Jesus Christ SuperStar / Godspell




 I was going to title this post Jesus Christ Superstar vs Godspell, but that wouldn't be fair.  I love both musicals.  I can sing every lyric from both.  They both had an incredible influence on me growing up (and to this day) and to be honest, as a youth they taught me more than any Sunday school class.  (Or maybe I just wasn't in the right space for church learning at the time.)  Every single year I watch them both on Holy Week.  (Usually Good Friday, but not always.  I do however, always watch.)  This being Holy Saturday seemed for me to be a good time to talk about them both.  Remember, these are my thoughts and experiences...you don't have to agree (or disagree) with me.  But be open and thoughtful.

  • Jesus Christ Superstar came first for me.  As I have said my mom had the Broadway album (which did NOT include the whole show.  WHY?), and I listened to it a lot.  I was torn if I wanted to sing the role of Judas or Jesus.  Judas gets the amazing title number, but Jesus gets "Gethsemane."  I wanted both.  With that said, the best number of the show is "King Herod's Song."  Because this was my introduction to the show, NO ONE will be able to touch Ben Vereen when it comes to Judas and Paul Ainsley gives the definitive performance of Herod.  (Sorry Josh Mostel and Alice Cooper who were "fine" in the role, but can't match him.)
  • I was introduced to Godspell one year while attending a week long camp at church.  (Was it Bible camp?  Was it called something else?  I can only remember that I attended 2 or 3 times over the years when I was a youth.)  I can remember playing the Broadway (off Broadway?) album over and over again in the church's main hall.  We actually went to see the show in NYC.  I don't know what year it was.  It certainly WASN'T 1971 (when it was off Broadway), but how could we have gotten tickets to see it when it was on Broadway in 1976?  I do vaguely remember driving in possibly in a VW microbus.  The theater must have been small because we were not in a balcony.  And when, just before the intermission, the cast sang "You Are the Light of the World" and invited everyone up for wine ("let's have some wine!") I didn't go.  (Sigh.)  (Side note:  Did anyone reading this actually see the Canadian production with Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy and Martin Short?  If so...SPILL it all!  It must have been AMAZING)
  • As a teen I was introduced to the film of Godspell, which aired on Channel 9 on Good Friday.  While Victor Garber is a perfectly good Jesus, Stephen Nathan will always be the definitive Jesus for me (since it's his voice I first heard).  The rest of the cast is mostly from the Broadway cast, so the voices were very familiar to me.  The "new" song "Beautiful City" is a particular favorite of mine and the "All for the Best" sequence takes my breath away.  (Watch it for yourself if you haven't.  It's pretty amazing; especially the dance sequence on top of the unfinished World Trade Center...which makes my heart ache when I watch it.)  In the days before VCRs/DVDs/streaming, being home when this showed was a MUST for me.
  • I "think" I was in college when I finally heard the full version of Jesus Christ Superstar.  (There was more?)  Finally seeing the movie as well.  (Probably on HBO.)  I loved how the movie begins with the cast arriving in the desert on a bus; they are clearly about to put on a show and how it blends the modern with the ancient.  But perhaps most powerful is the fact that when the show is over, the actors all board the bus again, with the exception of Jesus (Ted Neely).  That hit me.
  • Also when I was in college with a minor in theater, my core group of friends were also fans of Godspell.  I'm pretty sure we rented the movie.  We also performed the song "All for the Best" at the winter faculty frolic.  (The only time I can remember participating in the annual show.)
  • Just before I graduated from college, I saw Jesus Christ Superstar at The Paper Mill Playhouse (on Good Friday no less!).  It was a good production. Jesus was a little weak, but Judas was intense.  I know that when Judas hanged himself it was so well done that I think many were concerned that something had gone wrong and a real hanging had happened! (Amazingly, in checking out the dates of this, I see that Tony Award winning director/choreographer, Susan Stroman was the choreographer for this production!)
  • My final JCS "experience" was watching the "live" production on NBC on Easter Sunday in 2018.  ( Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert)  Visually this is the best production I have ever seen.  The sets, the costumes, the lights...the incorporation of the musicians into the show. Sarah Barielles as Mary Magdalene brings a new dimension to the character.  She is the nurturer, the peacemaker, the caregiver...Every emotion plays on her face and makes you feel.  Furthermore, the ensemble is responsible for really bringing the show to life.  (Shout out to Micaela Diamond who is now a semi-regular on one of my favorite shows Elsbeth.  I believe this was one of her first shows/credits and she totally nails it) Their actions and interactions make the show; especially at the end when individually and thoughtfully kneel. The visuals are amazing; especially when Jesus on the cross, is slowly "flown" out at the end through a wall that opens in a cross shape.  I know I am not describing it well enough...so you need to see it.

These two shows and the multiple productions that I have been lucky enough to see are more than just a Holy week/Easter tradition for me.  Whenever I watch (or listen), I think and reflect. Often I am moved to tears.  (Well, I am a sap.)  For that I am grateful.

 (And now it’s time to turn on the stereo to sing, dance and rejoice!)


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