Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert is an American musical television special that was broadcast live on NBC on April 1, 2018 (Easter Sunday). Executively produced by Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, and Marc Platt, it was a staged concert performance of the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. It received positive reviews from critics but had a smaller viewership than earlier musical specials.
Contents
Description and plot
The musical is almost entirely sung-through, with minimal spoken dialogue. The plot is loosely based on the Canonical Gospels' accounts of the last week of the life of Jesus Christ, beginning with the preparation for the arrival of Jesus and his disciples in Jerusalem and ending with the crucifixion.
Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve Apostles, worries that the followers of Jesus are getting out of control and may be seen as a threat by the Roman Empire, who might harshly suppress them ("Heaven on Their Minds").
The other apostles anticipate entering Jerusalem alongside Jesus and ask him about his plans, but Jesus tells them not to worry about the future. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene tries to help Jesus relax. Judas warns Jesus to avoid Mary, because a relationship with a prostitute could be seen as inconsistent with his teachings and be used against him. Jesus scolds Judas, saying he should not judge others unless he is free of sin. Jesus then reproaches the apostles and complains that none of them truly care for him ("What's the Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying").
Mary reassures Jesus while anointing him. Judas fumes that the money spent on fine oil should have been used to help the poor. Jesus reasons they do not have the resources to end poverty, and that they should treasure what comforts they possess ("Everything's Alright").
Meanwhile, Caiaphas, the High Priest of Israel, assembles the Pharisees and priests. Like Judas, they fear that Jesus's followers will be seen as a threat by the Romans, and that many innocent Jews might suffer the consequences. Thus, Caiaphas concludes that for the greater good, Jesus must be executed ("This Jesus Must Die"). As Jesus and his followers arrive exultantly in Jerusalem, they are confronted by Caiaphas, who demands that Jesus disperse the crowd. Jesus instead greets them ("Hosanna"). Simon the Zealot suggests that Jesus lead his mob in a war against Rome and gain absolute power ("Simon Zealotes"). Jesus rejects this, stating that none of his followers understand what true power is ("Poor Jerusalem").
Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea, has a dream in which he meets a Galilean and then receives the blame for the man's violent death at the hands of a mob ("Pilate's Dream"). Jesus arrives at the Temple and finds that it is being used as a marketplace; angered by this, he drives everyone out. A group of lepers ask Jesus to heal them. Their number increases, and overwhelmed, Jesus rejects them ("The Temple"). Mary Magdalene sings Jesus to sleep ("Everything's Alright (Reprise)"). While he sleeps, Mary acknowledges that she is in love with him, and it frightens her ("I Don't Know How to Love Him").
Cast and characters
Musical numbers
The musical numbers from the track list of the soundtrack.
Production
Development
On May 10, 2017, it was announced that NBC had selected Jesus Christ Superstar to be their next live musical event. Executive producers were expected to include Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Marc Platt, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Tim Rice. In December 2017, it was reported that British theater director David Leveaux would direct and that the show would be performed in front of a live audience at the Marcy Avenue Armory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Members of the creative crew included costume designer Paul Tazewell and choreographer Camille A. Brown.
Casting
In December 2017, it was announced that Alice Cooper had been cast as King Herod, with John Legend in the title role. The following month, it was announced that Sara Bareilles would play Mary Magdalene. In February 2018, it was announced that Brandon Victor Dixon, Norm Lewis, Ben Daniels, Jason Tam, Jin Ha, and Erik Grönwall had been cast as Judas, Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate, Peter, Annas and Simon Zealotes, respectively. The production included a cast of forty-four actors, including Joel Perez and Lauren Zakrin, and additional dancers.
Remarking on his casting as a person of color in the role of Jesus, Legend, who grew up in a religious family, told NPR, "I think we've gotten used to seeing Jesus look like he came from Oslo, when, you know, obviously he was born and raised in the Middle East and probably looked a lot closer to me." In the production, the role of Judas was also played by a Black actor, Brandon Victor Dixon.
