Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar has not long been released for performance by amateur societies, but having watched Brownhills Musical Theatre Company’s production, you would think it was anything but amateur. The show follows the last seven days of the life of Jesus as seen through the eyes of Judas, culminating in the crucifixion.

The set for this production was so effective, the use of tiered steps was a great innovation and worked on so many levels, I’m still trying to work out how things were moved around unobtrusively to create the next scene, I’m guessing thanks, in no small part, to a well-drilled backstage team. Mention must also be made of the wonderful lighting plot by Sam Hilditch which enhanced the staging of this production.

Many will know that Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock operetta and relies entirely on the musical score to carry the plot along, the work of Andrew Lloyd-Webber does not disappoint but neither did the orchestra under the skilled direction of Alex Priestley. The balance and dynamics were spot on and provided excellent support for the cast.

On to the cast. This was one of the strongest vocal performances I have witnessed for a long time by the entire cast, there was such a contrast in styles from each character but all equally mesmerising. Judas, played by Adam Merrall, had all the qualities of your rock lead singer, demonstrating power without losing tone. James Price took the role of Jesus and had a much softer side to his voice when needed, here again, no quality was lost when needing to become more aggressive. Sarah Washington as Mary Magdalene had the task of providing the female lead, singing the more lyrical ballad of I don’t know how to love him was a really moving moment. Dave Barr and Brett Dewsbury gave equally strong vocal performances as Simon and Peter respectively.

Nick Goodwin as Caiaphas had a wonderful tone to his deep bass voice which was a complete contrast to the heights achieved by the soaring tenor lines of Dan Hardy (Annas), together there were some super harmonies. Chris Parry as Pilate and Nick Hardy as Herod completed the line up, both keeping up the strong vocal lines that we were witnessing. The one thing that stood out to me from all cast members was the vocal range, I would have loved to hear the warm-up exercises backstage before the performances, because they certainly worked! Putting the music to one side, this was also a very moving and emotional performance from all characters.

The principals were well supported by an extremely competent ensemble, very clear in what was expected of them and executing each move precisely. The choreography by Sian Cameron was very inventive and eye-catching, no-one seemed to put a foot wrong in bringing musical numbers to life.

A huge mention must be made of the directors, Kelly and Richard Tye. Their vision was tremendous, having such inspirational ideas and then putting them into practice as they did for this show takes some doing. Congratulations to you both.

This was a spectacular performance by the entire company and one which will be remembered for a long time, I’m sure.

 

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