Because of Jesus Christ Superstar's colossal reputation, I wasn't surprised by the excited buzz before the rock opera's start at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center last night. While the regular theater-goers busied themselves at the bars scattered in the lobby, families and couples found their seats and flipped through their playbills, excitedly discussing "the guy from the movie," Ted Neeley, who stars as Jesus in the production and who played the same role in the 1973 film.
Corey Glover as Judas; photo by Joan Marcus.
When Neeley made his grand entrance during the third number, the crowd roared, but that's about as exciting as things got until the famous "Gethsemane" scene. I wanted to see Neeley play a real superstar, a more Michael Jackson-esque performer who wowed his followers into worship with rock 'n' roll. What I got was a Jesus who was majestic and pained, but not a convincingly rockin' messiah or even a believable messiah at all. In Neeley's defense, his failure was probably the result of a lack of strong direction. It seemed like he was just there to sing. That, at least, he did very well.
Unfortunately, Judas was also a dud. Played by Corey Glover — lead singer of Grammy-winning band Living Colour — Judas lacked strength or charisma. Glover was limp, shoulders hunched and head hung, for the entire time he held the stage, making his character annoying, not tragic. A bolder Judas would have been more interesting. Again, this was probably the result of ineffective direction, not a reflection of Glover's lack of talent, and his final number, "Superstar," actually allowed him to shine. Matthew G. Myers and Aaron Fuksa as Simon and Herod provided the most memorable performances. Myers shocked me out of my boredom-induced haze during his solo in the first act. But it wasn't until Fuksa, playing an afroed Herod, appeared on the stage with a handful of soul singers that I was entertained again.
Despite the production's generally lackluster feel, the technical aspects were flawless. The choruses were clear and beautifully harmonized, and the choreography stole the spotlight from Jesus and Judas every time.
Overall, Jesus Christ Superstar didn't live up to its glowing reputation. For the most part, I was bored out of my mind and couldn't wait for it to be over, but that may have just been me. The 9-year-old behind me really dug it, what with his knowledge of every word and participation in every sing-along throughout the show. If you're already a JCS nut, then I'd say go for it. The show runs through Sunday, June 29.
Note: A correction has been made in above entry to the name of one of the actors. In earlier version, Matthew G. Meyers had been misidentified as Michael G. Meyers.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2008.
