Superstar Opens Goodspeed Season 

The classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar is currently gathering the faithful while opening the new season at Goodspeed Musicals. The Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice legend was fairly controversial upon its debut as a concept album in 1970, but has since been a beloved all-ages musical regularly produced across the country. At Goodspeed they get many things with this show right, beginning with the voices.

The vocal demands of Jesus Christ Superstar cannot be understated. I know Evita is beloved by many, but for me, JCS will always be Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best and most adventurous work.  Loosely based on the Passion of the Christ, Superstar is a sung-through rock opera which explores the psychology of Jesus (Jack Hale) and his conflict with Judas (Austin Lesch), who fears that Jesus is misguiding his followers. Those followers include Mary Magdalene (a lovely Stephanie Zaharis), Simon (Garrick Vaughan) and Peter (Jordan Alexander). I should note that at the performance I attended, both Hale and Alexander were understudies who did not let the production down one iota. Good for them!

Director Tatiana Pandiani has assembled a strong ensemble for the production with voices that one can only hope survive the rigors of production. The director also has included some odd touches that didn’t always work for me. In a mostly stark scenic design (by Riccardo Hernandez), the stage floor is covered with fine white sand. Is this a representation of the desert? Or that whole ashes to ashes thing?  Either way, every actor at some point is picking up the sand to toss in concert with Amy Campbell’s exuberant and accomplished choreography. At intermission, however, the sand is shoveled to the sides to make room, apparently, for the Last Supper.

And I know gender fluid casting is just expected now, but a woman resembling Dolly Parton (Nicolette Antonia Shin) playing the comical role of King Herod seems a bridge too far. Since there’s only one major female role in Superstar, perhaps they were trying to level the playing field, but ultimately it distracts for all the wrong reasons. Again, this does not take away from the general excellence of the singing, which does total justice throughout to the difficult score. 

This is especially true with the leading performances, with both Hale and Lesch potent singers.  Hale deserves plenty of credit for a powerhouse performance, especially in the show-stopping “Gethsemane”. Although a dynamic performer throughout, Lesch’s Judas comes off overwrought and overly animated almost from his opening number, “Heaven on Their Minds”. The actor is no doubt vocally gifted (his “Superstar” shakes the rafters), but he starts so high he ultimately has nowhere to go.

In other roles, I thought Jamari Darling’s basso profundo wasn’t quite working for his Caiaphas, but Deven Kolluri’s commanding Pontius Pilate was truly haunting when singing “Pilate’s Dream”. Both moving and memorable is Zaharis doing beautiful work on “Everything’s Alright” and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him”. I also liked the addition of Mary Magdalene in the musical’s slow fade at conclusion, which I don’t recall from previous productions. In all, this is a solid production of a contemporary classic.

Jesus Christ Superstar continues at Goodspeed Musicals, 6 Main Street, East Haddam, Connecticut through June 7. For further information or ticket reservations call the theatre box office at: 860.873.8668 or visit: www.goodspeed.org.

Tom Holehan is one of the founders of the Connecticut Critics Circle, a frequent contributor to WPKN Radio’s “State of the Arts” program and the Stratford Crier and former Artistic Director of Stratford’s Square One Theatre Company. He welcomes comments at: tholehan@yahoo.com. His reviews and other theatre information can be found on the Connecticut Critics Circle website: www.ctcritics.org.