BWW Reviews: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Village Theatre

I'm not always the biggest fan of transplanting established shows to another time or place.  "Hamlet" doesn't need to be set in space and "Our Town" without that old time Grover's Corners feel would just be wrong.  And don't even get me started on the thought of moving "Oklahoma".  But sometimes, when it's well thought out and well executed, it works.  Such is the case for the modern reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera, "Jesus Christ Superstar" currently at Village Theatre.  But while I appreciated the concept and approach, some of the cast left me wanting.

I won't dwell too much on the story since I'm 99% sure you know it.  Suffice it to say, it focuses on the last week of Jesus' life before he is (spoiler alert) crucified.  Specifically his relationship with Judas.  But let's look at this production.

As I said, director Brian Yorkey has transplanted the story out of biblical times and into modern day.  We find ourselves in a modern fascist state where Jesus and his followers are guerrillas looking for a better way.  Complete with a fenced in and barbed wired set that looks like it's been through a war and helicopters circling overhead, you really get the feel of the oppressive current regime.  But beyond the innovation of the setting, Yorkey has also shaken things up by casting two men (Aaron C. Finley and Michael K. Lee) as alternating Jesus and Judas.  So some performances Finley will play Jesus and Lee will play Judas or for other performances, as was the case the night I saw it, Lee will play Jesus with Finely as Judas.  A daring approach and a perfect marketing angle as, if it works, people would be inclined to come back and see the reverse casting of what they saw before.  But that's only if it works and here's where I began to have some problems.  Lee has an incredible voice, there is no denying that, but I lacked the gravitas and emotional core from his performance.  Being this iconic leader should mean that I am mesmerized by him and not able to take my eyes off him.  This was not the case.  Only in his climactic number in Act Two did I really feel him connect with the character.  Unfortunately, the same issue hit me for Jennifer Paz as Mary Magdalene, a gorgeous voice but I didn't feel for her or her situation.  Out of the three leads I really only felt a sense of conflict from Finley as Judas.  In addition to a stunning voice, I felt him really connect with the character and his issues.

But what may have been lacking in the leads, seemed to be made up for with an insanely good ensemble.  Eric Polani Jensen and Timothy Glynn as the priests Caiaphas and Annas had just the right amount of menace to them and their gorgeous voices complemented each other perfectly.  James Scheider as Simon not only thrilled with his voice but also with his stellar dancing and acrobatics that left me tried just watching him.  And I have to call out the gloriously simple and sweet introduction of Act Two from William A. Williams.  It made for a wonderful change to the harsh and rocking score we were left with at the end of Act One. 

But the highest point of the night for me came from the guy who only had one scene and one song and completely owned them both.  BranDon Whitehead as King Herod seemed to be channeling his inner tyrant as he brought the house down with "King Herod's Song".  It's really an odd moment to begin with as it's the one bit of comedy in an otherwise quite serious and somber show.  So when it comes along it can be overdone.  I've now seen it done in three different productions and with three different takes and this one is by far my favorite.  Whitehead takes this character and infuses every molecule of him with a deliciously self-serving, maniacal despot and it works perfectly.  There were only a few moments where he dipped his tow over the line but it all served the character and made it all work.  I know that Village is planning a production of "The Producers" next season and I can only hope they remember Whitehead when it comes along as this brand of characterization would be perfect for it.

So all in all a good show but with my attention being drawn by the secondary characters on the stage over the leads, perhaps it should have been called "Jesus Christ hanging out with Superstars".

"Jesus Christ Superstar" plays at Village Theatre in Issaquah through July 3^rd before it moves to their Everett location July 8^th through the 31^st.  For tickets or information contact the Issaquah box office at 425-392-2202 or the Everett box office at 425-257-8600 or visit them online at www.villagetheatre.org.

Photo credits: Jay Koh