WILLIAMSBURG PLAYERS PRESENT UNFOCUSED

 JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

Theater Babe Says:  Go . . . Because Theatre Should Explore New Approaches Now and Again

There's a lot going on in the Williamsburg Players' production of Jesus Christ Superstar.  In addition to the immense challenge of presenting the show itself – a rock opera that tells the story of the last days of Jesus Christ -- director Jeff Corriveau makes some unusual directorial choices including beginning the show with a pastoral scene in a present day park, utilizing a minimalistic set primarily composed of wheeled picnic tables, and suggesting that Judas Iscariot yearns for Mary Magdalene.  Those choices are creative, but too frequently detract from rather than enhance the essence of the powerful story, with the result that the production as a whole is not entirely successful.

Not unlike a traditional Passion play, the show begins shortly before Christ's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem.  His ministry is at its height, and he is viewed as a threat by the Jewish high priests who fear that his throng of followers will stage a rebellion, dislodging the high priests as the local authority -- and eliciting a crushing response from the Romans.  Superstar at its core presents a highly politicized view of the tale (not surprising, given that it premiered in 1973 as the U.S. began withdrawing troops from the inexpressibly unpopular Vietnam conflict).  Jesus is assailed on all sides – by the people, who demand his attention and healing ... by extremists, represented by Simon, who urge him to use his power over the crowd to overthrow the Roman occupation ... and by more moderate voices, represented by Judas, who fear both that the crowd will turn on Jesus when he fails to meet their ever-increasing expectations and that the Romans will destroy them if they "go too far."  Mary Magdalene, a former prostitute who has joined the ranks of Jesus' disciples, tries to soothe the beleaguered Jesus as she struggles to define her own feelings for him.  Judas betrays Jesus to the high priests, ostensibly because he believes Jesus can no longer control the crowds and fears Roman reprisals and, following a trial conducted by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, Jesus is beaten and crucified.

The heart of any opera, rock or otherwise, is the music.  In this production, however, it is not the focal point and the show as a whole suffers as a result.  Mr. Corriveau and the co-music directors, Betsy Forrest and Stephen Mason, perhaps understandably choose to utilize prerecorded instrumentals, but they lack the energy and urgency of a live performance.  The tempos of the music throughout are noticeably slower than one would expect from this score, and while that tempo may permit the actors to enunciate more clearly than would a faster pace, the almost uniform medium speed dilutes the passion that would otherwise be conveyed through the beat.  It also appears that the chorus may not hear the instrumentals well; throughout much of the performance, the ensemble has significant trouble finding and staying on pitch, and when they sing together, they generate an anemic sound rather than the strong, full vocals that would presumably be produced by a crowd so frenzied that individuals and governments alike fear their fervor. 

Part of the problem may be that because the ensemble seems to be in perpetual motion, the vocals become secondary.  Rarely does anyone in this production just stand and sing, letting the music, lyrics and the talent of the actors carry the moment.  For example, in "Hosanna," the crowd circles Jesus as he stands on one of the mobile picnic tables as it is pushed by ensemble members to represent his parade into Jerusalem.  Periodically, the individuals stop where they are to insert a brief dance combination, although the clear intent of choreographer, Dana Margulies Cauthen, is for the few repetitive dance steps to flow in and out of the ensemble's ordinary strides.  The transition, however, is not smooth.  Many of the actors visibly concentrate on the choreography, and their vocal strength and diction diminish each time they redirect their attention from their voices to their feet. 

In Superstar, the crowd is a collective, but integral, character in its own right:  hungry, unpredictable and potentially dangerous; Judas, the high priests, Pilate and even Jesus all react to it, albeit in different ways.  In this production, the ensemble never achieves that level of characterization, with the result that the pervasive fear of inciting a riot that underlies much of the drama lacks credibility, and the concerns vocalized by the main characters have no context.

