I’m not sure you get a more classic story than one derived from the Bible, but this is no Sunday School sermon. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic is visiting Sheffield and promises to tell a tale as old as time in a very unique way.
Jesus Christ Superstar recounts the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, It delves deep into the inner mindset of Jesus, Judas and his disciples, following the building tension, the Last Supper and Jesus’ eventual capture and execution. Largely told with a focus on Judas’ actions, we see the cunningness of Judas’ betrayal, as well as the blindness of Jesus to act and the treatment he receives from his followers and the general population.
I’m going to walk through each section of this production one by one, but I will say I feel very confused about this one. There’s so many elements that are done with incredible skill, precision and talent, and yet the overall production was not one I can say I enjoyed. I found myself overwhelmed by one part and underwhelmed by another, which left me unsure about the musical as a whole.
So before we delve into the production elements, the first issue that I had arises from the structure of the show. This isn’t the fault of this production at all, as Jesus Christ Superstar is a classic that has been performed for years, but it was an issue the show had for me as a first-time viewer. The musical is structured as a ‘sung-through rock opera’, which combines three genres I don’t enjoy – sung-through musicals, rock and opera.
For those who aren’t as familiar with different musical structures, a sung-through musical means every part of the plot is told through song, with no spoken scenes in-between each, meaning as one song ends, the next begins. I love musicals with lots of songs, but they need to be broken up. And especially one that delves into opera and which at times is difficult to hear (but we’ll return to this later!), it can leave you unsure what is happening, particularly at interpretive sections, and very quickly causes a fatigued feeling, that I can’t help but imagine would be alleviated with a few minutes of dialogue here and there.
So structure aside, what did I think of the plot? Well, I much preferred Act II to Act I, largely because this is the section of the show that deals with the Last Supper, Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion, which even my unreligious self remembers. This helped with some of the issues we’ve already discussed. The story, as you can imagine, has to run fairly linearly to how it has been described and it’s an alright story. I like how it deals with the inner turmoil of both Jesus and Judas, which gives new depths to these figures that aren’t explored elsewhere.
I did feel like there was a lot of exposition that wasn’t needed for the overarching story (most of Act I) and the main reason this is so, is that I went into the interval quite confused as to what had happened in the first act, bar the final five minutes where Judas goes to plot Jesus’ betrayal. But after the curtain raised again, I was fully aware as to what was happening without relying on anything from Act I, to the point where I’d go so far as to say the final five minutes of Act I, plus Act II could be the show in itself. I understood the overall idea of the story, but I’m not sure that’s because of the musical.
The songs were very hit-or-miss, I actively enjoyed three or four of them, namely ‘Everything’s Alright’, ‘This Jesus Must Die’, ‘Superstar’, and the surprisingly catchy ‘King Herod’s Song’, but the rest were largely forgettable or blended together to the point of being indistinguishable. Every song was performed well by the cast, and I’m aware this is due to my tastes alone, but when a musical is sung-through and you only like a few of the songs, there’s bound to be some issues there.
My grievances with the subject matter over, lets take a look at this production itself. Starting with my favourite technical element of this show, the lighting design was spectacular. Whether it’s soft washes pulsing in and out slowly or evolving spotlights lighting up the entire auditorium, the creative decisions illuminating the cast worked really well throughout. It complemented the set, the emotion of each and every scene, as well as giving us surprises throughout that added an entirely new dimension of the performance. I was always thrilled watching the lighting change and it was done with such precision and perfection that you cannot help but enjoy.
Next we’ll talk about the set. I liked a lot of what the set went for as it truly was a wonder to behold once the safety curtains rose. The most eye-catching piece is a giant slanted cross leading from upstage all the way across, and was used largely as a walkway, entrance and exit and route and for a very iconic scene at the very end of the show, as well as a huge backdrop with the same shape cut out. This was complemented by these two very large scaffolding-like structures of several levels, which felt very industrial with iron beams and laddering. This was also where various members of the band were located, which was great to not only have them on stage but also visible throughout the production, which is a rarity in many musicals due to a lack of space.
The set was let down however by an insignificant detail which was plainly obvious for the rest of the show as soon as I noticed it. The large scaffolding pieces being largely undecorated meant the band were visible, as we discussed earlier. But what was also visible were the technical boxes stage equipment is put in for transport, which on stage left were used to create a set of stairs. I don’t fully know what the intention was with building the stairs out of these boxes but it stuck out a lot and did not fit with the dynamic of the rest of the set or show. A simple set of stairs would have worked a lot better than this.
Turning to costumes, the first act had a monochrome colour scheme across the cast with greys and whites used in abundance. By Act II, each gains some coloured items, which I preferred overall. The monochrome outfits worked well with each other, allowed the lighting to shine through, but I did prefer the coloured alterations in the second act as it helped to distinguish between ensemble members a little bit easier.
Finally, sound. The use of instruments throughout by the band as well as cast members was great, I particularly enjoyed the section where Jesus is flogged 39 times and three cast members, one counting, one throwing glitter and one using an instrument to create the sound were co-ordinated so effectively that I was genuinely confused at first as to how this was being done. The use of microphones both attached to cast members and handheld gave some sound incredible depth that pierced through you. But like many musical productions, the sound mixing wasn’t always on point, resulting in instances where the band were louder than sung words, or so many ensemble members were singing simultaneously that you couldn’t deduce what any were saying. This may have been done for effect at points, but the amount that this occurred, especially in Act I left me thinking otherwise.
The final part to discuss is the cast, and there were several performers that stood out for me, starting with Judas, who was played by Shem Omari James. What a voice James has! Ranging from low to very high and everywhere in between, his performance was breathtaking, startling and sobering. You felt every emotion on his face, in his words and his mannerisms matched to a tee. He interacted well with every other cast member, especially Jesus’ character and despite being the antihero, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for how his end was met and the actions that led him there.
Matt Bateman as Annas the High Priest gave a captivating performance, standing out among the priests with a distinguished voice that caught me off guard the first time I heard it and left me looking forward to every future scene he was in. For a relatively minor character, Bateman owned his performance and made his part a standout even when surrounded by so many other talented performers. Finally, a special mention goes to Julian Clary as Herod. On for one song and never to return, he made such an impact in his short time on stage with one of the best numbers in the show. What a performance!
I’m left struggling immensely with this production. It has so many parts done incredibly well but they didn’t come together into a musical I enjoyed watching. The subject matter is largely the culprit, but there are other parts of this show which left me wanting. I’m glad I’ve seen Jesus Christ Superstar, but am fairly confident I won’t be returning, at least not anytime soon.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Jesus Christ Superstar is playing at the Lyceum Theatre until June 29th, & touring the U.K. until August 10th
