NBC's "Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert"
Since television networks have produced musicals written by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Pasek & Paul, and more, it was only a matter of time before NBC or FOX put one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals on display for the world to see. For their 2018 live televised musical, NBC produced Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar in a fully realized production that was well directed, well cast, and beautifully designed. While the television event was billed as a concert, it was not. Instead, NBC's production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which highlights the final days of the life of Jesus Christ, was a fully staged production that was glorious to behold. While NBC found creative success with The Wiz: Live! and Hairspray: Live!, they have hit the nail right on the head with their near perfect production of Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert.
For this live telecast, NBC decided to stage their production on an actual stage in front of an audience. Isn't that a crazy idea? This was one of the most effective choices NBC made with the production. The main goal of these televised musicals was to bring the magic of the theatre to the homes of people everywhere. However, since the past four have been on sound stages, it was really hard to capture the feel of a theatrical production. With Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert, it finally felt like I was just watching a production of a show and not NBC's latest attempt at a musical. While more than a few of the live musicals on NBC or FOX may have been good, it wasn't quite theatre magic. This was.
David Leveaux and Alex Rudinzki's direction was spot on. The aesthetic that the production was able to capture with the direction, Paul Tazewell's insanely good looking costumes and Jason Ardizzone-West's scenic design was extraordinary. Camille A. Brown's choreography was visually striking and played a huge role in conveying the tone that each of the production's elements worked so hard to do. The entire production was very well staged and the use of the space and camera blocking was superb.
I have always been aware of the similarities between Jesus Christ Superstar and Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, but watching Superstar less than two months after seeing Hamilton for the second time really made me notice how similar the two shows actually are. Of course both Jesus Christ and Alexander Hamilton's stories are narrated by someone who didn't particularly like them (Judas Isacriot and Aaron Burr), but the two shows are also very similar in structure. They are both sung through musicals with a heavy focus on the male characters, and every now and then the powerful female lead will pop in with a beautiful song and some wise words. While the music in both shows do not parallel each other, the way the music and story is used to characterize each of the roles (Evita is also exactly the same.) is very similar. I could write an entire analysis on the similarities between these two shows, but we need to move on. I will segue by saying that Hamilton is also similar to Superstar in its use of the characters as an almost ensemble cast.
In the titular role, John Legend's acting could be one note at times, but ultimately there was something about him that was just so Jesus like. Each of his numbers was beautifully sung and his rendition of "Gethsemane" was delivered very well. The real star of the evening was Brandon Victor Dixon, who gave a stunning performance as Judas Isacriot. Dixon's layered performance as Judas was a masterclass in both acting and singing and Dixon would have quite easily walked away with a Tony Award had the performance been done on Broadway. Dixon's reprise of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and his death scene were absolutely thrilling, as were many of his major numbers and small moments. NBC truly got the casting right and made the right move to go with a Broadway performer in the one of the leading roles and fill the rest of the cast with celebrities who were well versed enough to perform in a piece of musical theatre.
While Dixon and Legend were the stars evening, Sara Bareilles' tenderhearted performance of Mary Magdelene was the heart of the show. Bareilles' renditions of 'Everything's Alright" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him" were true highlights and she had a very warm stage presence that worked well for the role of Mary Magdelene. The unique sound of her voice fits the role nicely and she was one of my first choices to play the role when they announced this production. Not only did Bareilles deliver, she DELIVERED.
I found everyone in the cast did a beautiful job in their roles. The supporting cast was very strong with Alice Cooper (King Herod), Ben Daniels (Pointius Pilate), Jin Ha (Annas), and Norm Lewis (Caiaphas) all being extremely talented in their own ways. I genuinely thought it was awesome when Lewis emerged and started singing in his first number As expected, Cooper was so much fun as King Herod. Along with Dixon, it was so great to spot so many Broadway performers in the supporting cast and in the show's stellar ensemble. Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert hit a home run in the casting and execution of this production.
While there were so many things I loved about the live telecast, it was not without flaws. NBC has been grappling with the sound design of their telecasts ever since 2013's The Sound of Music: Live! It has gotten better since then, as whenever everybody stopped speaking during the fist few telecasts there was a distracting static noise. They've fixed that horrible noise over the years, but now it's sound levels. I don't even think it was that the music was louder than the performers, it was just some weird hybrid where in it did not sound balanced for whatever reason. As the show went on, the sound got better, but it was quite noticeable. The other issue I had was the commercial breaks. I know that there is no way of getting around them because it was on network television, but they disrupted the pace of the show. I cannot say for sure, but I am confident that some of the commercial breaks were longer than the piece of the show we had just seen. It didn't ruin the show, but it was enough to get a shout out as a problem in this review.
