Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood John Legend stars as Jesus in NBC's Easter 2018 live production of the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar." Jesus has been portrayed by a variety of actors throughout the years. Hide Caption 1 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood Jencarlos Canela portrayed Jesus in the musical "The Passion," which aired live on FOX on Palm Sunday in 2016. Hide Caption 2 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood Adam Bond from CNN's "Finding Jesus," Haaz Sleima from National Geographic's "Killing Jesus" and Juan Pablo Di Pace from NBC's "A.D." Hide Caption 3 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood From "Son of God," pictured, to "God's Not Dead" to "Heaven Is for Real," the box office has been a one-stop shop for Christian-themed films. Hide Caption 4 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood In 1923, Cecil B. DeMille became a believer in the power the Bible held with moviegoing audiences. After finding success with his Old Testament epic "The Ten Commandments," DeMille enlisted H.B. Warner to help him tell "The Greatest Story Ever Told." The result was 1927's "The King of Kings," a film for which Warner was virtuous both on and off the set. According to Turner Classic Movies , he signed an agreement not to be involved in any sort of scandal -- even divorce -- for a year following the movie's release. Hide Caption 5 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood When in need of a man to play Jesus in 1959's Oscar-winning "Ben-Hur," the production team turned to opera singer Claude Heater. Although his portrayal of Christ is one of the best known in cinema, he still goes uncredited for the part. The movie was based on the 1880 novel, "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ," which had previously been turned into a silent film in 1925. Hide Caption 6 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood Not to be confused with 1927's "The King of Kings," MGM's 1961 New Testament saga "King of Kings" told the story of Jesus from birth to death in grand, technicolor fashion. Jeffrey Hunter portrayed Jesus in this classic, which has become a go-to movie about the Gospels. Hide Caption 7 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood One of the most iconic portrayals of Jesus came from Max von Sydow in 1965's "The Greatest Story Ever Told." With a script adapted from a '40s radio series and Fulton Oursler's account by the same name, "The Greatest Story Ever Told" put the "big" in "big screen production," costing $20 million and boasting actors like Sidney Poitier, Charlton Heston and John Wayne. Hide Caption 8 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood In 1973, actor Ted Neeley had a breakout role as Jesus in the film version of the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar," and he couldn't be more grateful for it. "(T)his experience ... has formed my life," Neeley said in August 2013 , marking the release's 40th anniversary. "It has changed everything for me, continually and in a positive manner. I will be forever thankful for that." Hide Caption 9 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood The same year that Neeley was becoming well known as "Jesus Christ Superstar," there was another actor portraying the Big Guy in another religious musical. Victor Garber, now known for his TV work on shows like "Alias" and "Web Therapy," was building what would become a renowned stage career as Jesus Christ in "Godspell." Garber first starred in the production on the stage before it was released as a movie in 1973. Hide Caption 10 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood Alongside screen legends like Laurence Olivier, Anne Bancroft and Ernest Borgnine was Robert Powell, who played Jesus Christ in the 1977 British miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth." In 2013, Powell again helped bring the Biblical story to the small screen as a narrator for the UK release of "The Bible" miniseries. Hide Caption 11 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood This 1979 movie starring Brian Deacon was straightforward about its subject with the simple title "Jesus." It's also known as "The Jesus Movie," and was based on the Gospel of St. Luke. Hide Caption 12 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood The 1980 TV movie "The Day Christ Died" starred a pre-"Princess Bride" Chris Sarandon as Jesus. While many biblically based films like to explore Jesus' entire life or a large chunk of his adulthood, "The Day Christ Died" only required Sarandon to portray him during the crucial moments of his arrest and crucifixion. Hide Caption 13 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood In 1988, Willem Dafoe portrayed Jesus in what's become one of the most controversial movies about the famous Nazarene, Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ." In a story based on the 1953 novel of the same name, Dafoe's Jesus is one who battles lust, doubt and a reluctance to fulfill his fate. Hide Caption 14 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood In the late '90s, Jeremy Sisto went from "Clueless" and "The Wild Thornberrys" to "Jesus." The actor starred as Christ in the 1999 TV movie that focused on Jesus' work and life. Hide Caption 15 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood In 1999, Christian Bale portrayed Jesus of Nazareth in a TV movie that told Christ's story from the point of view of his mother, Mary. We do wonder how the actor, known for totally immersing himself in his roles, prepared for this one. Hide Caption 16 