Review: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is Rocking at Broadway Sacramento

Even after 50 years, Jesus Christ Superstar is still rocking. It's now celebrating its golden anniversary tour with a surplus of energy, talent, and, fittingly, golden glitter. It first began as a concept album in 1970 when the composers, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, were unable to get financial backing for a stage production. After the success of the album, the musical debuted on Broadway in 1971 and earned five Tony Award nominations.

Jesus Christ Superstar is loosely based on the last days of Christ, if he were a prophetic rock star with a band of choreographed groupies. Add in an evil boy band of priests, a leather-clad governor, and a gilded Emcee-esque king, and you've got all the ingredients for a recipe for success.

Leading the boy band are two of the show's standouts, Isaac Ryckeghem as Caiaphas and Kodiak Thompson as Annas. Caiaphas is the sunglass-wearing High Priest of Israel, who hypnotizes Judas (and us) with his mesmerizing bass in a sea of tenors to convince him to give Jesus up. Annas is his spectacularly dazzling sidekick, who wields his scepter/microphone like an accessory he was born to dominate. Going up the ladder of shame, we reach the infamous governor Pontius Pilate, best known for ordering Jesus's crucifixion. Nicholas Hambruch's Pilate is a little torn as to what to do, so he sends Jesus to King Herod (Erich W. Schleck), who flamboyantly orders Jesus to perform his miraculous feats in one of the most entertaining numbers of the show, "Herod's Song."

The king of traitors, Judas, is portrayed by Elvie Ellis, who slinks about guiltily while secretly betraying Joshua Bess's Jesus. Ellis and Bess face off in what should be considered one of entertainment's great song battles in "The Last Supper," which is also one of the most poignant scenes in Jesus Christ Superstar. Cleverly arranged around the giant cross that doubles as a runway, Jesus and his apostles reenact DaVinci's painting, complete with the traitor at Jesus's right hand. Bess goes on to quietly accept his fate in the powerful titular number, "Superstar," which joins the ranks, for me, as one of the theatre's most chilling scenes as the spotlight shines on the beaten and defeated figure of Jesus Christ.

The familiar music of Webber's rock opera will transport you back to the 1970s, including Mary Magdalene's (Faith Jones) recognizably sweet realization that she loves Jesus, "I Don't Know How to Love Him." Rife with symbolism and paired with fluid and frenetic new choreography by Drew McOnie, creative staging, and some modernized set and costume design by Tom Scutt, Jesus Christ Superstar is a fresh take on an old favorite that feels more like a 90-minute rock concert than a high-culture musical theatre experience...in a good way. Oh, and did I mention the glitter?

Jesus Christ Superstar plays at the Safe Credit Union Performing Arts Center through February 12. Tickets are available online at BroadwaySacramento.com, by phone at (916) 557-1999, or in person at the Broadway Sacramento Box Office at 1419 H Street in Sacramento.

Photo credit: Evan Zimmerman

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