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.

This week’s musical has taken up much of my time lately–for a good reason. I am a part of Volé, a dance organization on campus, and we have our spring showcase this Sunday. One of my dances is a musical theater jazz number (of course) to “Welcome To The Moulin Rouge!” from Moulin Rouge! The Musical, and the song has been stuck in my head nonstop. This past weekend, the girls in my dance got together to make accessories for the show, and we watched the film that the musical is based on. I had seen the movie a few years prior, but watching it now, I had a new sense of appreciation for the melodrama and suspense of it all. I knew I had to update the blog about it.

The Moulin Rouge! movie was released in 2001 and directed by Baz Luhrmann. The plot follows Christian (played by Ewan McGregor), a young writer, who is in love with Satine (played by Nicole Kidman), the star performer at the Moulin Rouge–a famous cabaret in Paris. Christian goes to the Moulin Rouge and Satine mistakes him for the Duke, who she wants to marry for financial security. Of course, they end up falling in love, but they are driven apart by Satine’s illness and her need to keep her love for Christian a secret.  The final scene is packed with drama as Christian tries to confront Satine about her distance from him and they end up on stage in front of a full audience on opening night of Satine’s show, which was written by Christian and his friends. The Duke and his bodyguard are trying to kill Christian as the cast onstage is trying to get rid of the gun, all the while Satine is professing her love for Christian. In the end, Satine dies in Christian’s arms right after the curtains close. Truly the pinnacle of theater. Well-directed, well-performed and perfectly dramatic.

The stage version debuted on Broadway in 2019. It has the same characters as the film, but some plot points are changed, such as Christian being the one to bring the gun to the opening night performance instead of the Duke’s bodyguard. I have never seen the stage version, but everyone who I know who has seen it has raved about it.

Now on to the music. Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a jukebox musical (a musical made of mostly preexisting popular songs from an artist or genre that are not original) done right. The best songs are the original songs, and the jukebox songs are mixed together to create something new, like “The Sparkling Diamond” which mixes “Material Girl” and “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” to showcase Satine’s desire to marry into money. The original songs are well-renowned and range from the upbeat “Lady Marmalade” to the dark “El Tango de Roxanne” and the romantic “Come What May.” In my opinion, a musical cannot maintain a focused plot if there is no originality to the music (see the musical Jagged Little Pill, for example). Plus, the chosen jukebox songs are different between stage and screen to appeal to the current audience and work best for the medium.

Last but certainly not least, I would be remiss if I did not mention the iconic Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir gold-winning ice dance routine from the 2018 Olympics, set to “El Tango de Roxanne” and “Come What May.” You’ve likely seen it before, but if not, it’s worth a watch as the Canadian ice dance duo perfectly captured the essence of Moulin Rouge!

This past Saturday, I got to see Penn State’s Centre Stage production of Into The Woods at the Playhouse Theater here on campus, and it was incredible. The acting, singing, scenic design, costumes, and live orchestra surpassed my expectations to say the least. I was not familiar with the plot and only remembered a couple songs from the show from seeing the movie in 2014, but by the end I could tell that this production did justice to Sondheim and Lapine’s original vision.

It is likely that the PSU theater department chose to put on this show this season because there was a recent revival of Into The Woods playing on Broadway from July 2022 to January 2023.  The last time the show played on Broadway was its first revival in 2002, and before that was its debut in 1987. Featuring music by Stephen Sondheim with a book by James Lapine, Into The Woods is a pastiche of several Brothers Grimm fairytales. In Act I, the show cleverly intertwines the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk, leading to a happy fairytale ending. In Act II, however, a giant has climbed down from the sky to avenge her husband (the continuation of a subplot from the first act) and the show takes a dark turn as multiple characters face a grim demise. Two characters tie all the stories together: a baker and his wife, who are tasked by the Witch (from Rapunzel’s story) to find “a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, and the slipper as pure as gold” to lift a curse on their family.

My main takeaway from the show was the theme of growing up. I admire Sondheim and Lapine for not only combining a bunch of fairytales, but recognizing the audience and mixing the dark tones of the original Brothers Grimm stories with the societal notion that fairytales (as we know them from Disney movies) are childish. The show appeals to children but doesn’t infantilize its audience. First, the theme appears in Little Red Riding Hood’s story. After her encounter with the wolf in the woods, she sings the song “I Know Things Now.” The character sings, “I know things now, many valuable things, that I hadn’t known before,” and “Isn’t it nice to know a lot, and a little bit not.” These lines reflect the experience of growing up, as the character is learning more about the dangers of the world and that not everything is a stereotypical fairytale. Another song that continues this theme is “Giants in the Sky” sung by Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. He sings, “And you know things now that you never knew before,” repeating the line from Little Red Riding Hood’s song. Jack and Little Red Riding Hood act as stand-in characters for the children in the audience since they are children in their stories.  Later in the show, the two young characters are consoled in “No One Is Alone” after they lose their families. Cinderella and the Baker sing, “Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood. Others may deceive you, you decide what’s good” to them. It is as if the fairytales are sticking up for the children and showing them that they can take their time growing up and that they have the agency to make their own choices.

Overall, Into The Woods is an excellent show with themes for both children and adults, and I highly recommend seeing future Centre Stage productions, especially since there is a student discount on tickets!

This week, we’ll be taking a look at the well-known and renowned musical West Side Story. You’ve likely heard of West Side Story before and might have even seen one or both of the film adaptations, so we’ll be diving into the interesting casting choices that seem to characterize the West Side Story universe.