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood Molly Shannon's 1999 comedy "Superstar" isn't about religion or Jesus Christ, but Will Ferrell's portrayal of him in a dream sequence is infamous. When Ferrell's hippie, long-haired Jesus appears to Shannon's Mary Katherine Gallagher, they bond over her CD player. Hide Caption 17 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood In 2000, a very different look at the life of Jesus arrived in the form of a stop-motion film called "The Miracle Maker." Ralph Fiennes was the voice of Jesus, and everything about the story of Jesus' adult life, from the beginning of his ministry to his resurrection, was told through this unique animation. Hide Caption 18 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone aren't afraid to blend religious icons with their edgy humor. The creators of the hit Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon" have included a Jesus character on their animated Comedy Central show for years. Their version has his own cable access show, "Jesus and Pals," and often teams up to fight evil with his "Super Best Friends," a group that includes other religious figures like Krishna and Moses. Hide Caption 19 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood Before he became Desmond on "Lost," Henry Ian Cusick was Jesus. The actor portrayed the savior in 2003's "The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John." As the title suggests, this was Jesus' life story from the perspective of John the Baptist. Fun fact: Christopher Plummer is the movie's narrator. Hide Caption 20 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood Since Mel Gibson's 2004 blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ," when many people envision Jesus they probably think about this guy, Jim Caviezel. A little-known actor at the time, Caviezel was catapulted into the spotlight as the controversial movie brought in $370 million domestically. As Caviezel's gone to other roles, including on CBS's "Person of Interest," he's still best known as the actor who withstood Gibson's brutal depiction of Christ's crucifixion. Hide Caption 21 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood We couldn't tell you what the connection is between Christ and musicals, but the religious figure is obviously a popular character in the genre. In 2004's "Reefer Madness," a movie musical sendup of the 1936 anti-weed propaganda film, Bob Torti played the "hardest working man in the afterlife" who warned against marijuana with a jazzy song. Hide Caption 22 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood Jean-Claude La Marre is better known for his work as a filmmaker, but he's also undertaken a massive role on screen. In 2006, he portrayed Jesus Christ as a black man in "Color of the Cross," a movie that imagined the carpenter's crucifixion as racially motivated Hide Caption 23 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood Seth MacFarlane's better known as the voice behind "Family Guy's" diabolical tot Stewie Griffin and "Ted's" profane teddy bear, but he's also been the voice of "Family Guy's" low-key and affable Jesus. At one point, the Fox comedy imagined that Jesus was really in hiding at a record store. Hide Caption 24 of 26
Photos: When Jesus came to Hollywood Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado will probably go down in history as "hot Jesus" thanks to the noticeably attractive spin he's given the character. Morgado's played Christ twice, in the History Channel's 2013 miniseries "The Bible" and the 2014 theatrical release it spawned, "Son of God." Hide Caption 25 of 26
Photo: NBC/Patrick Randak/NBC
To celebrate the resurrection of Christ, NBC continued its annual TV musical tradition with Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert, a spirited staging that involved lots of guitar shreds, geometric coats, and glitter. Sinning is shiny! Read on for all the highs, lows, and deep Vs.
HIGH: Brandon Victor Dixon. Judas was always the real star of the show, and Dixon’s glowering, raging, Aaron Burr-style made it all the clearer, right up through the messy, sweaty, furious suicide. Bonus points for all the times he had to seethe with anger while resting amidst the scaffolding. Super extra bonus points for absolutely killing “Superstar” in his sparkly pants and tank, the best performance (and look) of the night.
LOW: John Legend’s withering stare. You gotta give it to him, John Legend tries very hard to look serious as Jesus Christ… it’s not his fault if he’s physically incapable of it!
LOW: John Legend’s extremely deep tank top. Only literally a low. Otherwise it was a high, and all the better to get sweaty with.
HIGH: John Legend’s performance of “Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say).” OK, so it was hard to adjust to thinking of Legend as Jesus, but you have to give it up for his knockout performance of this song.
HIGH: The priests’ geometric black coats. Just look at this gorgeous thing, designed by Paul Tazewell (Hamilton) – an homage to Issey Miyake’s Bao Bao bag!
Photo: NBC/Paul Lee/NBC
HIGH: Norm Lewis as Caiaphas. With a voice deep enough to make it seem like the set was shaking – and a glare harsh enough to make us take his dyed cornrows seriously (see above).
… together with Jin Ha as Annas. Where Lewis goes low, Ha goes high. Listen to them gorgeously layer “he is dangerous” on top of one other around the one-minute mark. Mmm.
LOW: The audio mix. The performers kept getting drowned out by the music, the audience, and pretty much everything. It’s always fun to hear a vocal-dependent musical that sounds like it was recorded from inside Jesus’s wine bottle.
