome, I say-totally awesome.
I have seen the movie, heard at least 5 different cast versions (yay, libraries that carry cds!!!), and now I have finally seen it live. Woo-Hoo!!!
...and that's all I have to say about that. :)
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