By Jasmine Ong
Since being shown the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar when I was in secondary school, this rock opera stole my heart and quickly became one of the bedrocks of my theatre education growing up.
Suffice to say that when people were raving over The Phantom of the Opera and Cats, I was one of those who would always be quick to defend Jesus Christ Superstar as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BEST musical of all time.
While I never had the privilege of seeing it on stage when I became an adult, I managed to enjoy various versions of it online, which included the NBC live concert staging of Jesus Christ Superstar, with John Legend portraying Jesus.
Image courtesy of Zeus Martinez Photography.
So, when I heard it was coming to Singapore, I knew this was my time to finally enjoy it in its full glory on stage. And, boy did it deliver.
For those needing a bit of context going into the musical, Jesus Christ Superstar focuses on Holy Week, which begins from when Jesus comes into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to his eventual crucifixion that happens on Good Friday.
I’ll say this first, every song in Jesus Christ Superstar is a vocal challenge in itself and everyone in the cast for the Singapore leg, including our homegrown talent (and NYLON Singapore Cover Girl) Tabitha Nauser, knocked it out of the park.
Image courtesy of Zeus Martinez Photography.
Portraying such a significant figure like Jesus is never an easy feat, but Luke Street’s portrayal moved me deeply, particularly in the second act. While he already blew my mind with his incredibly high octave vocal range and emotional delivery in ‘Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)’, it was the way he delivered his performance in the second half of the show that took my breath away.
Even though he was largely silent with just a few lines, his movements and facial expressions spoke volumes, which only made every scene more heart wrenching for me. It was also in these moments where I felt myself constantly reaching for a tissue to clean stray tears away.
Image courtesy of Zeus Martinez Photography.
Javon King, who portrays Judas, not only delivered the intensity in his songs but was able to convey the emotions required for the scenes he was in, especially during ‘Judas’s Death’ where that desperation felt so palpable that I felt very uncomfortable bearing witness to it.
Some of the most iconic songs of the show were sung by Mary Magdalene, who is portrayed by both Tabitha Nauser and Frances Lee. In our performance, we had Tabitha take the stage with her gorgeous vocal tones that lent this warmness and vulnerability, which mirrored the sincerity and conviction of Mary’s beliefs.
Image courtesy of Zeus Martinez Photography.
What kept Jesus Christ Superstar exceptionally engaging to me, was also the amazing ensemble with the Zumba-like choreography that was so uniformed and dynamic, that it made every number look beautifully complete — whether it is the praise and worship of ‘Hosanna’ or the chaos and inflicted pain of ‘Superstar’.
One of the things that I really appreciated about this production is the ability to do so much with so little. Unlike a typical musical stage where there are big sets and over the top costumes, Jesus Christ Superstar keeps things to a minimal, with a small stage and creative solutions for props.
Image courtesy of Zeus Martinez Photography.
This creativity was especially evident when it came time for Judas to receive his money for betraying Jesus. Instead of giving him an actual money bag, Judas’ hands were dipped in silver paint which easily settled handling of money, but also made for a poetic representation of blood on his hands for selling Jesus out.
Other brilliant displays of this creativity could be seen in ‘The Temple’ where the moving crosses served to create visual chaos, and in ‘Trial Before Pilate (Including the 39 Lashes)’, where gold glitter was used to represent not only the whip, but also the blood on Jesus’ body.
All in all, while I thoroughly enjoyed the staging of Jesus Christ Superstar, I have to emphasise that the musical does lend A LOT of creative license to the biblical life of Jesus leading to His crucifixion, and it’s why it should not be, in any way, taken as the Gospel truth.
