#the lyrics that inspired jesus christ superstar btw

[onemorecupofcoffee]

😐

[ellicler]

NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar  2018

was really really bad :(((((

Jesus (John Legend) cant really act or sing, Pilate (Ben Daniels from The Exorcist whom i was predisposed to like!!) didnt have a coherent idea of his role at all, and the direction was really stupid and lacking in subtlety in so many crucial moments.

the main thing is that they undercut Jesus. it’s not all the actor’s fault (although he certainly doesn’t help). they say the court is what makes a king: it’s twice as true for the Son of God. the way people around Jesus react to the holiness he exudes even at his darkest hour, the way he touches hearts, the way there’s something otherworldly and higher about him... it’s something we must be shown in the acting of the rest of the cast. and sadly this staging lacks that aspect completely. even if you believe that Judas is in fact the central character of this musical (I do in fact), without this feeling of holiness from Jesus Judas’s whole arc becomes flat and dull. the whole musical becomes dull: just another group of socially disaffected young people, what’s so special about them??? this Jesus was the worst at this that I’ve yet seen. he was actively unlikeable in every scene in the first act where he appeared; he came off as petty and dickish and self-aggrandising in his happier moments (instead of, y’know, nobly suffering from a fatal premonition and soul-sick from the deep love for the people he sees suffering in the darkness).

actually one good thing about this version is Judas (Brandon Victor Dixon) who certainly gives it his all. there are some questionable staging choices (also we don’t see any actual closeness btw him and Jesus so we’re not that invested in their relationship or their political disagreement or... their anything, sadly), but all in all he does a very good job. his jealous/sad/nostalgic look at Mary with Jesus! his suicide! the total pause in music before his ‘on thursday night you’ll find him where you want him’ is inspired.

Mary Magdalene (Sara Bareille) is this classically feminine beauty, she does a good job at being this naive touching young girl with a core of sweet determination who just wants everyone to be friends!! but it’s all so incredibly BORING as a character portrayal; everybody and their mother make out Mary as this Disney princess archetype, UGH. the music in Mary’s solo numbers is incredibly misleading (on purpose I believe); but in the lyrics it’s all about how she’s had a tough life and is actually pretty hardcore! i believe Mary should be cracking open before our very eyes in that solo she has, being truly afraid of this sea change in her that Jesus wrought, remembering how she was once actually innocent (and she hasn’t been that for so long she’s forgotten it!) etc etc. instead we get the stereotypical ‘girl pines after boy’. pretty but DULL.

Herod (Alice Cooper) was actually less cringeworthy than i always find him! he was really old powerful and scary. cold and chilling, didn’t give a shit about anything! amazing, in a word. none of the usual flighty foolery. i’ve always held that it’s impossible to completely salvage the stupid mess that is Herod’s number but this one came pretty close actually! my only regret is they didn’t cast him as Pilate.

and wow, Pilate. what a failure. anybody who’s ever seen a decent Pilate will know what i’m talking about; the fans of Ben Daniels probably don’t need to hear my hate. but, again: such a waste.

what else? staging was sometimes really cool (and sometimes not). i almost cried irl at their ‘could we start again please’ A+. Norm Lewis as Caiaphas is so cool and I’m always happy to see him! even if the role doesn’t lend itself to any complexity sadly. i could go on about individual staging choices in all the numbers but then i’d be here all night so