REVIEW: Jesus Christ Superstar – Princess Theatre, Melbourne

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s somewhat-controversial musical about Jesus and his fame in the lead-up to the crucifixion, is full of powerful, memorable songs. It is best known in Australia because of the concert production starring John Farnham, Jon Stevens and Kate Cebrano that toured the country in the early 1990s. I’ve listened to that cast recording countless times and I still wish I’d seen that production, because their takes on the songs are full of passion and rock-and-roll.

The original concept album was an early example of the musical sub-genre “rock opera” that rebelled against more traditional West End and Broadway fare. Given the subject matter, it was always going to stand out, even as the mainstream was starting to see musicals evolve in the form of Hair, in 1968, and The Who’s Tommy, released in 1969, the year before Jesus Christ Superstar first appeared as a concept album.

Because the show is sung-through, what the musical needs is a cast of strong rock-genre singers who can imbue their performances with the kind of energy and fervour of a stadium concert. You don’t need actors necessarily, but you do need performers who really understand what they are singing about.

The latest production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which opened at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne this week, is filled with a cast of great singers who, in many instances, don't project the real feelings of the moment. Thursday night was a rock concert where the cheering crowd blew the roof off the building, but because of the way it was presented, the central ideas and emotions are muffled by the overblown aesthetic.

Director Timothy Sheader put his version together for the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, where it premiered in 2016. It has toured all over the world since then. It takes the rock-concert vibe to the extreme, beginning with Jesus and his followers in matching hoodies, with Christ taking to the stage in a trucker cap to sing “What’s the Buzz”. Feels right for a man who is about to become a superstar.

Singer-songwriter Michael Paynter, who appeared on season two of The Voice Australia after being dropped by his record label, knows how to get an audience on his side. But he’s lacking real charisma in the role of Jesus, even if he did get a mid-show standing ovation after belting out “Gethsemane” in the second act. It was oversung and didn’t reveal any of the roiling tension underneath, as he’s negotiating with God about his need to die. The crowd, however, loved it.

Mahalia Barnes is also a strong singer but the power of her vocals aren’t modulated for ”I Don’t Know How to Love Him” meaning you don’t feel any of her struggle, either. Barnes has a lot of her father’s vocal flair on stage, but I don’t really want to see Jimmy as Mary Magdelene, either.

There are two stand-out performances that helped to carry the show. Javon King’s Judas exposes his inner-conflict throughout and his voice is stunning. Reuben Kaye absolutely steals the show as King Herod, in long black boots, a large cod piece, a gold cape and heavy make-up. He should have got the mid-show standing-o but at least he's allowed to get away with some meta gags about high notes and “nailing it”.

The vision of the piece is both heavy-handed and muddy. The lean into the live-music feeling means one of the recurring symbols of the show is the hand-mics the characters sing into. At first, they are a symbol of finding your voice and having your say. In act two, a swinging microphone visualises suicide. By the end, when Christ is crucified on a microphone stand, he’s literally sacrificed on the altar of rock-and-roll. I’m not sure what this is meant to mean. Is it a criticism of fame? In Rice and Webber’s original concept, Jesus is “just a man” who was in the right place at the right time. Literalising the music industry imagery makes it seem like he was an artist who followed his passions too far.

The choreography is striking, but often in curious ways. Sometimes it feels like the ensemble is in a heavy-clapping, all-shouting revivalist tent or perhaps writhing around like the spirit of God has possessed them. Mostly it is distracting, not really complementing or enhancing the action. One particular performer is so bold in their movements, she is hard to take your eye off, but I’m not sure what she represents or why she’s given such power on the stage.

The absolute nadir of this production for me is during “Trial Before Pilate,” where Jesus is supposed to be lashed 39 times. Watching as Christ is struck over and over again – exposing the man and his frailty – is supposed to be viscerally upsetting. In this production, an already bruised, battered and bloody Christ is assaulted by handfuls of glitter.

Glitter lashings is a totally perplexing choice. I don’t need this moment to be the absolute pain porn of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, but glitter? The heavy-handedness of the first act is replaced in the second by the completely inexplicable.

Jesus Christ Superstar is full of incredible songs – for me the best of the Rice/Lloyd Webber collaborations, but this production chooses to present them in an uninspiring way. A stripped-back version is fine. But a version that elevates rock spectacle over the heart of the matter is stripping things back too far.

Thank God for the casting of Reuben Kaye as Herod. But even that is not worth paying a premium for. He’s got a few nights off coming up; go see him at the Comedy Festival instead.

- Keith Gow, Theatre First

Jesus Christ Superstar is on stage at the Princess Theatre until June

Photos: Jeff Busby