Jesus Christ Superstar…a very “fun” song
My favorite local radio station is giving away tickets to Jesus Christ Superstar and I’m sitting here wishing I had tried a little harder to win tickets. It was one of my favorites as a young teen. I had the album from the musical and played it many times a day. However, after finding the following reader comment last night posted on my favorite American Idol blog, I think that the tickets should be used to educate our youth:
“… Carly sang very good last night but maybe if she realized that “Superstar” was not a FUN song, but a song that is about Jesus dying and crying and asking why. She then would have connected with more passion to pull her thru…”
Thankfully, another reader corrected her:
“In the play, the song is sung by Judas and he was questioning some decisions made by Jesus. It was sung in rockstar fashion. ETA: I found a clip from the movie on YouTube.”
Judas sings somewhat angrily:
Ev’ry time I look at you I don’t understand, why you let the things you did get so out of hand. You’d have managed better if you’d had it planned. Now why’d you choose such a backward time and such a strange land? If you’d come today you could have reached a whole nation. Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It follows the struggles between Judas Iscariot and Jesus based on the canonical gospels’ accounts of the last weeks of Jesus’ life, beginning with Jesus and his followers arriving in Jerusalem and ending with the crucifixion. Modern references abound in the musical. The song, Jesus Christ Superstar, was sung by Murray Head, who played Judas. Murray Head later had the 1984 hit song “One Night in Bangkok” which was originally from the “well-known” musical, Chess. Chess was a musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Bjorn and Benny of ABBA.
The story involves a romantic triangle between two players in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other. Although the protagonists were not intended to represent any specific individuals, the characters’ personalities are loosely based on those of Victor Korchnoi and Bobby Fischer.(from Wikipedia)
My favorite radio station was WCAL, 89.3. Now I don’t listen to the radio at all.. I have 5200 songs on my iPod and 200 channels on Sirius. I think that radio, as we know it, has become obsolete. It’s those awful commercials and those public service solicitations that got to me.
I’ve never heard any of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’. What a classical music geek am I, anyway?
While Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat may be strong boxoffice winners, those successes do not make Webber/Rice theologians.
I have seen Joseph many times. I saw it only as entertainment and because the children’s choir performing with Donny Osmond was from the congregation to which I belonged at the time.
I have never seen Jesus Christ Superstar and don’t intend to.
I believe that Webber and Rice are musical theater geniuses. (This from a person who can’t carry a tune in a paper bag.)
It’s that I don’t believe that invoking the name of Jesus should be a source of wealth for anyone, be he believer or not.
Jack
Jack,
It’s funny that you’ve brought up these concerns. As part of my post, I was planning to post scripture that loosely corresponded to the lyrics or story line. Of course, I couldn’t find any (and least not within my morning blogging time), so I left the posted sort of unfinished. I have fond memories of Superstar as a musical, not as any sort of theological treatise. If the name of Jesus shouldn’t bring anyone wealth, then let’s can the CCM industry. That would be really good with me! But then what would many churches sing on Sunday???
TK!
The only “F.U.N”. song I know is this one.
Hi, TK!
I too have fond memories of the original recorded version of Jesus Christ Superstar, which I prefer over the movie soundtrack, featuring Murray Head as Judas and Ian Gillan of Deep Purple as Jesus. It came out not too long after I had become a regular Lutheran church going teenager and I was taking confirmation classes. At the same time a few miles away, Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel was shepherding the Jesus People movement. JCS and Godspell were definitely products of that era of evangelical rebirth.
Speaking strictly for me, the original recording — in the absence of a visual accompaniment — was more open to interpretation. The film version had a specific point of view, obviously. I purchased the original on CD last year and it holds up pretty well after 37 or so years. For me, it’s still a refreshing novelty to have a rock musical that acknowledges Jesus Christ as our crucified Savior, even though it is not scripturally consistent. There is too much focus on how Judas and Mary Magdalene feel about Jesus, for starters.
Carly always looked pained while singing until JCS, which apparently was the fun, feel good selection of the whole contest for her. I think that disconnect between her songs and her soul became a disconnect between Carly and the audience. She had the potential to be another Kelly Clarkson but not the same ability to sell a song.
“Carly always looked pained while singing until JCS, which apparently was the fun, feel good selection of the whole contest for her.” I noticed the same thing. I wondered about her singing this last song with a smile on her face….
Hubby and I just saw JCS yesterday in Pittsburgh. It was enjoyable, but did not make you go “wow” as I remembered as a teenager. The set was very simple and did not change, although some of the effects made up for that. I’d just as soon listen to the soundtrack, rather than spend the $ to see the show.
Did anyone see JCS on PBS a few years ago? It was set more in modern times and I thought it was really memorable. Different from the original, except for the songs.
JCS may have influenced my Christianity to a greater degree then the church I attended oh so many years ago.
Yes it is not a literal interpretation of the Bible but many of the themes are there. I listen to it at least every Easter as part of my ritual. I sang for many years in our church choir and I wished we could use some of that powerful music in the service.
It does have a theme in it that I agree with. Judas was railroaded. The death of Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament and although he had free will if he had not “betrayed” Christ where would we be now?
Our local theater group is doing the show this summer, a cast of about 16 in multiple roles sadly. I wish they would have advertised the tryouts, I can do every part but Mary’s.