Jesus Christ superstar.....on NBC

[a kennedy]

OMGOSH......

[PJMcK]

1. UGH. (n/t)

[mucifer]

2. I really can't hear the lyrics well seems like other stuff is drowning it out

or maybe I'm old.

[oberliner]

5. Audience needs to stop screaming every five seconds

[mucifer]

6. Seems like the sound system is bad the good thing is it's probably pissing off most deplorables.

[FarPoint]

47. I totally agree

Very much a huge distraction

[FakeNoose]

24. Turn on your subtitles

Maybe it's called closed captions (?) on your TV.

I always do for shows like this.

[ChazII]

67. That is what I did

and it helps me to follow what is going on in the story.

[Shrike47]

85. Closed captioning is my friend. Only way to watch British shows.

[Jane Austin]

89. Thank goodness I always have closed captioning on.

I could follow the lyrics, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[EffieBlack]

93. I listened to the record nonstop as a kid-all these years later I remember every lyric by heart

Which really didn't go over too well in the room.

[oberliner]

3. Off to a good start

I'm digging it.

[njhoneybadger]

4. Thx

[wcmagumba]

7. Like it so far n/t

[PJMcK]

8. Another UGH. (n/t)

[B2G]

9. Spoiler alert: He dies.

[SCantiGOP]

42. But then it turns into a zombie movie

[csziggy]

54. Jesus was not a zombie!

https://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/jesus-was-not-a-zombie?utm_term=.nxQEzNB3x#.ayxzAGgX8

[a kennedy]

10. AND NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

and yup, advertisements.... but there is a tiny, little box in the lower right corner of “backstage”. Couldn’t they JUST DO IT WITHOUT ADVERTISEMENTS??? It’s ruined.....it’s ruined. Could have been so powerful without advertisements.

[The Blue Flower]

11. Sound is poor due to audience screaming

I've turned on closed captioning. I wanted to see it because I've never seen it staged. Don't like the way Judas screams all his lines. I can also hear echoes of "Evita" in the music.

[OliverQ]

21. A lot of this show is screaming, especially Jesus and Judas.

They're 2 of, if not the vocally hardest roles in Musical theatre.

JCS came out 6 years before Evita, so it's more so Evita has echoes of Jesus Christ Superstar.

[lunasun]

69. + ++ Exactly

[EffieBlack]

95. I think the audience screaming was part of the performance - as Jesus is portrayed as a "superstar"

[AmandaRuth]

12. I'm still at work, but I'm mixed about this

Because I so so so love the 1973 version. I was talking about this to co workers and we were curious who Alice Cooper would be playing, everyone thought Judas, but I was not at all surprised it was Herod - he has the best song after all. "So you are the Christ , the great Jesus Christ......" Lolololol

I can totally see Alice doing this song, top hat and cane. I might tune in to see this song, and Everything's All Right, another favorite

[mcar]

17. Prove to me that you're no fool

Walk across my swimming pool.

Best lyrics! I watched the 70s film a gazillion times. Don't have cable or I'd watch this.

[MountCleaners]

19. Me too

We had the 8-track of the movie soundtrack, and we had the book with all of the lyrics. We used to play it on road trips and sing along.

This version is nowhere near as good, and the sound quality is bad. Makes me want to watch the movie again. Carl Anderson was the best Judas.

[mcar]

27. I was early HS when the film came out

And we had HBO on a free trial thing. It was on for the entire time. I must have watched it every day. I still remember just about all the lyrics.

We had a guy fixing something in the house one day - a plumber, I think. It was summer, I was lopping around on a chair watching it for the umpteenth time.

Plumber walks by and starts going off about it being sacrilegious and blah, blah. My devout Catholic parents were letting me watch it so I ignored the dude.

My siblings and I all attended the local Jesuit college. Some years later, my little brother played one of the Roman guards in that school's production. My mother proudly watched and cheered.

[EffieBlack]

96. I saw it on Broadway back in the day. I thought Ben Vereen was better than Carl Anderson

But Brandon Victor Dixon totally killed it.

[Atman]

66. The movie soundtrackBLECH!

Original cast recording is the only way to go!

[Aristus]

101. I agree.

The singing was better, and I never liked the textual changes they made for the film.

"Then We Are Decided" was a good song, but "Could We Start Again, Please?" was not.

[ProfessorGAC]

106. Ian Gillan As JC

Murray Head as Judas and Brian Keith as Annas. Those parts rocked!

