I can’t believe I almost forgot. Each week before I write one of these, I go through my big Spotify playlist of musicals and look right at my beloved Jesus Christ Superstar. I then tell myself to wait for the perfect kairos: the week before Easter. And then what did I write about last week before Easter? NOT Jesus Christ Superstar. So, we’ll be taking a look at JCS this week in this long-awaited, ultimate Sound Check entry.

I want to preface this post by saying you do not have to be a Christian to enjoy Jesus Christ Superstar. In fact, a lot of Christians don’t even like JCS, and protested when it debuted (more on that later). Personally, I have just enough knowledge of Christianity to appreciate the show’s take on the story, but I am not so religious that I take it seriously or believe it’s sacrilegious. I will cover the plot of the show, but know that I am not presenting it as absolute fact, simply explaining it as it is shown in the musical.

JCS follows the story of Jesus in the days leading up to his crucifixion, but from the perspective of Judas. In the musical, Judas was a friend as well as one of the Twelve Apostles (main disciples) of Jesus who now believes Jesus is misleading his disciples (dedicated followers). The musical starts with Judas belting “Heaven On Their Minds,” featuring lyrics like, “All the good you’ve done will soon get swept away. You’ve begun to matter more than the things you say.” Then Act I introduces several important characters in the story in brief songs, such as Pontius Pilate’s haunting “Pilate’s Dream” and Simon the Zealot’s song. Caiaphas, the High Priest of Israel, assembles the Pharisees and priests to sing “This Jesus Must Die” about how, well, they want to kill Jesus. Mostly for the same reason as Judas: out of fear that the disciples will be seen as a threat to the Romans and killed. The main turning point of Act I is in “Damned For All Time / Blood Money,” where Judas accepts a bribe from the Pharisees and priests of Israel to help them arrest Jesus.

My favorite song in the show, “The Last Supper,” opens Act II, with clever lyrics like, “And when we retire, we can write the gospel so they’ll all talk about us when we die” amidst a fight between Judas and Jesus. In the rest of Act II, chaos ensues as Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested in Gethsemane (great song), Peter (another Apostle) denies knowing Jesus, Jesus is sent to and ignored by Pilate (governor), and then is mocked by King Herod (of Judaea) in a flashy dance number. In the end, Judas commits suicide from the regret of betraying Jesus, Jesus is whipped onstage 39 times, the ghost of Judas comes back in a shiny white outfit with backup dancers to sing the titular song “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and Jesus is crucified right after. Yes, this is a real, well-renowned show.

Oh, and did I mention it’s a rock musical where all the disciples wear leather jackets and sing in a typical gritty rock style to electric guitar riffs? It’s true, and it’s amazing. JCS started as a concept album by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber (of course–the kings of conservative UK politics and religious parody musicals), then debuted on stage
as a concert in Pittsburgh in 1971. The musical debuted on Broadway later in 1971, preceding many international productions in the 70s and 80s. There have been many revivals, most notably…
• two film adaptations (1973 and 2001)
• a 2012 UK concert tour featuring ex-Spice Girl Mel C which began with a The Voice-style reality show called Superstar to find an actor to play Jesus
• My personal favorite and my annual Easter viewing tradition: a live television special in 2018 starring John Legend as Jesus, Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene, and Alice Cooper (yes, this happened) as King Herod. This production was highly acclaimed and made John Legend, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Tim Rice EGOT winners.

Personally, my only complaint with the show is the character of Mary Magdalene and how she’s simply there to act as a love interest. I remember listening to Tim Rice’s podcast (yes, another thing that surprisingly happened) and he talked about how difficult it is for him to write music for women. Maybe because he only writes songs for women about how their lives revolve around men instead of making them their own autonomous characters. I digress.

Religious groups have protested Jesus Christ Superstar for as long as it’s been around. Christian groups reject the show since it portrays Jesus as an ordinary man and not the son of God, and also since the musical does not show Jesus’ resurrection, implying that Jesus no longer exists. On the other hand, Jewish groups feel that JCS paints the Jews as the villains, since Caiaphas and the priests of Israel are shown as responsible for Jesus’ death. With any adaptation of religious material, it is expected that there will be backlash. Even so, the fame and popularity of JCS is astounding, regardless of these possibly valid criticisms (depending who you ask).

With that, I conclude my Sound Check passion blog. Thank you for following each week as I shared my unsolicited opinions and rants. I hope at least one of my posts has inspired you to add some musical theater to your life. I truly believe there is a show for everyone.

Thanks for reading! Musically yours,

Emma

Newsies is a musical I keep coming back to. It is always my go-to for introducing new people to musical theater–mostly because there is a professionally filmed version of the 2012 Broadway production on Disney Plus, but more importantly because it stands out in terms of music, plot, and dance.

Newsies originated as a 1992 Disney film based on the real Newsboys Strike of 1899.  The film was made into a stage show that debuted on Broadway in 2012, which is the version I am familiar with. The original film was also a musical, with many of the songs staying the same during screen to stage adaptation.

Newsies is a large ensemble show, with many actors playing the roles of New York City newsboys (newsies)–young and impoverished boys who would sell newspapers to people passing by on the street–in the late 19th century. When the publisher of the New York Globe, Joseph Pulitzer, raises prices for the newsies buying their daily share of papers, the protagonist newsie, Jack Kelly, raises awareness among the newsboys and they choose to organize a strike. The show follows them attempting to earn fair wages and workers’ rights. A main subplot of the show involves Katherine, Jack Kelly’s love interest (of course, since she is the only woman in the show *eye roll*), who wants to become a journalist despite journalism being a male-dominated profession at the time. The show is quintessential Disney (other than the talk of unions and such) with music by Alan Menken (composer of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tangled, Enchanted, the list goes on) and dialogue that is overly-dramatized and easy to follow, with the consequence of sounding unnatural or poorly-acted on occasion.

The best part about Newsies, however, is the dancing. As a dancer, this is one of my favorite shows since the entire ensemble is made of performers who are clearly dancers first. There is a dance break in almost every song, plus minutes of singing while performing advanced leaps and turns. powerful dance-heavy songs such as “Carrying the Banner”, “The World Will Know”, and “Once And For All” provide the ultimate theater-going experience. It is clear, though, that the leads of the show were not cast for their dance skills, but rather name recognition and voice. In the 2012 Broadway production, Jack Kelly was played by Jeremy Jordan, who is well-known in the theater world and has an insane vocal range, while Katherine was played by Kara Lindsay, who is known for playing Glinda in Wicked (again, insane vocal range). When it comes time for a dance break, Jordan and Lindsay simply walk off stage, which is quite funny in my opinion. It would be cool if they could also dance, but logically it makes sense to cast the people who can sing the best as the characters who sing the most.

The writers of Newsies also incorporated by second favorite aspect of theater: motifs! Katherine sings an aspirational song entitled “Watch What Happens”, which is reprised and has a melody that keeps coming back when she’s involved in a scene, while Jack sings the ballad “Santa Fe”, which has multiple reprises and another repeating melody that can be heard during scene transitions. There are also jokes that continue throughout the show that add to the humor.

All in all, I highly recommend Newsies to friends who have not seen much theater. Impressive dancing, easily accessible viewing, and catchy songs make the whole experience well worth anyone’s time.