DVD Review: Jesus Christ Superstar: Live Arena Tour 2012 (contains spoilers!)
For years I have really liked the 1973 film musical version of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley playing the main part owning it first on VHS tape then later on owning it on DVD – whilst being very ‘hippy’ because of the era it was made, I loved the songs and the screenplay and the way the film was shot.
I have never ever seen the long running musical stage show in the west end of London but I say if I ever did I really would have enjoyed it. – I should have gone especially how much I liked the film.
Fast forward to 2012 and the ITV ran a talent competition to find a actor/singer to play the lead role in a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in its 2012 arena tour. The relatively unknown actor/singer (well at that time) was Ben Forster. Ben a British Actor from Sunderland won a scholarship at the prestigious Italia Conti Academy in London aged 16.
On 16th May 2012 it was announced that the Stage version musical of Jesus Christ Superstar will commence starting in the London O2 Arena on the 21st September.
The rest of the main cast was revealed as Award-winning musical British/Australian comedian Tim Minchin as Judas, Spice Girl Melanie C as Mary Magdalene and BBC Radio1 Chris Moyles as King Herod … to be quite honest at the time I thought what odd casting and how on earth was that even going to work.
I didn’t go to see any of the Stage shows live but (fortunate for me and others who didn’t get to any of the stage show’s in person) they decided to film a show at National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and release it on DVD.
My wife and kids bought me the DVD of it for Christmas.
Sitting down to watch it, I didn’t really know what to expect to be honest. i realised that they would have had to modernise it and bring it massively up to date, but the star they chose to play the main parts well I just thought this is going to be strange … but was very curious to see how it was going to work.
I pressed play on the DVD player. … OK, it started off with large screens on a stage showing modern news bulletins and (what I presume) was real footage of modern riots demonstrations and protests…. interesting , then it descended into a bunch of hoodie clad energetic dancers bounding around on stage jumping off walls , doing somersaults and fighting each other … this could not be further from the start of the 1973 film! – to be honest i found it an excellent start. they do say that when producing a film you need to capture the audience attention in the first few minutes of the film, once they have the audience attention the viewers can almost be sure that the rest of the film/show is going to be good.
Enter Tim Minchin on stage as Judas (
I have never seen Tim in anything before I have to admit ) he comes on stage as Judas with a modern coat, backpack, beard ….. and black eyelid and eyeliner makeup! and sings ‘Heaven on their minds’ … not too bad actually, really gets into the part.
To ‘what’s the buzz?’ song the congregation on stage are SMS texting messages on their phones (I told you they have updated it immensely!) –
Ben Forster has a pretty darn good singing voice , really strong … there is something though and I cannot place my finger of him in character that I thought was missing… was it that he had no long straggly hair or beard … did he even look convincing as a Jesus .. I would have to say no, not at all to me personally, and its a shame because to get the whole package I really think they should have made him up to at least look a bit more ‘Jesus’y’ than he did LOL. – well, OK they could have put a long beard on him thats all I am saying. Tim Minchin looked more like Jesus’ character than Jesus did!
Spice Girl (‘Sporty Spice’) Mel C then makes her appearance as Mary Magdalene dressed in leather coat, dreadlocked hair with some colouring , heavy make up, leather boots and short dress! – sings ‘Everything’s alright’ Beautifully actually. – Her singing style is so distinctive though that if you shut your eyes and had to guess who was singing you would know instantly it is Mel C from the Spice Girls … I don’t mean that in a bad way though – that’s just how it is. … if she morphed into ‘Stop right now’ it would even fit in!
‘Hosanna’ one of my other favourite songs from the show and the actors (singers?) on stage do the song proud, they are energetic … a bit caricature and overacting but thats OK its all carried off good. Nice ruptuous powerful ending to the song – lovely version.
OK , onto ‘Simon Zealotes’ (Christ you know I love you) – I was not mad keen being honest, love the song but I just wasnt keen on whoever played him on stage … the bad thing is when you know there is something you dont like but just cannot fathom out why – but thats what I was getting.
oooh – look at that ‘The Temple’ is a bit raunchy and Dirty! , scantily clad women lot of drinking going on and even some Pole dancing – Jesus is not happy!
I like the song ‘I don’t know how to love him’ and Mel C does a lovely rendition of this , she does it well, a bit ‘breathy’ but that’s just the way she sings normally – i dont think they could have got anyone else to play the part in this show to be honest , they picked the right person to play Mary Magdalene.
I always skip past ‘the last supper’ part, boring! … well until it gets to “I must be mad thinking I will be remembered yes …”
Ah ‘Gethsemane’ (I only want to say…) love this song, got to be the greatest part of the show … the greatest song on the album? … the one that most people like the most??
Ben gives it socks , he really really does it justice. i have heard numerous people sing this song and nearly all of them put a magic performance into it but Ben well he is right up there at the top … yes Ted (1973 film) you do it justice as well – its not a competition , if it was down to Ted and Ben I would not be able to choose a winner I like both performances in their own way. you can get the ambiance , the emotion from both singers and I like both endings from both the 1973 film and this stage show ending of the song , this stage show version could tip the balance ever so slightly given the fact that at the very end it is so powerful and final, Jesus has accepted that he will die and that there is no going back. And boy can Ben Forster hit that “whyyyyyy should I dieee….” and “seeeee how I dieeeeeee!” parts are brilliantly done – great range to go from deep to high like that and hold that note for so long.
but please if you can think of someone else who sang ‘Gethsemane’ better than Ben or Ted please leave a comment below .