Lastly, I want to talk about the show. While I am partial to Evita and Sunset Boulevard as my favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber shows, I think that Jesus Christ Superstar is his smartest show. It is so well structured and it tells an amazing story. While still good, I do not think it is Andrew Lloyd Webber's greatest score ever, even with Tim Rice's wonderfully poetic lyrics. For Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert, Andrew Lloyd Webber's score was beautifully arranged. I'm sure people may argue with this statement, but I think that this will likely be the defining production of the show, musically. There were a few moments through out the show where I took a beat and simply said "Wow" because of how polished and intense the music sounded.
In my opinion, Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert is now the live musical to beat, robbing Grease: Live! of the title. Watching Jesus Christ Superstar, I decided that NBC must do Evita (also by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice) next. If it were to be anything like this telecast was, it would more than make up for the poorly sung movie version of Evita. The NBC musicals have been getting better and better since their productions of The Sound of Music and Peter Pan, but NBC has finally achieved what they originally set out to do. Jesus Christ Superstar was also a success in ratings, which makes me very happy. If you missed the broadcast of Jesus Christ Superstar, it is available to steam on the NBC website and I know I will likely purchase it whenever it is released on DVD. This was a great way to kick off the spring and I hope everyone watches this special and enjoys it.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: LIVE IN CONCERT
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Tim Rice
The cast of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: LIVE IN CONCERT consisted of:
Jesus Christ- JOHN LEGEND
Judas Isacariot- BRANDON VICTOR DIXON
Mary Magdelene- SARA BAREILLES
King Herod- ALICE COOPER
Pointius Pilate- BEN DANIELS
Caiaphas- NORM LEWIS
Annas- JIN HA
Peter- JASON TAM
Simon Zealotes- ERIK GRONWALL
Ensemble- MELODY BETTS, FELICIA BOSWELL, ABBY CORRIGAN, MICAELA DIAMOND, RORY DONOVAN, CHRISTINE DWYER, MIKE EVARISTE, F. MICHAEL HAYNIE, CHARISSA HOGELAND, BRE JACKSON, MYKAL KILGORE, BILLY LEWIS JR., JOEL PEREZ, JUSTIN GREGORY LOPEZ, ANGEL LOZADA, VINCE ODDO, KYLE TAYLOR PARKER, JONAH PLATT, CONOR RYAN, CHRISTINA SAJOUS, JUSTIN MATTHEW SARGEANT, HEATH SAUNDERS, JOEY TARANTO, SYNDEE WINTERS, and LAUREN ZAKRIN
Dancers- CHLOE DAVIS, TIMOTHY EDWARDS, SHELBY FINNIE, BAHIYAH HIBAH, JUEL D. LANE, TERK LEWIS, MAYTE NATALIO SARAH PARKER, WILLIE SMITH III, MALEEK WASHINGTON
For more information on JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: LIVE IN CONCERT, please visit www.nbc.com
For this live telecast, NBC decided to stage their production on an actual stage in front of an audience. Isn't that a crazy idea? This was one of the most effective choices NBC made with the production. The main goal of these televised musicals was to bring the magic of the theatre to the homes of people everywhere. However, since the past four have been on sound stages, it was really hard to capture the feel of a theatrical production. With Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert, it finally felt like I was just watching a production of a show and not NBC's latest attempt at a musical. While more than a few of the live musicals on NBC or FOX may have been good, it wasn't quite theatre magic. This was.
 |
| John Legend in Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert. Getty Images |
David Leveaux and Alex Rudinzki's direction was spot on. The aesthetic that the production was able to capture with the direction, Paul Tazewell's insanely good looking costumes and Jason Ardizzone-West's scenic design was extraordinary. Camille A. Brown's choreography was visually striking and played a huge role in conveying the tone that each of the production's elements worked so hard to do. The entire production was very well staged and the use of the space and camera blocking was superb.
I have always been aware of the similarities between Jesus Christ Superstar and Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, but watching Superstar less than two months after seeing Hamilton for the second time really made me notice how similar the two shows actually are. Of course both Jesus Christ and Alexander Hamilton's stories are narrated by someone who didn't particularly like them (Judas Isacriot and Aaron Burr), but the two shows are also very similar in structure. They are both sung through musicals with a heavy focus on the male characters, and every now and then the powerful female lead will pop in with a beautiful song and some wise words. While the music in both shows do not parallel each other, the way the music and story is used to characterize each of the roles (Evita is also exactly the same.) is very similar. I could write an entire analysis on the similarities between these two shows, but we need to move on. I will segue by saying that Hamilton is also similar to Superstar in its use of the characters as an almost ensemble cast.
