BWW Reviews: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Gettysburg Community Theatre

If you're going to put on a show, timing is everything. The Rockettes' Christmas show wouldn't be a big seller for August. So if you're putting on a passion play, what better time than just before Easter? Although timing was probably the main factual reason for JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR selling out so fast at Gettysburg Community Theatre, it was a show that deserved to sell out for the production itself, and not just for its being the right show at the right time.

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera of the last week of Jesus' life may have the distinction of being the most-objected-to work of musical theatre ever. The claim has been made. It's been claimed to be racist (the casting of Judas as a black man in the film version). It's been claimed to be anti-Semitic, reinforcing the false idea that the Jews, not the Romans, killed Jesus. And it's been claimed to be anti-Christian, depending on which Christian denomination is speaking - is it blasphemous that Jesus and the disciples dance? That there's heathen rock music? That there's a hint of romantic interest in Jesus by Mary Magdalene? That Jesus expresses doubt at Gethsemane? Every Christian group that's able to find something to be offended by has found it in this show at one point or another, in multiple countries, predominantly because it's so difficult for many to accept the humanity of Jesus and his followers.

In theatre, any show that can provoke this much complaint, and not because the show is badly written or performed, is probably provoking something else, too - thought. And that, like the music in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, can be a beautiful thing. Director Greg Trax and musical director Mary George have provided the GCT production with a solid foundation to let its audiences think for themselves and to enjoy some glorious rock opera, with many thanks to George and her pit band's hard work.

Although it's a traditional passion play (and as such doesn't end with a resurrection, which left a few audience members who hadn't seen the show before slightly surprised), it's also a political tale, and the tale of a triangle among the three stars, Jesus, Mary Magdelene, and Judas. Not a romantic triangle, but a triangle of opposing interests - Mary in worrying about Jesus, and Judas in worrying that Jesus has lost his focus. Should their leader be taking care of himself, or taking care of the poor? Should he be proclaiming himself a political savior or the king of the Jews? And what about those stories that he thinks he's the son of God?

For the show to make sense, Judas and Mary Magdalene have to be evenly matched as performers. Chad-Alan Carr and Emily Falvey, as Judas and Mary Magdalene, provide that, both vocally and in handling the choreography by Catherine Howard. Despite that, at least at the next-to-last performance, this was still Mary Magdalene's show. Falvey's turns, not only the always-popular "I Don't Know How to Love Him," were all particularly nicely handled. But Carr's own deliberately ragged version of the song, during Judas' final breakdown, was beautifully handled, as befits the character many find to be the actual center of the production - a man who believes he's been badly used by both sides, by the priests who want Jesus turned in, and by Jesus himself in getting Judas to turn him in to fulfill his predictions.

Sean Mott, as Jesus, is a fine singer but an even better actor. That's important in this show, as without dialogue, every emotion, every idea, is really conveyed through movement, small gestures, and expression. Mott's ability to convey Jesus' emotions and his angst, to convey the humanity that the part requires, through even his smallest expressions, is excellent.

Hans Schroeder made a strong Simon Zealotes, attempting to persuade Mott's Jesus to rouse their followers against Rome; Ed Riggs, at the opposite end both vocally and politically, played Caiaphas, dedicated to maintaining the status quo, with a voice as steely as his political will. Greg Trax, the director, also brought on the glitz and the humor for the show as Herod, the hardest-working king in show biz, and worked "Try It and See" with his royal backup dancers with a James Brown flair (and a James Brown cape).

Despite the facts that JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is shorter than many if not most Webber musicals, and that it's completely sung through without explanatory dialogue or narrative, it manages to convey the true humanity and human foibles of all of the characters - Mary Magdalene's emotional conflicts, Judas' devotion to a fixed image of Jesus that his leader no longer meets, Herod's self-absorption, Caiaphas' political chicanery, Pilate's lack of interest in the situation, Peter's obtuseness, Jesus' own doubts - in a way that many plays and stories on the theme fail to meet. The cast, crew, and creatives at GCT have met the challenge of translating that on the Gettysburg stage.

The next show up at Gettysburg Community Theatre is THE SECRET GARDEN. For the complete GCT schedule, visit their website at gettysburgcommunitytheatre.org.

Photo credits: Cindie Leer

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