Perhaps nowhere is this more striking than in the opening song.  During the overture, the cast takes the stage in an idyllic scene that could be in any present day city park.  Couples picnic, a jogger does laps, a maintenance worker collects litter, etc.  Judas, portrayed by PJ Freebourn, bursts into this serenity, voicing his concerns such as "You have set them all on fire! They think they've found the new Messiah. And they'll hurt you when they find they're wrong," and "I am frightened by the crowd, for we are getting much too loud. And they'll crush us if we go too far."  We hear his words, but they are undermined by what we see on the rest of the stage.  That disconnect reverberates throughout the production, causes confusion and prevents us from fully vesting in the characters or their concerns.

Mr. Freebourn's performance is strong and consistent with the director's vision of the role.  As Judas, he is both narrator and protagonist and Mr. Freebourn's diction throughout is clear and precise but is sometimes difficult to hear because of the faint volume; it may be that could be addressed by readjustment of the position of his microphone.  Mr. Freebourn's performance is noticeably more passionate than that of the other main characters and while it teeters slightly into overacting in "Judas' Death," in general if the other leads elevated their energy to the same level as Mr. Freebourn's, the production would be significantly improved. 

The interpretation of Judas in this production, however, is not as layered or interesting as it could be.  This production flirts with the idea that Judas is jealous of Jesus' relationship with Mary Magdalene.  It's an interesting idea perhaps, but one that is not really supported by the musical dialogue.  Most disappointingly, it relegates Judas' character to a small, mean-spirited, little man who betrays Christ only because Mary spurns his advances rather than taking advantage of this show's characterization of Judas readily available in the lyrics, particularly in "Heaven on Their Minds" ("Jesus, you've started to believe the things they say of you. You really do believe this talk of God is true! And all the good you've done will soon be swept away. You've begun to matter more than the things you say ... Listen, Jesus, to the warning I give. Please remember that I want us to live....").  The lyrics depict a man who was fully supportive of Christ's mission to help the poor and to preach forgiveness, but who believed Christ had wrongly bought into the celebrity cult he'd generated to the detriment of the mission -- despite the very real threat of annihilation that could result from continuing on that path.  Here, the love triangle generated by the staging overcomes the view inherent in the work that, despite the uncharitable treatment of Judas throughout history, he was actually a courageous naysayer who stood up to Jesus to raise valid concerns.  But while the Judas character presented here lacks the complexity that could have been exploited, Mr. Freebourn's performance fully embraces this interpretation and is well-portrayed.  Of the three main characters, Mr. Freebourn is the only one who, through the force of his charisma, consistently demands our attention and pushes through the almost constant distractions presented by the staging.  Mr. Freebourn's vocal range meets the considerable challenges of the role and he commendably performs the freestyle notes without screaming them as is sometimes portrayed in this role by a less accomplished singer.

Andrew Smith, who plays Jesus, possesses a beautiful baritone voice best displayed during the lyrical moments of "Gethsemane," but he is miscast.  He is too young to credibly portray the bone-weary Jesus and while his diction is laudably clear we never feel the fury behind the character's despair, we never believe he is overwhelmed by the constant demands placed upon him, we never sense the iron determination that causes him to doggedly pursue his destiny, and when he repeats that he has "tried for three years," we cannot help but think that Christ must have begun his ministry as a very young teen.  Mr. Smith's portrayal is enervated and detached from the events that swirl around him; what is perhaps intended to be a divine otherworldliness too often presents as a vacant, distant stare and we cannot comprehend how this passionless character could have sparked such violent controversy.  Vocally, Mr. Smith is very talented, but he has not yet attained the maturity required to master the extraordinary demands of this challenging role; notes in the center of his range are full and glorious, but the notes on the outskirts are weak, which add to the ineffectualness of this interpretation of Jesus.