Now i will move onto ‘Peters Denial’ part and oh my giddy aunt where the hell did the get the Actor/Singer from for the part… just to get the record straight I don’t hate the Welsh … in fact i have worked with a couple in the past , and Tom Jones bought out some crackers back in the day but getting a Welsh person to play the part of Peter I personally think was mistake number one … but to have him with such a strong Welsh voice well thats the final nail in the coffin! … I mean why? … Just Why? … what a shame . “you got the wrong man lady iiiiiii dont know him! …” – terrible!
on the other hand I think they got the casting right for Pontius Pilate , Alexander Hanson, he has been in quite a few other stage productions over the years in the west end.
ah now here is a highlight I have been waiting to see , BBC Radio1 golden boy , morning radio show Chris Moyles as Herod … this should be interesting! – how on earth will this work.
well he is a smartly dressed in his expensive suit, depicted in like a quiz/game show host … or is that a TV talk show host? … a bit like a Jerry Springer type show.
Jesus (Forster) is placed on a swivel office chair and Herod ridicules and humiliates him and interrogating him – it turns into a game show where the ‘audience’ has to guess “is he the Lord … or is he a fraud?”
That was actually very good , Moyles executed that really good, he was funny and it really really did work! – (those reading this blog but have never seen this Andrew Lloyd Webber production before are like scratching their head by this time!)
we are treated now to “could we start again please?” sung beautifully by Mel C who puts feeling into it, staring into space, questioning whether it was all a mistake and could they start all over again .. please? …. and then your Welsh man who played Peter starts singing … in his very strong Welsh accent .. i will just leave it there shall I ? ….
Next part we see Judas beating himself up over betraying Jesus and feeling tormented, helpless and ashamed Judas hang himself – its very clever how they played this out on stage , I could not make out if this was a projection on the screen at the back of the stage or what but it was very powerful convincing and very well done.
Once again Jesus finds himself in front of Pilate who seems to want to try and help Jesus , but the crowd (who once loved Jesus and called him the messiah) now have turned against him and want Pilate to give the go ahead and crucify him (or make the order to) – Pilate , to help calm down the baying mob decides to instruct his guards to give Jesus 39 lashes of the whip – you can really feel the pain of each whip thanks to Forsters convincing acting and credit goes to makeup department that make the scars look so realistic on his back as he tumbles down the steps on the stage. Bowing to pressure from the angry crowds calling for him to be crucified and not wishing to come across as weak and feeling that this is really what Jesus wants and he is not even trying to defend himself Pilate orders Jesus to be crucified.
Onstage the familiar theme tune of “Jesus Christ Superstar” fires up by the orchestra and we see Judas (Minchin) descend on a stage lighting rig/beam ‘from the heavens’ and start singing this famous tune (who in the world has never heard it ever before – not many I should think) and dancing and singing around Jesus with his trusty scantily clad (angels are they?) parading all around the stage . – Jesus is dragged to the cross (again made out of the stage lighting beam)
It is time for Forster to shine at the most poignant part of the stage production and he doesn’t disappoint. incredible the way him (and the rest of the cast) can get so into character and bring the audience (and the viewer) on the journey along with his pain , he really did play the part very well, and has done all throughout the whole stage show I have got to say I think personally.
“Father into your hands I commend thy spirit” .. (petals is it?) fall down from the top of the stage to the ground ‘John Nineteen Forty-one’ plays softly in the background to haunting silence – i don’t mind admitting I had a bit of a lump in my throat there for a moment- … I dont know why, I just did .
That’s it, thats a wrap, the audience loved it – the cast, well supporting cast, on stage bowed – main characters start appearing on stage and are clapped accordingly by the audience , audience give standing ovation, higher louder cheers go to Chris Moyles, Mel C , but of course the highest cheers and whistles of the night go to Tim Minchin and Ben Forster… and quite rightly so, why not they done a fantastic job throughout the production.
Andrew Lloyd Webber appears from the side of the stage and joins the cast on stage – (to more rapturous applause and standing ovation) – and he gives a little speech to the audience (did he just say “Rot and Roll arena”?)
He dedicates the show to Sara Brightman (who he was married to) I dont know why… but sweet I suppose. – and then they all have a dance at the end on the stage (except for Sir Lloyd Webber, that was beneath him to be doing things like that!)
so there you go. That’s my take on Jesus Christ Superstar 2012 Stage Production which i have to say I thoroughly enjoyed. I bet it was a great atmosphere in the Birmingham Arena on the night – I enjoyed watching it on TV at home (I linked up the amplifier and big speakers so the sound was really good, good stereo sound, good bass and orchestra) perfect really , no popcorn but a glass of white whine and a couple of snacks I enjoyed it.
what about you? – have you seen it? what did you think to the cast , the whole production, the lighting , the stage set? did you go watch it Live in any of the venues? – please write in the comments section on here I would love to know what you thought of it.
The DVD can be purchased from here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jesus-Christ-Superstar-Arena-Region/dp/B009DHOP4S
The IMDB Write-up:
Celebrating 40 years since it first opened in London’s West End, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
DVD Release Date: November 19, 2012
Exempt from rating
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2596918/
Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi3225069849/
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