[lkinwi]

13. Im really enjoying it. I saw a live production years ago with some of the original Broadway cast.

I’m liking this almost as much.

[Freddie]

14. Great

Pretty much memorized the album as a kid and later played in the pit orchestra for a college production of it. This is awesome.

[wcmagumba]

15. I memorized it too...

original albums in jr. high...loving it....!

[OliverQ]

16. Watching it. Audience is annoying me though. Hard to hear

with all their screaming.

I'm a musical theatre actor and I'm auditioning for the show I think next month. One of ALWs better scores.

[NCTraveler]

70. Hope it goes well.

[badhair77]

18. I saw the original years ago, too. Had the album memorized.

I’m loving it. The noise from the audience is giving it energy but some lyrics are drowned out. Too bad about the commercials but someone has to pay the bills, I guess.

[Different Drummer]

20. The performances are good; the audience is annoying. n/t

[MountCleaners]

22. The Simon Zealotes guy was good n/t

[Lochloosa]

26. Agree

[badhair77]

41. Love him, too.

I’m going to look for more of his work.

[Sancho]

23. TV and movie version may not be the best...who knows?

In HS it caused a major issue when I brought this album home, I thought the music was fascinating.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

25. Ian Gillan was the best Jesus!!!

[Iggo]

34. So I hear. I'm married to the Ted Neely version, though. (n/t)

[50 Shades Of Blue]

37. I imprinted on the original ST but have seen the movie umpteen times too.

[Iggo]

45. I've actually got the download for the London cast (I think that's got Ian Gillan on it.)

I downloaded the wrong version from iTunes the first time.

Started listening to it, realized something was off, then went back and got the movie soundtrack.

I'll give it another go. Ian Gillan's one of my top five screamers of all time. Love the guy.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

57. Ian really shows what a great singer he is on the original.

IIRC the original ST came before any staging - it was a rock opera on a double LP only. When the movie was being cast Ian Gillan turned down the role of Jesus because he didn't want to leave Deep Purple in the lurch.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

28. I think John Legend lacks the fire his role needs.

[OliverQ]

29. Yeah kinda. Gethsemane is the power house killer number

for Jesus. I feel like it's going to be tough for him to do it justice.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

44. What did you think? I think it was lacking. He has a great voice but

He didn't sell the song to me. He didn't make it his the wayIan Gillan and Ted Neely each did.

[OliverQ]

48. I thought it was weak.

He sang most of it an octave lower, falsettoed the high note, and it's supposed to be held. Just seemed very weak.

Steve Balsamo is my favorite Jesus. His Gethsemane is incredible, even better than Neely's.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

65. I'll have to check him out!

On the whole though I enjoyed this.

[Different Drummer]

30. Agreed. IMO, Ted Neeley was superior to Legend as Jesus. n/t

[liberalhistorian]

33. He does, indeed, and his vocal range is simply not

up to the demands of the role. It's not an easy part for even a well-trained voice. It's too bad, because I like him, but he's just not right for the role.

[EffieBlack]

97. I thought he was great.

[liberalhistorian]

31. I've known this rock opera inside and out

for forty-five years, as my parents played it during my childhood. I've been looking forward to this all week. But I'm really disappointed so far, because the constant audience screaming is ANNOYING and it's impossible to hear much. And I know all the lyrics. I can imagine how it sounds to those who don't know them and don't know the musical. The audience will just NOT SHUT THE FUCK UP. It's like trying to watch the Daytime Emmy Awards, impossible with the relentless screaming and woo-hooing. Whoever's in charge of the tv production needs to get a handle on that fast.

[EffieBlack]

98. I think that was intentional - they were supposed to be a part of the show

The whole Jesus "superstar" thing.

[catbyte]

32. I was down with a migraine today, I lasted about 10 seconds into the show.

Too many strobes/spotlights. Dang. Migraines suck.

[edhopper]

35. I think the booth realized the audience was to much

seems to have muffled it a bit as the show goes on.

FWIW. I like the whole cast.

[aikoaiko]

36. Its really very good.

Ian Gillan will always be the Superstar to me, but Legend and this cast are pretty darn awesome.

[aikoaiko]

40. Gethsemane is hard to sing

[OliverQ]

50. That's why you should cast someone who is capable of singing it.

It's one of the hardest tenor songs in all of Musical Theatre. It needs a rock tenor to pull off, and Legend just isn't a rock tenor.

[aikoaiko]

58. I've generally been satisfied with Legend until that point.

I think Amy Ray hit the mark better.