As Mary Magdalene, Becky Krantz demonstrates a lovely, pure tone.  Unfortunately, we are cheated out of fully enjoying it during what may be the show's best known song, "I Don't Know How to Love Him," because of the way the number is staged.  At the beginning of her ballad, Jesus and Judas inexplicably enter into an argument complete with flailing arms and other vigorous gesticulation, thereby upstaging Mary and consigning her star moment to a background vocal.  We are distracted, and Ms. Krantz through no fault of her own loses her best chance to present the deeper dimensions of Mary's personality or to generate any real concern for her character.  Similarly, in "Strange Thing Mystifying," the staging implicitly simplifies what could be a more developed character.  By having Jesus sit between Mary's legs as she caresses his bare chest, Mary is depicted merely as Jesus' girlfriend, rather than as an individual who is inspired by Christ's message to step away from her sordid past and to seek something more.  The staging places a sexual connotation on Jesus' claim that "she's with me now," which is belied by the lyrics of Mary's "Everything's Alright" where she tries to soothe and distract Jesus from his many cares so he can simply rest ("Try not to get worried, try not to turn on to problems that upset you, oh don't you know? Everything's alright now everything's fine ... if we try, we'll get by so forget all about us tonight...").  "Could We Start Again, Please?," Ms. Krantz's duet with David Stallings (Peter), is exquisite.  Their voices blend in perfect harmony and it is one of the best moments of the show.

There are several notable portrayals by actors in supporting roles.  Peter Natale's depiction of the chief priest, Caiaphas, is stately and believable and his voice is well-suited to the character.  As King Herod, the regional ruler who is willing to pardon Jesus if only he will perform a little miracle for the court's entertainment, Adam Stillwell is energetic and his diction is admirable, though the decision to dress him in a laughable costume complete with what appear to be purple feathers detracts from his fine performance.  Mr. Corriveau made the uncommon decision to cast a female in the role of Simon, and that choice pays off handsomely in "Simon Zealotes."  Nerissa Thompson utilizes her rich, gospel-esque voice to full advantage and it is a memorable moment. 

As Pilate, Neil Hollands successfully presents what is perhaps the most layered character in this production.  During "Pilate's Dream," Mr. Hollands ruminates upon the strange vision that plagued him in the night, and we feel his perplexity and unease.  His warm tone gives Pilate a depth that could easily be overlooked and it causes us to understand Pilate's quandry better than almost any other character in this performance.  As with other scenes, however, the drama that should be inherent in the "Trial By Pilate" are negated by the chaos of the staging.  While Pilate causes Jesus to be flogged, the choreography focuses our attention on the ensemble and away from either the man ordering the whipping or the man being beaten – the characters who should be the focus of that scene. 

There is an all-too-brief moment depicting the crucifixion where Mr. Corriveau recreates the picture commemorated in millennia of Christian art with Christ on the cross, flanked on each side by the crosses of the two criminals with whom Jesus was killed.  It is powerful, but too brief to evoke from us the full impact of the emotional moment.  In an interesting interpretation, Christ remains on the cross as the rest of the cast reassembles into the pastoral scene in which they started, silently reminding us that the Passion play is as relevant now as it was when it occurred and that it underlies our every day actions. 

The set is clever, but restricting.  The picnic tables are wheeled around in different formations and open up to represent different rooms, but the actors spend a lot of time awkwardly climbing up and seating themselves within the confines of the tables and it again pulls us out of the emotion of the drama.  The costumes, by Lisa Yuhase, are predominantly present-day augmented by various pieces to suggest Christ's historical era.  The vibrantly colored stoles worn by the high priests are very effective.  The burlap thrown about the lepers are out of place in the modern setting and distracting, and the headpiece worn by Pilate is so outrageously large that it undercuts the stern, dominant presence of Mr. Holland's portrayal of the Roman authoritarian.  Constantly through the show there is a lot of movement, and the production would have been immeasurably improved by a stronger lighting design to help us focus on the key players and moments of the drama. 

Bottom line?  Williamsburg Players' production of Jesus Christ Superstar tries many new things, and that is commendable; it is of course much safer to stick to the expected.  While the production would benefit both from some judicious editing of the myriad creative ideas presented and the establishment of a stronger link between those ideas and the material itself, it is a attempt worth the time and the ticket price.

Performances run thru September 22^nd, Thursday – Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.

at the James-York Playhouse, 200 Hubbard Lane, Williamsburg, Virginia 23185.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $10 for students with id and can be obtained by

calling the box office at (757) 229-0431 or online at williamsburgplayers.org.

© 2012 Hampton Roads Theater Babe.  All Rights Reserved.