HIGH: The stripped-down staging. As the “In Concert” nomenclature implied, JCS was not as elaborately staged and filmed as other live TV musicals. That, and the visible audience gave this production more of a live theater vibe than previous NBC musicals, even if it was a little too reminiscent of Rent.
LOW: The commercials. Jesus died for our sins … and also so we could watch advertisements for the Apple X while watching a musical about him.
… yes, including John Legend’s Google commercial. Jesus loves our corporate overlords?
HIGH: The brevity. Granted, NBC elongated this musical with all the commercial breaks. But even so: clocking in at two hours and twenty minutes made the production crisper and more powerful than other TV musicals that drag on for three or more hours.
NBC’s Easter Sunday production of “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” was, as the young people say, doing the most.
This musical threw together glitter, sequins, leather, writhing hotties, a few big performances pitched to the last row, and camerawork that often felt as though it was hopped up on too many lattes. Actually, the ragged edges of a unifying concept did emerge over the course of the NBC musical’s two-hour-and-20-minute running time: If its philosophy could be summed up in one word, “excess” would just about cover it.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But this live show was a lot.
The musical was intensely earnest, often endearingly so. The entire cast, a multi-cultural tribe who looked as though they just left a loft party at 3 a.m. hungry for more adventure, was as energetically sincere as they could be almost all of the time. The exception was Alice Cooper, who stole the show when he emerged in an orange suit. But that adjective doesn’t begin to describe what he was wearing. Cooper’s threads looked like there were made out of flames — that’s how vivid and pleasingly eye-popping his tailored suit was — and yet the singer easily outshone his clothes. His rendition of “King Herod’s Song” was a star turn of the highest order, and a delightful amount of fun. If you can’t enjoy a dapper, devilish rock-god Herod surrounded by dancing ladies clad in outfits a Vegas showgirl would kill for, then perhaps live musicals on television are just not for you. (Your loss.)
The musical played out on one big stage, which at different moments became the haunts of the ruling classes, the Garden of Gethsamene, or the hangouts of Jesus and his disciples. But despite the energy of the youthful ensemble — or perhaps due to the chorus’ occasionally punishing eagerness — a lot of the best moments of “Jesus Christ Superstar Live” were solo turns.
When the center stage was occupied by former “Hamilton” cast member Brandon Victor Dixon, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live” was generally mesmerizing. Dixon gave heft, complexity and a majestic fatality to his Judas, who is perhaps the most coherent and even sympathetic character in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1970 rock opera.
Dixon’s voice was piercing and urgent as he contemplated betraying Jesus, and the actor’s work was stunning just before Judas committed suicide, a gut-churning act that was staged cleverly and effectively. (Judas ascended a ladder, and when the ladder fell, it was clear that he had taken his life.)
But spiritual doubts and moral struggles were often overshadowed by bursts of exuberance, even in a few places in which a more measured approach might have been called for. That said, it was hard to resist Dixon’s masterful charisma when Judas returned a short time after his suicide. Rather improbably, he was accompanied by three backup singers who were made up to look like Diana Ross and the Supremes. What did a ‘60s girl-group vibe have to do with the final hours of Jesus of Nazareth? Well, what were showgirls in fishnets, evil rulers in long, geometrical hooded capes and a Pontius Pilate in leather pants doing in this show? Who really knows?
Ben Daniels had a lot of fun strutting around the stage as an imperious, tightly wound Pontius Pilate; his performance was big, theatrical and enjoyably precise, and his wardrobe was to die for. Sara Bareilles was as pure a presence as one could hope for in the role of Mary Magdalene. She didn’t try to upstage or outdo anyone else in the musical, which was a relief. Her quiet, lyrical voice was an oasis of serenity, even if the energy of the production and the golden quality of her vocals couldn’t quite distract the viewer from the fact that the role of Mary is underwritten and a little bland.
Like “Hamilton,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” is sung through, meaning there were no breaks for dialogue, which tends to come across as stilted in these newly popular TV stagings. Members of the troupe constantly crossed the stage, climbed the scaffolding surrounding the stage, and even graffiti-ed the walls. The production, which was staged at the Marcy Armory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was aided greatly by a set of well-rehearsed musicians, whose efforts occasionally overshadowed the singers.
The careening nature of the writing by Rice and Lloyd Webber, amplified by the desire to leave no opportunity for bombast unexplored, led to some jarring shifts. When Judas returned from the dead in silver, spangled clothes and led the entire ensemble in a big dance number, it was odd but somehow also cathartically fun. The problem was that celebratory mood contrasted wildly with moments before and after in which Jesus (John Legend) suffered greatly. There were genuinely poignant moments in the show, many of them involving the betrayal, capture and agony of Jesus. Legend was suitably vacant and terrified as the Savior was led around in cuffs and then, in a harrowing sequence, lashed by the people around him.
