Jesus Christ Superstar

Crewe Amateur Musical Society opened their 2019 season this week with a fantastic production of Jesus Christ Superstar.  I have seen this show numerous times in numerous different ways and I can hand on heart say that this is one of the best amateur productions that I have seen of this musical.  This version, directed by Sean Johnson-Hargreaves, was set non-traditionally.  The actors wore modern dress.  Alongside this, there was virtually no set.  We opened to a box onstage which was covered in graffiti.  The cast emerged from various parts of the stage and circled the box.  This resembled (controversially) a pilgrimage to Mecca.  The box was opened to reveal Jesus and thus the start of the show began.  Over the next ninety minutes, the audience were treated to outstanding vocals and brilliant visuals.  In my opinion, Sean Johnson-Hargreaves and his team have revolutionised this society as forward thinking and boundary pushing – things that tick all my boxes.  Sean’s brilliant concept and vision came to fruition and certainly paid off.  Highlights for me were the outstanding lighting design, Judas’ death, the 39 lashes and the Crucifixion.  I was moved, had goosebumps and horrified (in a good way), throughout.  I loved the use of the lighting cross, the staging of the ensemble numbers were excellent and the crucifixion was brilliantly staged.  If I am to be very picky – I would’ve preferred if the box at the beginning had a ‘lid’ on it so that when it was opened into its net, it would’ve resembled a cross – but this is just an after thought and in no way should be taken from the brilliant staging of this production.  There were obvious excellent harmonies sung by the ensemble but because they were not mic’d, it was hard to hear them at times.  I also would’ve loved a scene at the beginning of the show, perhaps with Jesus handing out his white scarves to his apostles so that the audience were aware of the characters’, but this is entirely my opinion.  I think that the scene with the 39 lashes will stay with me for a long time.  Briliantly acted by all of the chorus members, I loved the tension, the screaming, the laughter and the vision of the whole scene.  Well done to the whole cast (and Sean) for this.

Treona Holden was at the helm as musical director.  The first half of the show took a little to get used to.  Some of the ensemble did not come in on their opening word(s) of the chorus numbers but this could’ve been a sound issue?  This seemed okay in the second half of the show.  There were also a couple of ‘bum notes’ by the keyboard player throughout which distracted from the on-stage tension.  Overall, I was impressed by the varying rhythms and intricate harmonies from the cast.  I would’ve preferred if the ensemble could be heard more via onstage mics etc.  The electric guitar sounded great and a great accompaniment to the score.

Heather Taylor was the dance captain for this production.  Whilst there isn’t much dance in this show, there are various scenes in which the dancers can show off their skills.  I felt that, although all dances were well choreographed in style and appropriateness, the choreography could’ve been as visionary as the concept.  For example, more contemporary dance and dance motifs could’ve been added to give it a modern feel, using repetition to give it an edge.  Or that street dance/hip hop style could’ve been added.   Saying that, some of the dancers were excellent during this production.  It was obvious that they were loving life onstage, I’m (again) being very picky.

The lighting design was nothing short of outstanding.  I loved the use of the colours used in each scene.  The gobo’s used added another layer.  I also loved the movers that were used extremely well to create shadows and beams of light that looked like they were shining down from Heaven. 

The sound was brilliant also.  As a rock musical, the sound quality can be hard to judge but I felt that the blend between the cast, band and audience was brilliant.  If I was to be very picky, I would’ve preferred of Jesus’ mic was turned up slightly in the first half.  I would’ve preferred to hear the ensemble more in all ensemble scenes as they were singing brilliantly but were under heard because of the band.  Overall, I was impressed with the quality of the sound.

The Set design enabled the concept to be brought to life.  I loved the use of the minimalist set.  Having the back wall as the backdrop gave it a brilliant industrial, warehouse feel that added to the vision.  Good use of moveable boxes and A-frames to create scenes and props.

Jesus was played by Matthew O’Donnell.  Matthew displayed brilliant vocals throughout.  He had a great stage presence and showed the angry and compassionate sides to his character.  I loved Matthew’s version of ‘Gethsemane’ and was wowed at his vocal range.  Matthew gave me goosebumps during his 39 lashes scene.  He acted this, and the Crucifixion scenes brilliantly.  He gave a moving performance and was very well cast.

The star of the show, for me, was Sean Clark-Wilkinson.  Sean’s Judas was a rollercoaster of emotions and vocal ability.  It’s clear that Sean has an excellent vocal range.  His ability to act through song was outstanding.  I preferred the softer moments when we got to hear his voice without the electric guitar and drums.  The end of Judas’ death was a great example of this.  Sean and Matthew worked very well together and had a great rapport.  ‘Heaven on Their Minds’ was a highlight!

Lianne Oakes played the role of Mary.  Lianne played this role well and sang beautifully.  I felt that her version of this character was more traditional and not part of the overall concept.  It felt that she was slightly out of the action, looking in.  Whist everyone else was part of a grungy rock crowd, I felt that Mary was played more of a Zen, yoga style character which wasn’t in line with everyone else.  I don’t want this opinion to take away from Lianne’s performance as she was more than capable of playing this role.

Ian Wilkinson played the role of King Herod.  I loved the styling of this character.  The sycophantic nature of the styling and character portrayal was a great set up for the ‘King Herod song’, which was suitably comical and played well.

Nick Horlsey (Pilate) was brilliantly cast.  He commanded the stage and had a great stage presence.  Nick sang well throughout and was very watchable onstage.

Ciaphas is a hard role to play as you need a strong bass singer to do the score justice and unfortunately, for me, Eddie Bell missed the mark.  I felt that Eddie’s portrayal was too nice for this role, as was Steve Barber (Priest).  Annas (Steve Jackson-Turnbull and Priest (Robert Earl) were more captivating in physicality and stage presence.  All four of these men sang well.  The audience certainly enjoyed all of these performances and that’s all that matters.

Simon Zealotes was played by Benjamin Stubbs.  Whilst Benjamin sang well in his song, I felt that he disappeared during the larger chorus numbers.  I would’ve preferred if Simon stood out a little more to convey this role.  Peter was played by Christopher Barker.  Similarly, he didn’t stand out in the large ensemble scenes enough for me.  He also looked very nervous during his two vocal songs ‘Peter’s denial’ and ‘Could We Start Again Please’.

Overall, the visuals and vocals of this show were excellent.  The clever lighting design, sound and staging gave it a fresh and welcome feel.  I loved the small, intricate moments when the audience were drawn in, as -well as the bigger crowd scenes with the audience were smacked hard in the face with emotion, tension and brilliant acting and vocals.  The stand out scene for me was the 39 lashes.  Whilst it was horrendous to watch, it gave me goosebumps.  I looked at every single chorus member, young and old(er) and everyone was fully engaged in the action.  A huge well done to everyone involved in this production.  If this is the direction that the CAMS train is going, then I am fully on board to their next destination.  I thank Crewe Amateur Musical Society for their hospitality and wish them all the very best for the upcoming regional award in May 2019.

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