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winterThere's a cycle of open-air musical theatre performances running at an amphitheatre in town, and I took the opportunity to catch Jesus Christ Superstar as performed by the Teatr Rozrywki w Chorzowie. Hey, it was free :)
I have a love-hate thing with Andrew Lloyd Webber in general, mostly because he does his shows according to a formula, the lyrics aren't heights of fancy, and still he pulls the heartstrings and gets in my head far too much. JCS is the one show where the hate prevails; the music has aged badly, the book is confusing, and the only character who seems sympathetic enough to tug at any heartstrings is Pilate.
And on the other hand, it has provided a few of the evergreens that everyone sings at concerts. I am immensely fond of crazy Hungarians doing Herod's Song. I also used to hate Gethsemane, until a certain ex-Herbert made me cry during it. (Git.)
So, it's possible to do something right with JCS, even with the somewhat-aged original production with the stairs and glossy costumes. Which is why I could see where the show I saw went wrong: lack of direction. All the cast had amazingly stellar voices, but they were confused, stumbling, blocking each other. With a few exceptions (a very Russian Mary Magdalene and a lovely tragic, Bulgakov-inspired Pilate) no-one knew their motivation. The dance scenes were choreographed, but the stage motion wasn't. And this isn't a new production: they've been doing it for seven years and 195 shows.
(Yes, I'm jaded. Maybe I've seen too much? Especially too many Takarazuka shows with 90 people onstage and every character distinct and under control.)
I'm wondering whether to give the same theatre a chance and go to Katowice to see their Jekyll & Hyde. It's another show with lovely songs and stumbling plot that requires careful direction, so I fear the end result might be the same frustration.
I have a love-hate thing with Andrew Lloyd Webber in general, mostly because he does his shows according to a formula, the lyrics aren't heights of fancy, and still he pulls the heartstrings and gets in my head far too much. JCS is the one show where the hate prevails; the music has aged badly, the book is confusing, and the only character who seems sympathetic enough to tug at any heartstrings is Pilate.
And on the other hand, it has provided a few of the evergreens that everyone sings at concerts. I am immensely fond of crazy Hungarians doing Herod's Song. I also used to hate Gethsemane, until a certain ex-Herbert made me cry during it. (Git.)
So, it's possible to do something right with JCS, even with the somewhat-aged original production with the stairs and glossy costumes. Which is why I could see where the show I saw went wrong: lack of direction. All the cast had amazingly stellar voices, but they were confused, stumbling, blocking each other. With a few exceptions (a very Russian Mary Magdalene and a lovely tragic, Bulgakov-inspired Pilate) no-one knew their motivation. The dance scenes were choreographed, but the stage motion wasn't. And this isn't a new production: they've been doing it for seven years and 195 shows.
(Yes, I'm jaded. Maybe I've seen too much? Especially too many Takarazuka shows with 90 people onstage and every character distinct and under control.)
I'm wondering whether to give the same theatre a chance and go to Katowice to see their Jekyll & Hyde. It's another show with lovely songs and stumbling plot that requires careful direction, so I fear the end result might be the same frustration.