Jesus Christ Superstar was never as satisfying a stage musical as it was a rock opera on record – the one that featured Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan as JC and Yvonne Elliman as Mary Mags. But approaching a half-century after its debut, its music (by Andrew Lloyd Webber – Tim Rice penned the lyrics) remains thrilling. A new production at the Welk in Escondido is a rousing reminder. Kyle Short (as a very tall Jesus) and Dominique Petit Frere (as a manic Judas) front this high-energy staging directed and nearly over-choreographed by Ray Limon. The sheer joy of a rock opera, of course, is that there is no stilted dialogue in between songs, and JC Superstar is no exception. You can enjoy the Welk’s hilariously over-the-top “Herod’s Song,” the frenetic temple scenes, and the stark, disturbing ending without intermittent babble.
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With its infectious music and heapin’ helpin’ of comedy, Big River is a broader, somewhat sunnier take on “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” penned by the great Mark Twain. But the Tony-winning musical nurtured more than 30 years ago at La Jolla Playhouse is fairly faithful to Twain’s classic tale. Big River is big news for Carlsbad’s New Village Arts Theatre, which has mounted a crowd-pleasing production of the show written by William Hauptman with lyrics and music by the late Roger (“Dang Me”) Miller. Big River is also a big sit, lasting well over two and a half hours, but it’s largely time well spent.
Director Colleen Kollar Smith’s cast is highlighted by Bryan Barbarin as Jim, the slave longing to be free, with Reed Lievers as a winning if too well scrubbed Huck. Spouses Manny and Melissa Fernandes practically take over with their antics as the grifters who scam their way aboard Huck and Jim’s raft. But it’s Jon Lorenz’s musical direction and a rousing six-piece band onstage that could make Twain, at his most cynical, smile. You know you’re in for a peculiar evening when the lights go up and you see on stage a cap with the word “Feces” printed on it. Turns out it’s just one of many caps worn by the two actors, Anthony Methvin and Tom Zohar, in Backyard Renaissance’s production of the 2005 Gutenberg! The Musical! The idea, stretched about as far as it can go, is that Doug (Methvin) and Bud (Zohar) are rehearsing a musical they’ve written about Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. In so doing, they prance around and sing songs while donning caps identifying what characters they’re portraying, from Gutenberg himself to his fictitious love interest, Helvetica, to a villainous monk – and many more. A few of the original tunes are clever and this pair tries awfully hard, but the upshot is a tiring exercise in neo-Vaudeville.
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AuthorDavid L. Coddon is a Southern California theater critic. Archives
May 2024
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