'Jesus Christ Superstar'

No stars- pretty terrible as a production- most of singing was awfull, set and lighting dull, music synthesized and poor, actors not coordinatied and direction was boring and not true to the message of the youthfullness of JC and his true character- the crucificxion was awfull and rediculous- skip it!!

May 16, 2008 -- Opening Night

I can remember fondly the many hours I spent with my older sister singing, dancing and playing our Lowery organ with the brown-covered music book and to the album of Jesus Christ Superstar! I know every song and every word by heart and it all came back to me as I sat watching this production at the Boston Opera House.

Ted Neeley who was in the original production of the movie version, (thank you Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber) was just okay for me. He, unfortunately, is getting older and sort of losing his hair. Frankly, he just isn’t that cute anymore. I need my Jesus to be young, 30ish and good looking. His voice is still good but a bit too raspy for my taste. Judas Iscariot played by Corey Glover was good (and my husband knew immediately that he is best known as the lead singer from the band Living Colour) but again he just didn’t enthuse me with the pizzazz that I was expecting.

The music to this rock opera is amazing and powerful. Every word is meaningful, and I think it is an awesome way to tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth. But again, the music didn’t’ seem loud enough and at times almost seemed like it was a recording instead of what I assume would be the live music down in the orchestra pit!

Mary Magdalene, played by Tiffini Dodson, was just beautiful. Her voice had power and passion and she absolutely rocked the house with her renditions of “Everything’s Alright” and “I Don’t Know How To Love Him”. King Herod offered much needed comic relief in ACT II (which by the way seemed to have more energy than ACT I) with his presence and his lady friends (their choreography was excellent) and then of course to bring it all home “The Crucifixion” scene!

The staging was very sparse with what looked like a wrought-iron half-moon shaped staircase that The Company (cast members) spent the majority of their time on. The crucifixion scene was very dark, very dramatic and very spiritual as you would expect it to be. It was very cool the way they had Jesus rise up, off the cross, in his flowing robe, and he seemed to just float away - right before your eyes and right up into heaven.

The coolest thing was the curtain they kept dropping down with the image of Jesus on it. Very “Shroud of Torin”, very drapey and a great way to end the show!

This reviewer’s rating = 3.5 stars!

Don't go. This is a terrible production of a great musical. We left after 15 mins -- the set was minimal, but I thought I could close my eyes and enjoy the music. Unfortunately the singing was even worse. I loved the production in the 70's, but was bitterly disappointed. Don't waste your money.