So you know that I am definitely a fan of musicals and even go so far as to perform songs from some of them with really cheap, on the fly kind of stuff. There's another musical I hold dear to my heart (also by Andrew Lloyd Webber) called Jesus Christ Superstar. It's been around for about 50 years as of recently, but I only found out about it in 2018, which is about three years ago now (which is still hard to think about but anyway). I started seeing ads for the live concert version of JCS on facebook a week before Easter. Naturally, I got curious so I started following and paying more attention to the ads, and even started watching clips on youtube that were being released before the full concert itself was aired. Because it was being streamed on a paid network, I had to wait to see it for myself, and needless to say I was pretty impressed when I got around to watching the whole thing. I thought the cast was pretty diverse and cool, found it weird that the props were minimal cause a show like that kinda needs something more, but overall I liked it.
From then on, I was pretty obsessed with the album and it was all that I listened to (I mean anything that ALW churns out is pretty much a masterpiece already, except for the fact that he let his musical Cats become a live action movie, but we don't need to talk about that right now, if ever). Eventually, I started finding bits and pieces of other renditions of JCS from other years on youtube. I've seen at least four different versions of it so far (the live concert version from 2018, one from 2016 that was performed in Salerno, Italy, one from 2000 which just kinda gave weird vibes a bit, and a live arena tour rendition from 2012). The one from 2012 though.
Let. Me. Tell you.
I think the first clip from that version I found and watched was "Gethsemane", because it's intense, it's emotional, and easy to relate to (it's great to listen to when you're sad if I'm being honest but I digress). Because the only version of that song I can remember is when John Legend sang it, seeing someone emote and act through the whole thing was refreshing, and powerful and heartbreaking all at the same time. One reason why I love Andrew Lloyd Webber is that he's a genius with blending rock and musicals and turning it into the most intense and beautiful and intensely beautiful thing I've ever listened to. One reason why I don't like Andrew Lloyd Webber is that his stuff is so intense and beautiful that sometimes it makes you cry. But if appreciating art means a roller coaster of emotion then bring it on. I mean, look at this piece of tragic beauty, though.
All the EMOTION (I mean he is LITERALLY CRYING, GUYS), all the tragic epicness, and his FALSETTO THOUGH. I could listen to that for days, no joke.
Cool story about the actor (Ben Forster) who plays Jesus in this production. I've done a little digging (also scrolling through youtube comments on this particular video), and the info I've gotten is that he was on X Factor but he didn't make it because a judge told him he didn't have a "superstar" quality (which is really quite ironic). Then sometime after that he auditioned for this singing contest on itv, which he ended up winning, and the grand prize was playing the titular role in Jesus Christ Superstar, which I think is the best thing literally ever (and no, I don't care if that last bit was grammatically incorrect). His and Tim's performances are what make this whole musical come alive in a whole other way. Emotionally he makes it real and relatable, and he does a really good job with selling the story, which is what musicals should always have when it comes to being a lead actor in a big production like this.
So of course, when I'm curious about something, I like to venture further and find more of something I'm interested in because I need to get the full experience of what I'm interested in so that I'm satisfied and oh my word, guys. Tim Minchin as Judas; SUCH a great casting choice, he portrayed so much emotion and raw frustration at the right moments. One frustration with his songs in the recorded performance is that in post-editing some idiot decided to auto tune the CRAP out of Tim's voice, which he ended up being pretty upset about later, and I really don't blame him, because I've listened to his original music and he has a pretty good singing voice which didn't need to be touched up in the performance at all. Besides Brandon Victor-Dixon's version of Judas (which is still the best version I've seen), Tim's rendition is pretty top-notch of a second favorite. I mean just listen to this though.
I posted this version because although the one from the musical is good, it's also the one where he got auto tuned to death on but I definitely encourage you to give that a listen too.
Because the musical was performed in 2012, it was set in 2012 (which was "present-day" then), but it strangely felt apropos, especially during the overture.
The only version of this overture that I've been able to find on youtube is audio only, so I do encourage you to watch the full musical yourself to understand what's going on cause to someone who hasn't watched this version of JCS won't understand why it sounds so chaotic, which is why I love this song, it just goes SO hard and has no chill whatsoever.
Then Melanie C as Mary Magdalene though. Was legit EVERYTHING. I liked her take on the character, which was cynical and not very trustful of people because of her past, but was still trying to maintain her innocence. Sara Bareilles' take on the same character was a bit more light attitude wise but also felt layered, which made you want to sit down with her and get her whole life's story. But just listen to her VOICE though. I find it weird that someone auto-tuned Ben and Tim's voices (which was really annoying), but didn't even touch hers, which is honestly kinda nice but anyway.
I also love how simple her costume is, I legit want to cosplay her sometime.
Then. Oh, then. We get to the piece de resistance of the whole thing: "The Last Supper". In the 2018 version of it, it was fairly emotional. Although the only one who was actually emoting while singing was Brandon Victor- Dixon (probably because he's had experience in acting and was Aaron Burr in Hamilton for a bit before getting cast for JCS). Everyone in the ensemble were pretty good too, but John Legend (who was playing Jesus), was just kinda there, and didn't really have much of a stage presence, which kinda made me feel like he didn't really have much experience in stage stuff beforehand.
I will say that he did do well with what he was given and also with what he had. I also feel like he definitely deserved the Tony that he ended up winning for it. But for me, musicals are filled with people who can act and also understand the emotional depth and personality of the character they're playing, so being over-the-top picky, I found it kinda lackluster. His attempt on the G5 note in "Gethsemane" was brave, but I think because he was so nervous about singing the song beforehand that it may have played havoc with his breath control (which is totally understandable). Historically, "Gethsemane" is the hardest song to sing in terms of being for a male actor to perform because of how demanding it is on the vocals, so I will cut John a bit of slack. But seeing how Ben took that song, performed the CRAP out of it and got it done so professionally and so well acted, I was just flat-out impressed. So the bar is there, but it's VERY high. And after that incredibly analytical tangent, here's what I was talking about before I got distracted:
The acting from both Tim and Ben, though is just URGH so amazing and heartbreaking and tragic and OHMYGOSH and you can tell that I will never be able to shut up about this musical for the rest of my life.
I know this post is very nerdy about one particular musical and you're probably like "don't you have other favorites that you like talking about?" The answer to that question is yes, but sometimes I just like to geek out about the ones that I've spent a while listening to and figuring out which version is my favorite. Also not gonna lie, it's kinda fun researching just how many different versions of one musical exists, cause then you feel like some kind of explorer researching this one thing with an incredible past of various versions and renditions of it. Did I mention I can get nerdy and analytical about certain things? I don't regret being that way, though. It makes things more fun for me in the long run.
That's enough from me, have a great easter weekend!
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