Superstar
When we moved here almost four years ago, we noticed our little adopted town had a theater for live stage performances. The "Barn Lot Theater" which sets just off the square. Over the years I've enjoyed attending various performances in other theaters, and even acted in a couple of productions (I'm a terrible actor, but they were desperate). With one thing and another I kept postponing attending this particular establishment, but last Saturday my granddaughter wanted me to take her to see "Jesus Christ Superstar" because some of her friends were in the production.
I must admit to a bit of trepidation at attending because I've loved the music and production of this particular program for many years. When the music albums first hit the market in the '70's I wore out at least one set of them, saw the movie when it hit the theaters, watched a live production of this in Indianapolis, purchased the video tape of the movie and have watched that several times. I like "Superstar" and was a bit apprehensive about seeing a production that might be butchered by a small town theatrical group.
To my surprise and delight just the opposite was true. The sound, choreography, settings and direction were superb, and the rather large cast pulled the whole thing together with a perfection that I had not expected. There were variations between the movie and this local performance, not in the songs but in the action. They were a plus. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
I presume there has been a change of heart concerning "Superstar" in the years since it was first introduced to us. I remember at that time many church organizations condemned it for one reason or another, and I do not think it would have been performed as a live stage production here in the middle of the Bible belt back then. But then several church organizations condemned Handel's Messiah when it was first introduced in the mid seventeen hundreds, and now it's performed in all sorts of churches.
My personal opinion is, the music from Jesus Christ Superstar will go down in history as some of the finest music of the 20th century. But what do I know.
posted by Fish-2 at 8:52 PM
6 Comments:
Oh I loved it too. Had two soundtracks, one from the movie and one from the broadway version. I agree with you: It endures.
Try not to be angry, try not to hold on to, things that upset you, Lord, everything's alright, yes, everything's fine, and I want you to sleep well tonight...
I loved this because in those angry days of the 70s, Jesus was being preached as a wimp (and still is, I think). When in fact he WAS sometimes angry (and since he was also sinless, there is indeed righteous anger).
Oh, but one more thing, the last phrase of Mary Magdelene's song... was it this?
Let the world be with be without you tonight...
LOL. That does pose some existential questions....
Many small towns have local playhouses & civic theatres, etc.
I am always amazed at the level of talent throughout the country. Here, we have a carpenter who played the lead in 'Camelot', a rancher who played in 'Oklahoma', an investment banker in 'Chicago'
and the kid from Starbucks who had the lead in 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Forum'
Regular folk, without the hollywood hangups, but with real talent. Amazing rural Americana..
Walker, that was one of the best parts of the local play. The young lady that played Mary Magdalene sang every song perfectly, with a very clear and lovely voice. The line in that one song is "Let the world turn without you tonight"
BB, one of the plays I "acted" in around '85 was Othello. Desdemona (sp) was played by a local barmaid that always seemed a bit dingy, kind of a left over flower child type. To my utter surprise the first night of rehersal she had every line and every move memorized, and was only better from that point on. The part of Othello was played by a local disk jockey and their interactions on stage carried that play from the first night. Even my bad acting couldn't dampen the effect.
I know where you're coming from, Fish. A few years back I dreaded seeing the local community college production of West Side Story. But since one of the grandkids was in it we felt obligated to go.
It was great. We really enjoyed it. So, I'm glad you had the same experience.
I've done local theater twice "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Stop the world I want to get off"
It took so much time - my life was not my own. Therefore, I always appreciate the efforts of anyone who gets involved.
what did YOU play in Othello?
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