West Side Story was inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The idea to adapt Shakespeare’s timeless play into a modern musical came from Jerome Robbins (1918-1998), who is mostly known for his prolific ballet career with American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet.  His original idea was to focus on a relationship between a Jewish girl and an Irish Catholic boy, which–after many years and much dissatisfaction with the drafts–evolved into the story of forbidden love between a white boy and a Puerto Rican girl that we know now. Both the original idea and the final product involved the main characters being teenagers involved with opposing New York City gangs.

West Side Story debuted on Broadway in 1957 at The Winter Garden theater with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents. There have been three Broadway revivals since the initial run: 1980, 2009, and 2020. The show has been adapted into a film twice–first in 1961 and recently in 2021.

The show is renowned for its music. Bernstein did an incredible job composing a wide range of recognizable melodies, from the suspenseful “Cool” to the dance-inducing “Mambo”. It is a dance-heavy show, so there are quite a few instrumental interludes. The most popular songs from West Side Story that you are likely familiar with are “I Feel Pretty” and “America”. The plot unfolds similarly to that of its source material Romeo and Juliet, but there are some twists and turns along the way that I will not spoil since I highly recommend watching one of the movies or listening to the soundtrack.

The interesting thing about West Side Story is that it acts as social commentary on racial divides and violence, and yet the casting in many of the earlier productions is does not hold these values. Take the original Broadway production, for example. Carol Lawrence played the lead role of Maria and won many accolades for her performance, but Lawrence is Italian-American, not Puerto Rican like her character Maria. An actor portraying a story about someone of a different ethnicity is problematic, especially went the character’s ethnicity is not often represented in theater as it is. Specifically with West Side Story, the story is all about ethnicity and how it shapes communities and relationships, so it is inauthentic for the ethnicities of the characters to not be seen in the actors. Even in the 1961 film, Maria is played by Natalie Wood, a Russian-American actress, and the members of the Sharks gang who are supposed to be Puerto Rican were almost all portrayed by white people wearing dark makeup to give the appearance of a darker complexion. Chita Rivera in the role of Anita is the only good example of casting in the original production and the 1961 film, as she is actually Latina, not to mention incredibly talented.

In the 2021 movie, Rivera paid tribute to her early career by playing the role of the shop owner, for which a new song was added just for her. The casting of the 2021 film is incredible, except for the choice of Ansel Elgort as Tony. Even disregarding the accusations of sexual assault against him (which came out after the filming of the movie but before its release and strongly impacted its reception), Elgort does not have the range for the role and plays it with little believable emotion. Still, both movies are worth a watch. I recommend comparing both, as the original includes a better actor playing Tony and has inherent historical value, but the newer version wins in terms of set design and Maria’s acting and singing.

Last weekend, a few friends and I watched the In The Heights movie. A couple of us had seen the movie before as we are fans of the musical, but the rest of the group went in blind. The late-night viewing began with a dance party, and ended with all of us in tears. I immediately knew I would be blogging about it the next chance I got.

In The Heights is a musical by Lin Manuel Miranda. In proper Lin Manuel Miranda style, he starred as the main character Usnavi in the original off-Broadway production which transferred to Broadway in 2008. The musical was adapted into a film in 2021, starring Anthony Ramos (John Laurens/Phillip in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton) as Usnavi with Lin Manuel Miranda as the background character of the Piragua guy. The cast overall is phenomenal, with both seasoned performers and new musical talent. It is a popular opinion that this film adaptation is one of the best stage-to-screen adaptations out there, and I strongly agree. It combines a grounded story with fantastical elements that are often present in musical theater to synthesize a brand-new experience of this important story.

The show and film follow mostly the same plot, with slight changes to the characters and some lyrics. The plot centers around a community in Washington Heights, NYC, which is predominantly Dominican. The climax of the plot occurs when a blackout during the hottest day of the summer takes out the power across the city.  SPOILER-FREE summary: Usnavi wants to go back to the Dominican Republic, while Vanessa (his love interest) wants to move out of Washington Heights and pursue fashion design. Like Usnavi says in the song “It Won’t Be Long Now,”

“I’m running to make it home and home’s where Vanessa is running away from.”

Next, Nina is home from Stanford where she dropped out due to the isolation she felt as a first-generation student.  Her father is struggling to financially support her, which causes him to make some decisions that ultimately affect Nina’s decisions regarding her education. Benny is Nina’s love interest who works for Nina’s father and he basically just wants to be a businessman. Sonny, Usnavi’s younger cousin, is an undocumented immigrant who does not think he has many options other than continuing to work for Usnavi at his bodega. Daniela and Carla own a salon and provide comedic relief as they bring the community together during the blackout. Last but not least, Abuela Claudia is essentially the matriarch of the community who has a strong impact on everyone’s story, especially when Usnavi finds out that his bodega sold a winning lottery ticket for $96,000.

The music in the show is phenomenal. My personal favorites include “Breathe” in which Nina laments her decision to go to Stanford, “96,000” when the barrio finds out about the lottery ticket and shares what they would do with the money, the powerful “Paciencia y Fe” which is Abuela Claudia’s big number, and “Carnaval Del Barrio” where Daniela and Carla bring everyone together during the blackout. There are strong themes throughout the show, such as the importance of real family and chosen family, effects of generational trauma, and the dangers of gentrification. In The Heights also incorporates several motifs better than any show I’ve seen before. There are musical motifs that define each character, such as Abuela Claudia’s saying “Paciencia y Fe” and Nina’s “Just Breathe.” Recurring elements such as Abuela’s embroidered napkins given to her by her mother, the lottery ticket, and the unassuming graffiti Pete. The overlapping of each characters’ story is masterfully executed, and when they all come together for a dinner the night before the blackout, it truly feels like the audience is joining one big family dinner.