Reviewed 4/14/06
Revised for Correction 4/19/06
Jesus Christ Superstar over Easter weekend; I felt
blasphemous. Desert Stages showed some spunk in their scheduling
when putting this Rice and Webber into this
slot. While it’s over 30 years old, it still creates ire in the Valley.
More than ire, though, is the fact that this is not an easy musical to mount.
Its nebulous score and rock base leaves a lot of possibilities for a director,
many of whom want to put their own spin on the piece. For first time director Gregg
Temple, an added potential hindrance was his choice to not only helm,
but also act as Musical Director. I often bristle at those who take on two
full-time jobs at once: It’s almost inevitable that one or both will
suffer from neglect. Almost. While this is another typical Desert Stages production
filled with hits and misses, inexplicable and interesting choices, this one
proves better than most. A good amount of that credit, as well as a few of
those inexplicable ones, rests on Temple.
This production is more of a concert than a fully realized production as some are wont to be. That’s not to say there isn’t a through theme: The colors black and red are prominent, the walls of Phil Manning, Sr.’s minimalist set offer evening views of a modern Phoenix landscape and his stage is a box with wells for members of the six piece orchestra to remain throughout, and there have been color and gender-blinded choices throughout. But this production is less about interaction than it is about performance, and that is what makes this feel so much like a concert.
One of the drawbacks of Jesus Christ Superstar: The Concert is the
removal of a certain amount of emotional connection. When Myles Vann’s Jesus
wails through his doubt in Gethsemane, or Edgar Andrew Torrens’ Judas
accuses Sonia Rodriguez’s Mary Magdelene of inappropriate
actions with their leader, it seems more directed to the audience rather than
to inward introspection or each other.
There’s plenty of energy from this cast of thousands, even if there’s not a lot of consistency in talent. Torrens is a strong singer, a hesitant actor, and leans more toward posturing. The angst he puts forward is more of the teeth gnashing variety. Vann is better overall, though his Jesus lacks a certain amount of gravity expected for such a symbolic role. Rodriguez is the best of all of them, the one with the fantastic voice who also seems the most interested in actually looking at her other cast mates. But a concert JCS is still an interesting one, especially when your onstage band and ensemble is so enthused.
The inconsistencies follow into the supporting cast. Casting Chrystalle Reed as the deep-voiced Caiaphas at first seems a disaster, but works better than the pitchy Van Johnson as underling Annas, whose voice slides across the scales. The energetic, strong voiced Jerome Lowe as the rabble-rousing Simon Zealots more than makes up for their disappointments. Would that all of the supporting cast could be as exceptional as he, but Ginger Muth’s Herod is embarrassing to watch. The concept is interesting, even with some funky choreography by the quintet of Mark Clemente, Anny Franklin, Vera Horner, Lauren Rohrich, and Torrens, but Muth grasps for silly, which almost never works. There’s strong singing and acting from Terry Helland as Pilate, and his involvement with those around him is stronger than most others.
The Apostles and Company are a wild bunch, with some truly awful voices and performances mixed in with earnestness and sincerity. They do a good job with the choreography.
So what makes this work better than the sum of its parts? Temple’s band, including Zaq Snodgrass on guitar, Justin Heffner on bass guitar, Ian Cole on drums, and the traveling pair of Megan McCoy and her flute and Cara Shearer and her violin are excellent. Temple also makes a few choices in song placement as well as beating and death scenes that are daring and impressive. This show may not be consistent or emotionally captivating, but it often dares and sometimes does, and that makes it a worthwhile concert to catch.-30-