[OliverQ]

60. Steve Balsamo is my favorite rendition of Gethsemane.

[aikoaiko]

74. Dayamn. He almost looks like a different person by the end of the song.

He put so much into it.

[B2G]

80. Holy shit

That was amazing.

[OliverQ]

81. He's even better on the 1996 London cast album.

He holds that big high note for like 30 seconds.

[Tree-Hugger]

91. Holy shit.

Dann. Just. Wow.

[Lucinda]

107. Wow.

Thank you.

[EffieBlack]

99. I'm surprised that so many people didn't like Legend. I thought he was awesome.

Maybe I have a different take because I have a hard time with the whole "Jesus belting out a song like a powerhouse in the garden" thing since I just don't think of Jesus that way, especially in the context of the song, since he was worn out and struggling with the question of whether he should actually go all the way. I liked John Legend's more subtle approach much more than the rip-roaring rock anthem versions of some others.

I saw it on Broadway with Jeff Fenholt, who was also much softer and I was not as impressed with Ted Neely because he just seemed to loud and forceful to me.

[aikoaiko]

108. I liked his performance very much for almost all of it.

This was the first time I watched one of NBCs live musicals and I was satisfied.

[Loki Liesmith]

38. Caiaphas...omigosh

[madamesilverspurs]

49. He is perfect!

Voice AND demeanor.

Wow.


.

[OliverQ]

52. Norm Lewis. He's a Broadway legend.

[Zoonart]

61. Norm Lewis

Kills it. I know this libretto inside out and John Legend just does not have the chops for this. Mr.
Does not know the show and was wondering why I was being so hard on JL.
When Mr. Lewis came on I said..".this is the difference between a pop star and a stage legend."
He was blown away.

[OliverQ]

63. Yup, the best people in this show are Judas, Caiaphas, and Pilate.

What do those 3 have in common? They're all Broadway/West End trained actors, not pop/rock stars.

[tavernier]

78. Agree Agree Agree

Worst part of the show... every five minutes the commercial interruptions.

[njhoneybadger]

39. It's really good except for Sarah Bareilles, she stinks

Norm Lewis is the bomb

[edhopper]

43. Really?

I thought she did a good job with I Don't Know...

[B2G]

51. Me too. I loved it. Nt

[OliverQ]

46. I knew Gethsemane was gonna be a huge let down.

He just doesn't have the voice for that song.

[Loki Liesmith]

77. Almost no one does

[UTUSN]

53. Doing fanTAStic, but still knocks Ms Magdaline as a WHORE ("had SO MANY men")

[B2G]

56. Should they have recast her as a nurse??

[UTUSN]

75. Besides the original theological/libretto, the singer/actress not cut it. But nurse otta slay it!1

[Different Drummer]

55. Don't know the guy who is Pilate in this, but I like him. n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

59. Alice Cooper as King Herrod!

Genius!

BTW, are the Trumpers' heads exploding b/c Jesus is a black man?

[wcmagumba]

62. Caiaphas, Pilate and Alice Cooper as Herrod...

OMG...

[OliverQ]

72. I found Cooper boring as Herod.

It's supposed to be an upbeat campy number. He just kinda stood there.

[wcmagumba]

73. I agree,

he wasn't as animated as the number really calls for, but, I just
love Alice C, so I lumped him in with the
others, but yep, the actor playing Judas and the other two (Pilate
and Caiaphas) were my favorites in tonight's version.

[Loki Liesmith]

76. Dude is broke down

He could barely get down the steps. Don’t think he has many dance moves left in him.

[Ms. Toad]

100. Agreed. I was really disappointed. n/t

[aikoaiko]

64. Judas, Brandon Victor Dixon, is bringing it home.

[Freddie]

86. Judas stole the show

Nothing against John Legend but WOW, that guy was simply magnificent. Born for the part.

[OliverQ]

88. Oddly, Judas is usually the stand out in most productions

That's why he gets to sing the big title song.

Gethsemane is the hardest, biggest song in the show, but other than that Judas actually gets the better songs.

[Jane Austin]

92. Who is he?

He's amazing.

[TDale313]

104. Hes played Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway.

After the original left the role.

[RandomAccess]

68. I had never seen it before --

and I loved it. Yes, I wish the audience wasn't so noisy, and the lyrics were more audible, but overall I loved it.

Legend has a beautiful voice -- never appreciated it this much.

And I realized it's been toooooo long since I saw a live play. This was great. A wonderful change from my usual evening entertainment (DU, wonderful too but in a very heavy way).