But what a mixed bag “Jesus Christ Superstar” was as it built to its climax. There was Judas leading a group dance number that looked like a Zumba routine in a Williamsburg coffeehouse — and then a bleeding Jesus was crucified and died. The production’s most visually stunning moment depicted Jesus being lifted into an airy space shaped like a cross; that aperture, lit by a heavenly light, then slowly closed, as the worshipful fell to their knees. It was a genuinely moving tableau, not quite — but almost — overshadowed by the earlier dance-party antics.
Legend himself may not be what viewers will be talking about on Monday morning. Other characters and outfits are more likely to be gif-ed and meme-ed (his Jesus took the stage looking like he’d gotten a deal on a tasteful ensemble from Eileen Fisher’s 100 percent organic Galilee collection). But the singer-producer came through when he needed to. Legend had the range to bring soulful pain and sweet clarity to his biggest musical moments, which reinforced the square sincerity at the core of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which celebrates finding something to believe in, even if what one grabs at may be an illusion.
Legend and his white tank top held together this wild, eclectic, hipster-ish collection of impulses toward communion, love and light, and it was hard not to be swept up in the disciples’ collective faith. There’s a hymn in most churches that features the refrain, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”
After being diverted by a whirling mass of glitter, leather, tattoos, disco moments, rock-star preening and heart-rending betrayal, yes, for a moment, I was there. And that was something.
John Legend, Sara Bareilles, 'Hamilton' veteran Brandon Victor Dixon and Alice Cooper headline NBC's Easter Sunday special, performing the 1971 rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
The key to casting Jesus Christ Superstar, the bold-for-its-time musical retelling by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice of the last week in the life of the carpenter's son from Nazareth, is accepting that contrary to the title, it's all about the conflicted villain of the piece. Jesus is a figure too loaded with symbolic weight to allow for much dramatic nuance beyond introspective intensity. And alongside him, Mary Magdalene is a heartsick handmaiden. But Judas Iscariot, the outspoken apostle who sees all too clearly the dangerous threat Jesus poses to the Roman Empire and tries to warn him — before taking steps that would make his name synonymous with betrayal — is the dynamic force that shapes this version of the centuries-old narrative.
So hats off to the producers for making astute choices in the breakdown of seasoned pop performers and stage actors with the dramatic chops to back up their vocal talents. While John Legend's gentle charisma and honeyed pipes made him an affecting Jesus, and Sara Bareilles' soulful way with a song proved a superb fit for Mary, enlisting Brandon Victor Dixon — last seen on Broadway as Aaron Burr in Hamilton — was the crucial piece of casting.
But here's the thing: This was a phenomenally balanced production of Jesus Christ Superstar, in which star power was equaled by depth of feeling and characterization in all the principals. And the immediacy of television, with closeups capable of bringing us in tight on the performers' faces, gave Jesus and Mary Magdalene a complexity that often is missing from conventional productions.
A slight departure from the formula established in recent years for live television musical events, Superstar was less a studio-bound traditional theatrical production than a fully staged concert as the title suggests, performed at the cavernous Marcy Avenue Armory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Pulsing with kinetic energy right from the overture, the show was a thrilling hybrid of Broadway and arena spectacle, taking the material back to its roots, and you could feel the excitement in the live audience even at home.
NBC gave the show a breathless promotional push, blitzing viewers with teaser trailers and clips that underlined the modernity and relatability of this Messiah-as-man account. A special 70th birthday tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber also aired, basically an hour-long infomercial for the Sunday broadcast rendered fairly insufferable by Glenn Close and Lin-Manuel Miranda throwing fawning softball questions at an interview subject who appears to require no help massaging his own ego.
But Lord Luvvy Lloyd Webber's absence of humility aside, the sung-through show has withstood the test of time remarkably well. Released as a concept album in 1970, it was scaled up for Broadway the following year and has pretty much been playing on tour or in revivals at least somewhere on the planet ever since. Norman Jewison's 1973 film version framed the material with a countercultural theater troupe arriving by bus in a Middle Eastern desert to perform the musical Passion Play. And while very much of its time, the movie is still a guilty pleasure, despite Ted Neeley's Jesus being as wooden as the cross he's nailed on. In any case, I'd much sooner take that than Mel Gibson's 2004 torture-porn version, The Passion of the Christ.
