{"id":88559,"date":"2015-07-06T23:07:17","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T22:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8ce250469d.nxcli.io\/?post_type=theatre-review&p=88559"},"modified":"2020-08-23T00:19:36","modified_gmt":"2020-08-22T23:19:36","slug":"jesus-christ-superstar-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment-focus.com\/2015\/07\/06\/jesus-christ-superstar-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Christ Superstar review"},"content":{"rendered":"
Bill Kenwright brings Jesus Christ Superstar, the musical based on the progressive rock album by\u00a0Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, to Leeds Grand Theatre this week. A\u00a0production which has ignited passion and fury\u00a0in equal measure, the show arrives\u00a0with a\u00a0guarantee\u00a0of provocation.<\/p>\n
The musical follows\u00a0the final days\u00a0of Jesus Christ, who is betrayed by disciple Judas Iscariot and\u00a0subsequently crucified under the\u00a0Roman Empire. Loosely inspired by biblical texts and developed\u00a0from a sensational album, the\u00a0show offers an\u00a0audacious\u00a0interpretation of an ancient story told through progressive symphonic rock.<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ Superstar bequeaths\u00a0a number of recognisable musical numbers.\u00a0The most famous is Superstar, which became a hit in the USA and is undoubtedly\u00a0the anthem for the show. Opening with a cutting electric guitar solo, the show is immediately\u00a0experimental and embraces its\u00a0original progressive rock origins, offering\u00a0a colourful soundscape\u00a0arranged\u00a0with analogue synthesizers and\u00a0thunderous timpani percussion. With heavily\u00a0distorted guitars and a roaring and robust brass section, the score is ahead of its time, yet markedly 1970s in its rock and vocal style. In the vein of bands such as King Crimson, Led Zeppelin\u00a0and Uriah Heep, it demands durability and range from its leading performers.<\/p>\n
Glenn Carter previously played Jesus Christ\u00a0in a\u00a0movie adaptation and has been honing his performance in the role for the past twenty years. Perfectly pitched with a\u00a0cool, calm authority and magistery, Carter has an outstanding operatic\u00a0ability\u00a0which is particularly flaunted during Gethsemane, a number demanding extreme vocal range. There is a unearthly feel to Carter’s Jesus; something of a restrained fireball which is constantly on the edge of ignition. A liberal rebel, Jesus\u00a0is characterized\u00a0within\u00a0the late 1960s tree-hugging-hippy ethos, with Carter’s gently measured poise providing\u00a0a vivid contrast to his\u00a0aggressive\u00a0passion\u00a0in the musical numbers.<\/p>\n