[highplainsdem]

82. You need to see the 1973 film -- it's even better. Trailer:

I love Legend's voice, but he doesn't do nearly as well in this role as Ted Neeley.

I've seen the film several times, and although I liked a number of the performances tonight, I couldn't help missing the film.

[RandomAccess]

112. I'll definitely put it on my list --

thanks for those. Most excellent.

[Tree-Hugger]

71. I was skeptical

But I do love it.

This is one of my all time favorite musicals. I performed in my high school's production of this over twenty years ago and it was a transformative and haunting experience. I also used to watch the movie on a constant loop and listen to the soundtrack. I know this play inside and out.

I don't have many complaints. Caiaphas, Annas, Simon, Pilate, Judas.....top notch.The actor playing Pilate has some very Bowie-esque mannerisms.Loved him. I did like Sara as Mary, though I wasn't entirely impressed with "Could We Start Again, Please?" for some reason. John Legend was awesome and I feel he did very well. I admit that Gethsemene was a bit of a let down for me. I'm spoiled by Ted Neely. I've heard the song done very well by people who can't reach those notes, but I felt this version was missing a little something. Otherwise, I think he did great.

I loved the choreography and liked that there was some stylistic hat tips to the original choreo from,the movie (I don't have any reference for the original play, sadly). The set was awesome. Alice Cooper was fun.

Loved it.

The commercials during the show are very much like the money changers in the Temple......

[lunasun]

79. Norm Lewis, Jin Ha and Brandon Victor Dixon all kicked it.

[superpatriotman]

83. It was very very good production

Cheers and feels all around

[pamela]

84. I loved it.

I thought everyone did a great job. I watched the movie this afternoon, too.

[Corgigal]

87. Seen this show 4 times.

2 times with Neeley in the lead, still enjoyed it. Judah could have been stronger, but fine.

I thought the backdrop was great, and modern. I hope they try Phantom for Halloween.

[EffieBlack]

90. I loved it!

[Jane Austin]

94. Me, too, Effie.

I'm still feeling it.

[EffieBlack]

102. I thought everyone was amazing

And the fact that they pulled this off on live television has me in awe. I love these live musicals and am so glad that NBC is doing them!

[highplainsdem]

103. Videos: Brandon Victor Dixon's "Superstar" & Carl Anderson, 1973

Video of tonight's performance of the song "Superstar" here:

http://tvline.com/2018/04/01/jesus-christ-superstar-live-judas-song-video-nbc/

Carl Anderson in the 1973 film:

[Revanchist]

105. From the snippets I've seen it's better than the 2000 film

But that's a really low bar unless you're watching it for amusement purposes

&ab_channel=JesusChristSuperstar

[edhopper]

111. Never heard of this one

and from looking over the clips on YouTube. I am glad I didn't.
Not very good.

[Guilded Lilly]

109. The amazing music is what makes this show so passionate for me and

It brought back a ton of memories (as well as life searches). As always, I just had to remind myself to stay involved with the passions of the music and voices and let that take me to the same places as when I was a late teen. It certainly did!

From a musical standpoint I was thoroughly entertained and trying my best to explain some things to my daughter, who was fairly lost in the chaos of the stage sets and, at times, too loud audience. (Their adulation of the Stars sometimes broke that “plane” between performance and observer.) The little backstage window in the bottom of the screen during commercials (blechhhh) was totally distracting, and unnecessarily marred the flow and mood for me.

Judas was incredible! A force. I love Legend and his demeanor. He wasn’t quite as strong vocally as others but his physicality was so much better than the blue eyed blonde persona of Jesus that I have always struggled with. Pilot...riveting. Herod, campy. Magdalene, pure voice.
Andrew Lloyd Webber scores just reach a place in my soul, always.

Not being a religious aficionado, I have to say the staging of the finale and the backlit cross was quite visually gripping. But the very busy and metal- heavy background set didn’t do much for me otherwise and took away from supremely personal struggles of the characters.

But oh, the music, the voices!

I miss theater.
Bravo NBC.
Keep going there.

[Atman]

110. Available this morning on the NBC FireTV app.

Free, no sign up required. The commercial breaks are very short. No picture-in-picture backstage window. And the sound seems pretty well balanced.

I will say, I don’t like that they changed the lyrics to The Temple, but that’s a pretty minor complaint. Very good production!

[Revanchist]

113. Also on Hulu

Don't think there are any commercials if you have the ad-free package