Filming
The live production included an on-camera audience of about 1,500 people. Some of these extras lined two sides of the stage and formed a mosh pit effect. The production was expected to utilize as many as twelve cameras to film the special. In addition, a full dress rehearsal performance took place on Saturday, March 31, 2018, in front of an invited audience and was recorded. In the event of any difficulties during the live broadcast, the recording served as an emergency backup. It was ultimately not needed.
Marketing
On January 7, 2018, NBC aired the first teaser trailer for the special during their broadcast of the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
Reception
Critical response
Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response from critics since it aired. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the production holds a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.44/10 based on 26 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Shaking up traditional religious and musical iconography, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert is a sight to be heard, superbly infiltrating the classic source material with originality, rock legend star power, and soulful depth." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the production a score of 81 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
In a positive review, The New York Times's Noel Murray praised the special saying, "A conceptual and artistic triumph, NBC’s live telecast of Jesus Christ Superstar on Easter Sunday may have finally justified the recent live musical fad on network TV. Some technical flubs and one mixed-bag lead performance aside, the production was genuinely thrilling, taking chances with the staging of a classic but controversial Broadway show, much more daring than previous live musical broadcasts like The Sound of Music or Peter Pan."
Offering similar acclaim, The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney said, "But here's the thing: This was a phenomenally balanced production of Jesus Christ Superstar, in which star power was equaled by depth of feeling and characterization in all the principals. And the immediacy of television, with close-ups capable of bringing us in tight on the performers' faces, gave Jesus and Mary Magdalene a complexity that often is missing from conventional productions."
Lorraine Ali of The Los Angeles Times also lauded the production saying, "The show was a collision of religion and theater and pop culture that could have been one holy mess. But by the grace of God, or maybe a great cast and lots and lots of expert staging, a great musical became a great TV production."
In a more mixed review, Maureen Ryan of Variety said, "This musical threw together glitter, sequins, leather, writhing hotties, a few big performances pitched to the last row, and camerawork that often felt as though it was hopped up on too many lattes. Actually, the ragged edges of a unifying concept did emerge over the course of the NBC musical’s two-hour-and-20-minute running time: If its philosophy could be summed up in one word, "excess" would just about cover it. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But this live show was a lot."
Ratings
Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert was the most-viewed program of the night of both network and cable programming. The production earned a 1.7 rating in adults 18-49 in Live + Same Day. Lee Seymour of Forbes said the telecast's ratings were a "step back for NBC's live musicals," explaining "while Superstar Live came out on top for the night's ratings, it still landed near the bottom of the pile, relative to almost every other live musical since NBC revamped the mini-genre in 2013." Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert was watched by 9.4 million people. Comparatively, NBC's The Sound of Music Live! was watched by 18.6 million and The Wiz Live! by 11.5 million, while Fox's Grease: Live was watched by 12.2 million. Seymour felt the special may have failed to capture a larger audience on Easter because of its blasphemous themes.
An encore on April 12, 2020, was seen by 3.17 million viewers.
Other media
Andrew Lloyd Webber: Tribute to a Superstar
On March 28, 2018, a one-hour special titled Andrew Lloyd Webber: Tribute to a Superstar premiered on NBC in honor of Lloyd Webber's 70th birthday and to promote the coming premiere of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. In the special, Lloyd Webber was interviewed by Glenn Close, John Legend, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. It also included appearances by some of the performers from Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert in various rehearsal scenes from the show.
The special was executive produced and directed by Brad Lachman, and written and produced by Matt Lachman. Interviews were conducted at Sardi's restaurant, Power Station recording studio, and the Renaissance Hotel Times Square. Production companies involved in the special included Brad Lachman Productions and Universal Television.
Soundtrack
An official soundtrack was released by Sony Masterworks, digitally on April 6, 2018, and physically on April 27, 2018.
The album debuted at number 46 on the US Billboard 200, earning 13,000 album-equivalent units in its first week according to Nielsen Music, with over 11,000 units coming from traditional album sales. It also debuted at number 3 the same week on the Soundtracks chart, as well as at number 14 on the Top Album Sales chart.