REVIEW: Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus, PLEASE Take This Heel
(with apologies to Carrie Underwood)

The Warner Theatre in Washington, DC often attracts short-run, non-union tours. Those two disclaimers alone do not automatically mean bad theatre. However, in the case of the currently running non-equity tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, bad does not begin to describe it.

Let me just start by saying I like Andrew Lloyd Webber. I always have. I love Phantom of the Opera, I took my family to see Cats (more than once), and I list Starlight Express as one of my favorite shows of all time. Jesus Christ Superstar is a classic. I grew up listening to the Original Cast Recording, and the Original Soundtrack of the film that followed. I like this show.

I did not however, like this production. More specifically, I did not like Ted Neeley who stars as Jesus.

Neeley was in the original 1971 Broadway cast where he played a Leper and understudied the role of Jesus. According to the Internet Broadway Database, this is his only Broadway credit. However, Neeley was selected to star as Jesus in the 1973 film version of JCS. Since that time, according to a recent Washington Post interview, Neeley has been traveling the world as Jesus in one production or another of Superstar. Over time, he seems to have slowly convinced himself that he IS in fact, Jesus Christ—or at a minimum, he seems to feel he was destined to play the role. I find this odd, since, in 1971 Neeley was simply a struggling actor going from audition to audition, finally landing his big break as a leper in a Broadway show.

The man is 66 years old—twice as old as Jesus was at crucifixion. While I support unconventional casting, Neeley’s age is so distracting it becomes difficult to watch. Perhaps his age would be less of an issue if the rest of the cast was also mature. But, the other actors were age-appropriate, further exaggerating Neeley’s age.

Neeley comes across as an actor who has banked his entire life on doing this role over and over and over. Onstage, Neeley displays no emotion. He meanders through the staging and seems lost most of the time. In fact, he has even developed his own style of “covering” when he has no idea what else to do. He simply stops wherever he is (usually center stage), turns to the audience, and begins having a silent pantomimed conversation with an invisible person (presumably God). This ridiculous pantomime happens so many times it becomes comical—at least 20 times—and I am not exaggerating for effect.

But his most egregious misstep is his vocals. He destroys the music. Everything he sings is either screamed or sung at a painfully slow tempo as if to milk every last note.

It’s a shame that Neeley is so bad in the show, because the rest of the cast is actually quite good. Judas, played by James Delisco is captivating. But his energy and passion (and incredible vocals) can’t make up for the damage Neeley does. Keep an eye on Delisco however. Because when this tour is over, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him.

Neeley is not the only flaw in this production. Dallett Norris, the show’s director, deserves a great deal of the blame. He should have reigned in Neeley. But Norris’ vision of the show is also skewed. Part of the magic (and controversy) of the original production is that you never really see Jesus performing miracles. His “fame” comes from word of mouth and he neither denies nor confirms it. It’s a masterful subtlety that allows the theatergoer to make decisions for himself. This production, however, starts with Jesus bringing a man back to life. From the opening scene, there is no question about his powers—the audience is force-fed a single point of view. The result is that this Jesus Christ Superstar becomes nothing more than a bad Passion Play.

I left the theatre thinking how horrible it must be to be an actor in this show alongside the out of control Neeley, especially when you know how bad he is and how much better the show would be without him. Unfortunately, he has turned what should be an electrifying production, into a smalltown church bathrobe drama.

Jesus Christ Superstar continues its run in Washington through Sunday, March 22.