Jesus Christ Superstar

Drawn from their rock-opera concept album, Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice’s (lyrics) biblically inspired collaboration debuted on Broadway in 1971. It made hits out of the rousing title anthem and woeful ballad “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.”

For several traits this has to be the most demanding production I’ve seen MMTG take on. This choice is certainly a menace and not only for its demanding score but also for the quantity of men required in the principal line up – a reason why this production is so rarely presented by amateur companies.

With its pop/rock inspired score, many of the principal men in ‘J.C.’ are required to belt out considerable notes at the summits of their vocal registers, in fact the show is famous for it. On a number of occasions a softer falsetto compensated a grounded robust belt which did dilute the intended weight of the note(s) but in all honesty, with a show of this nature such choices can be forgiven.  

This show needs a thorough sound check before every performance, I’d always advise that sound checks are standard procedure before any show (any show which involves microphones and a band of course) but for a show of this nature it’s imperative. The balancing of the vocals and the musicians were not synced half as well as they should have been with more reverb needed for the men being my biggest criticism. When the guys forced those huge notes with the levels set the way they were you couldn’t help but squint.

Alex Bingle delivered impressive vocals as Judas, the score really exposed his capabilities and he demonstrated his technique as a singer.

Jesus, played by Stephen Clayton certainly looked the part and delivered a worthy rendition of ‘Gethsemane’; a number deemed to be one of the most difficult male solos in musical theatre, though surprisingly Stephen seemed more comfortable and confident delivering this number than his others.

Phil Mason’s Pilate was indeed excellent, the most well rounded character presentation of the entire production for me.

Another highlight was the Apostles who sounded angelic during the opening of Act 2 (“Look at all my trials and tribulations….”) which was a welcome contrast.

The token female of the cast; Katie Barker as Mary Magdalene was perhaps a little young opposite the guys but delivered a gracefully simple interpretation, her presence was very relaxed and tranquil which was appropriate and the one time pop hit “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” was well received.

Direction and choreography was taken on by Carolyn Farrish Mayer. Given that this show is a rock opera with no dialogue and nonstop music I’d have expected a dancer/director to pack the show with movement, presenting something more reminiscent of ‘West Side Story’, but it was very refreshing to see she’d only included movement where it was absolutely necessary. Such a decision tells me that Carolyn understands this piece well and didn’t overpower the presentation with needless flourishes.

The set design was a collection of exposed steal decking and scaffolding which worked nicely for the ‘look’ of this production though the lighting team clearly had difficulty illuminating the higher platform which left performers in darkness a lot of the time. Other lighting effects were very fitting with the vision of the production and added a desirable ambiance.

It was a good choice to position the band on stage, it’s much nicer than having them cramped / tucked away in the corner. I can’t deny that I would have liked to have heard a few more players to help do justice to this striking piece. Although the five of them did do a commendable job, parts of the score did seem a little thin.

It’s hard to believe that this production is vastly creeping up to its 50th anniversary and it’s still considered it to be one of the more modern musicals proving it is a timeless classic which I’m confident will be equally as popular in another 50 years!

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