For reasons unknown to God, the universe, and myself, I watched four versions of Jesus Christ Superstar (JCS) in 24 hours. It started with a friend of mine showing me the film adaptation, since I had never seen it, and it all spiraled downward from there.
I believe that ranking these musicals would be unfair, as all of them had many pros and cons. Instead, I’ll be rating them by three separate categories: costumes, set, and story. The costumes category is scored on how much I enjoyed the costume designs. The set category is scored on how much I enjoyed the physical set or the place it is set in. The story category is for how much I enjoyed the choices made by the director that make the adaptation unique compared to other JCS versions. You would be surprised how much two plays with the same songs and the same characters can differ. I will be reviewing the various versions in the order I watched them. On with the show!
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) – costumes 2/3, set 1/3, story 3/3
The classic. The OG. This film was the first I watched, as well as the only one on this list that is not a recording of a stage play.
The whole cast’s costumes were clearly inspired by ’70s fashion; Carl Anderson, who played Judas, wore a pink open-chest shirt and orange bell-bottom pants and rocked the look. The high priests’ outfits were goofy, with their large, oddly shaped hats. I wish the designers had chosen more colorful and exaggerated clothing for Ted Neeley’s Jesus and his followers, as we were left with an uneven balance of simple beige clothes and full ’70s style.
The film is set in sandy ruins somewhere in a desert, and while I can see the atmosphere that the directors were trying to go for, the barren wasteland made the characters feel out of place. For the story, Anderson was the star of this film. The infamous way he runs around like a baby bird learning to fly, and his broodiness was excellent. I know Jesus is meant to be seen as a stoic, far-away character, but I fear Neeley was too stoic. I ached for more emotion from him. This film was well done and unique; it deserves the praise it got at the time, but it isn’t the most well-aged movie visually, as some editing choices were… Interesting, to say the least, but, well, it was the 70s.
Jesus Christ Superstar 50th Anniversary Tour (2023) – costume 2/3, set 3/3, story 2/3
After watching the film, I wanted to know how the musical would look on a stage today. The 50th anniversary tour answered my question and left me with my jaw on the floor. In this adaptation, there was another battle with balancing the costumes. The high priest’s outfits referenced the 1973 film with their skirts and bare chests, this time without the big hats (good choice). The Roman guards wore large masks to make them look like Roman statues, giving a chilling effect.
Additionally, Erich Schleck’s King Herod was all sparkles. But for Jesus, the apostles, and their followers, they wore beige sweatpants, baggy shirts, and sneakers. It worked well for the ensemble to blend into the background, but it worked a bit too well.
The set was beautiful; a large raised cross was laid across the stage for the cast to dance upon, and powerful figures would stand on it to assert their dominance over the ones below. My favorite part was when it became the table for the Last Supper.
As this was supposed to resemble the original play, I felt at times that I wished it could have been more unique compared to the 1973 film. But when it did take leaps, it was outstanding. When Elvie Ellis’s Judas took the silver from Caiaphas and Annas (played by Grant Hodges and Kodiak Thompson, respectively) in the song “Damned For All Time / Blood Money,” his hands became stained with silver paint that dripped down his arms as the musical went on. The whole cast used hand-held microphones; whether they were real or not did not matter, as the props became their own symbol for who and who did not have a voice, from the high priest’s staffs becoming mic stands to Jesus’s microphone being tied up with him on the cross.
Jesus Christ Superstar Swedish Arena Tour (2014) – costumes 3/3, set 3/3, story 2/3
Wait… Swedish? Do you mean to tell me you watched a musical in a different language? Why yes, yes I did. As I traversed the internet for more versions to watch, this one stood out to me with its metal aesthetic.
The costumes were what drew me in immediately. This is what I was looking for in the previous musicals; the disciples were covered in leather and looked as if you would find them in a mosh pit for a rock band. Ola Salo as Jesus turned heads with his costume, as he looked as if he had just risen from his grave to suck your blood.
The set was well done, with a large chain-link fence that separated the stage. Huge pipes and metal beams were used as structures across the backdrop. It screamed grunge.
The story is the most unique out of all the versions I watched. Though it did take many turns from the original film, I wasn’t fully against it. Salo and Gunilla Backman as Mary Magdalene made Jesus and Mary’s relationship seem romantic, with Salo kissing her right before she sings “I Don’t Know How To Love Him.” This transformed Jesus and Judas’s (played by Peter Johansson) relationship into almost petty revenge for unrequited love. Caiaphas and Annas (played by Jan Åström and Rolf Lyragård, respectively) appeared in more scenes than in the original film, like “The Temple” and “The Arrest,” making it appear like they had more power. This change I wasn’t a huge fan of, but how accurate can you be in historical musicals? Salo was less stoic than previous portrayals of Jesus, for better and for worse, but I enjoyed it. Johansson, again, stole the show with his gut-wrenching renditions of “Damned For All Time / Blood Money” and “Judas’ Death.”
Jesus Christ Superstar UK Arena Tour (2012) – costumes 1/3, set 1/3, story 2/3.
I just had to end on a low note. I saw many mentions of this musical in online posts, so for my last review, I chose the UK arena tour.
The costumes were so 2012. Like, SO 2012, and not in a good way. I felt as if I was back in middle school watching Disney Channel shows. To top that, there was an uncomfortable number of white people with dreadlock wigs in the cast.
The set was a large staircase that spanned the stage, and a gargantuan screen as the backdrop. The screen showed close-ups of the actor’s faces, buildings for the settings, and (only during a single song) lyrics like the corny music videos you would find on YouTube in the early 2010s. I was not a big fan of it.
The story was a modern interpretation. Jesus’s followers were anarchists fighting against the government, which worked well for the most part, but some of the symbolism used has aged like milk. Ben Forster’s Jesus felt the most morally gray of all the versions I watched, which was an interesting choice. Tim Minchin’s Judas, every-brooding, ever-teary-eyed, was wonderful. His anger was explosive, and it really showed when he punched Pete Gallagher as Caiaphas (a blocking choice I especially enjoyed). I only wish his black eyeliner smeared when he sang “Judas’ Death.”
