‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Rocks and Shocks at Civic Theatre
When the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar opened on Broadway in 1971, there were already scores of JC fans. They knew every word to songs such as “What’s the Buzz” and “I Don’t Know How To Love Him,” because it started as a radical concept album, not a stage work, which may explain why we don’t know how to love the reinvented Superstar on view at the Civic Theatre through Nov. 17.
Aaron LaVigne and Jenna Rubaii and company of North American Tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. Photo: Matthew Murphy
The plot is the same. We follow the final days of Jesus (Aaron LaVigne) with his adoring apostle Judas (James Delisco Beeks) who operates like a narrator. He thinks his friend Jesus is too full of himself. He’s also miffed that JC spends too much time with his lady friend, Mary Magdalene (Jenna Rubaii).
Strange thing, it’s mystifying how the songs we grew up with, by then 21-year-old composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and 25-year-old lyricist Tim Rice, don’t sound the same as they did on the old stereo.
The solos are outstanding, especially Rubaii in “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” and Tommy Sherlock as the sinister Pilate. LaVignine as Jesus has strong vocals and plays guitar. But director Timothy Sheader turns this national tour into a blasting rock concert with smoke and eyeball-blasting lights.
Aaron La Vigne, Tommy Sherlock, and Company. Photo: Matthew Murphy
The band is perched on industrial scaffolds that evoke modern cities, and they’re loud and authentic. The trade-off is not being able to discern the lyrics, especially with the full cast, which is also the plague of the Civic Theatre, known as the barn. Damn. If you grew up with the coveted brown album, and your own volume control, this concert approach will make you strain and swear.
The show is so energized and fast that it’s tough to follow the story, even though we know the ending, and it’s a buzz kill. It begins with Jesus arriving in Jerusalem and ends with shocking cruelty and the Crucifixion.
Through the magic of theatre, glitter sticks to fake blood in 39 lashes, and Jesus twitches as he hangs on a mechanical cross that unfolds like a giant exercise machine. The priests dance with microphones that double as scepters. Aside from some spooky masks and Paul Louis Lessard who gives Herod a gold drama queen king, costumes are generally drab and baggy, especially in the crotch.
James Delisco Beeks and company. Photo: Matthew Murphy
This production has an edgy vibe, but viewers will long for heartfelt character interactions and a few seconds to breathe. The dancing has hip-hop syncopations which complement the score, but this 50th anniversary national tour is “sung-through” at warp speed without intermission, and we want to rewind it to hear and process the dissonance and love.
Jesus Christ Superstar runs through Nov. 17. www.broadwaysd.com
Kris Eitland covers dance and theater for Sandiegostory.com and freelances for other publications, including the Union Tribune and Dance Teacher Magazine. She grew up performing many dance styles and continued intensive modern dance and choreography at the Univ. of Minnesota, Duluth, and San Diego State Univ. She also holds a journalism degree from SDSU. Her career includes stints in commercial and public radio news production.
Eitland has won numerous Excellence in Journalism awards for criticism and reporting from the San Diego Press Club. She has served on the Press Club board since 2011 and is a past president. She is a co-founder of Sandiegostory.com. She has a passion for the arts, throwing parties with dancing and singing, and cruising the Pacific in her family’s vintage trawler. She trains dogs, skis, and loves seasonal trips to her home state of Minnesota.
Oh yes I remember those songs. Sounds like the show is challenging.