It pains me to admit being old enough to remember when the musical was more groovy than kitsch, but that gives me inbuilt affection for this tuneful rock relic, with its wailing guitars, funky synthesizers, screeching flights of male falsetto and melodic pop ballads — even Rice's occasionally cheesy lyrics. The most recent Broadway revival, in 2012, was a commercial disappointment despite Josh Young's electrifying Judas, but it proved decisively that the show is more durable than that other biblical rock musical of similar vintage, Godspell, which now seems hopelessly hippy-dippy and twee. Apostles doing jazz hands just feels wrong.
As has become customary since the resurgence of the live TV musical, directing duties on Superstar were split between an experienced stage pro (in this case Brit veteran David Leveaux) and a live television director (Alex Rudzinski, whose work with Thomas Kail on 2016's Grease Live! up to now remained the gold standard of the recent crop). Fortified by Camille A. Brown's spirited choreography, the directors' use of the vast space throughout was exemplary.
The show got off to a rousing start, with an all-female string quartet taking the stage to establish that musicians would be moving freely among the racially inclusive ensemble, outfitted like punked-out, grungy hipsters. A flaming cauldron was lit — Olympics-style — as the guitars came in and a performer spray-painted the name "Jesus" across the main wall of a set wrapped in scaffolding. By the time the walls parted for Legend's Jesus to make his Divine entrance, the audience was already on fire — even more so once the star started touching the sea of outstretched hands from the mosh pit.
Dressed to slay by costumer Paul Tazewell (Hamilton) in skin-baring black leather vest and pants, the buffed-up Dixon set the bar high with a hard-driving "Heaven on Their Minds.' And Bareilles maintained the standard with a gorgeous "Everything's Alright," in saffron robe and sandals. Both here, and later on in "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and "Could We Start Again, Please?" she put her own expressive stamp on the phrasing of songs that musical theater fans know by heart.
Also among the early highlights, Swedish metal rocker Erik Gronwall tore into "Simon Zealotes" with transporting, well, zeal, while as the Roman high priests Caiaphas and Annas, Norm Lewis and Jin Ha sounded as commanding as they looked in their futuristic black Matrix-style cloaks. The design work throughout was first-rate, and the fluidity of the multi-camera visuals lent the whole show a vitality that's rare in a filmed stage performance.
The big test for Legend was "Gethsemane," and while he doesn't have the authentic rocker voice for which that challenging soliloquy was conceived, he sang with tremendous power and aching sweetness on the high notes. There's a beautiful, Buddha-like serenity to the star's features that made him an apt fit for the character, but the added bonus was the gravitas he brought to Christ's big moments, when the end becomes clear.
As Pontius Pilate, Ben Daniels looked resplendent in gold and burgundy, more than compensating for any vocal limitations with dramatic authority, even late in the show as his singing grew more ragged during the trial scene. And the lashing of Jesus — not by a single centurion but by a large section of the ensemble, taking turns in a sequence choreographed by Brown with fierce vigor — was shattering.
If the presentation of a tortured Judas hanging himself didn't quite generate the required emotional impact onscreen at home, Dixon seized the stage as if literally reborn with his powerhouse take on "Superstar," aided by a trio of sizzling backup dancer-vocalists. And the "Crucifixion," staged with a brilliant scenic coup and heavenly lighting effects, was an airborne knockout. Truly transcendent.
In its careful planning and execution, this was a class endeavor all the way, with just one minor disappointment in the casting. Going for an iconic face rather than a nimble musical theater performer to play King Herod, the production settled for a near-immobile Alice Cooper, who was more of a sneering geriatric rocker than a mocking vaudevillian. Great to see him, but wrong kind of voice and wrong stage presence for the character's sardonic ditty. Though the showgirls in golden plumage were a hoot, even they couldn't get the wheezing number off the ground.
But hey, that's just nitpicking about what was otherwise an outstanding presentation. This is a demanding score to sing, and if there was any reliance on backing tracks it wasn't evident to this viewer; the choral work behind the leads was exceptional. And Lloyd Webber showed shrewd judgment in robust orchestrations that straddled the divide between the music's period origins and a more current sound. Whether the show succeeded in grabbing the young demographic NBC was aiming for won't be clear until ratings numbers are in tomorrow. But for fans eager to see this blast from the past resurrected with freshness, passion and contemporary attitude, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert delivered.
Venue: Marcy Avenue Armory, BrooklynProduction companies: Universal Television, The Really Useful Group, Marc Platt Productions, Zadan/Meron ProductionsCast: John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Brandon Victor Dixon, Alice Cooper, Ben Daniels, Norm Lewis, Jason Tam, Jin Ha, Erik GronwallDirectors: David Leveaux, Alex RudzinskiExecutive producers: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, Marc Platt, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, John Legend, Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorius, Alex RudzinskiMusic: Andrew Lloyd WebberLyrics: Tim RiceChoreographer: Camille A. Brown