In the titular role, John Legend's acting could be one note at times, but ultimately there was something about him that was just so Jesus like. Each of his numbers was beautifully sung and his rendition of "Gethsemane" was delivered very well. The real star of the evening was Brandon Victor Dixon, who gave a stunning performance as Judas Isacriot. Dixon's layered performance as Judas was a masterclass in both acting and singing and Dixon would have quite easily walked away with a Tony Award had the performance been done on Broadway. Dixon's reprise of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and his death scene were absolutely thrilling, as were many of his major numbers and small moments. NBC truly got the casting right and made the right move to go with a Broadway performer in the one of the leading roles and fill the rest of the cast with celebrities who were well versed enough to perform in a piece of musical theatre.
 |
| The cast of Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert |
While Dixon and Legend were the stars evening, Sara Bareilles' tenderhearted performance of Mary Magdelene was the heart of the show. Bareilles' renditions of 'Everything's Alright" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him" were true highlights and she had a very warm stage presence that worked well for the role of Mary Magdelene. The unique sound of her voice fits the role nicely and she was one of my first choices to play the role when they announced this production. Not only did Bareilles deliver, she DELIVERED.
I found everyone in the cast did a beautiful job in their roles. The supporting cast was very strong with Alice Cooper (King Herod), Ben Daniels (Pointius Pilate), Jin Ha (Annas), and Norm Lewis (Caiaphas) all being extremely talented in their own ways. I genuinely thought it was awesome when Lewis emerged and started singing in his first number As expected, Cooper was so much fun as King Herod. Along with Dixon, it was so great to spot so many Broadway performers in the supporting cast and in the show's stellar ensemble. Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert hit a home run in the casting and execution of this production.
While there were so many things I loved about the live telecast, it was not without flaws. NBC has been grappling with the sound design of their telecasts ever since 2013's The Sound of Music: Live! It has gotten better since then, as whenever everybody stopped speaking during the fist few telecasts there was a distracting static noise. They've fixed that horrible noise over the years, but now it's sound levels. I don't even think it was that the music was louder than the performers, it was just some weird hybrid where in it did not sound balanced for whatever reason. As the show went on, the sound got better, but it was quite noticeable. The other issue I had was the commercial breaks. I know that there is no way of getting around them because it was on network television, but they disrupted the pace of the show. I cannot say for sure, but I am confident that some of the commercial breaks were longer than the piece of the show we had just seen. It didn't ruin the show, but it was enough to get a shout out as a problem in this review.
 |
| Brandon Victor Dixon and the company of Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert performing "Superstar" |
Lastly, I want to talk about the show. While I am partial to Evita and Sunset Boulevard as my favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber shows, I think that Jesus Christ Superstar is his smartest show. It is so well structured and it tells an amazing story. While still good, I do not think it is Andrew Lloyd Webber's greatest score ever, even with Tim Rice's wonderfully poetic lyrics. For Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert, Andrew Lloyd Webber's score was beautifully arranged. I'm sure people may argue with this statement, but I think that this will likely be the defining production of the show, musically. There were a few moments through out the show where I took a beat and simply said "Wow" because of how polished and intense the music sounded.
In my opinion, Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert is now the live musical to beat, robbing Grease: Live! of the title. Watching Jesus Christ Superstar, I decided that NBC must do Evita (also by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice) next. If it were to be anything like this telecast was, it would more than make up for the poorly sung movie version of Evita. The NBC musicals have been getting better and better since their productions of The Sound of Music and Peter Pan, but NBC has finally achieved what they originally set out to do. Jesus Christ Superstar was also a success in ratings, which makes me very happy. If you missed the broadcast of Jesus Christ Superstar, it is available to steam on the NBC website and I know I will likely purchase it whenever it is released on DVD. This was a great way to kick off the spring and I hope everyone watches this special and enjoys it.
 |
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: LIVE IN CONCERT
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Tim Rice
The cast of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: LIVE IN CONCERT consisted of:
Jesus Christ- JOHN LEGEND
Judas Isacariot- BRANDON VICTOR DIXON
Mary Magdelene- SARA BAREILLES
King Herod- ALICE COOPER
Pointius Pilate- BEN DANIELS
Caiaphas- NORM LEWIS
Annas- JIN HA
Peter- JASON TAM
Simon Zealotes- ERIK GRONWALL
Ensemble- MELODY BETTS, FELICIA BOSWELL, ABBY CORRIGAN, MICAELA DIAMOND, RORY DONOVAN, CHRISTINE DWYER, MIKE EVARISTE, F. MICHAEL HAYNIE, CHARISSA HOGELAND, BRE JACKSON, MYKAL KILGORE, BILLY LEWIS JR., JOEL PEREZ, JUSTIN GREGORY LOPEZ, ANGEL LOZADA, VINCE ODDO, KYLE TAYLOR PARKER, JONAH PLATT, CONOR RYAN, CHRISTINA SAJOUS, JUSTIN MATTHEW SARGEANT, HEATH SAUNDERS, JOEY TARANTO, SYNDEE WINTERS, and LAUREN ZAKRIN
Dancers- CHLOE DAVIS, TIMOTHY EDWARDS, SHELBY FINNIE, BAHIYAH HIBAH, JUEL D. LANE, TERK LEWIS, MAYTE NATALIO SARAH PARKER, WILLIE SMITH III, MALEEK WASHINGTON
For more information on JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: LIVE IN CONCERT, please visit www.nbc.com
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