Jesus Christ, Still a Superstar

“Wow, Jesus is really old.”

This was one of the first thoughts in my head as I sat in the audience while the national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar began its show last night at the Warner Theatre. Shortly followed by:

“Oh good, Jesus is going to heal that hot Bearcub that just got stabbed by the Roman Guard.”

It turns out that hot Bearcub was Simon Zealot, one of Jesus apostles, and he would thankfully be seen onstage often – which is a good thing because he was totally gorgeous while Jesus was really old. I mean like so old I couldn’t even look at him. But then again we were in the 3rd row – pretty close. I often found myself blocking the always-brightly-lit Jesus behind the head of the man sitting in front of me. But between Simon and a handful of other muppet actors on stage, I had some nice things to look at.

OK, I’m being a little unkind to Jesus. Jesus was played by Ted Neeley, who famously played the part in the original tour and the 1973 film when he was 30. He’s still got great talent, but this was more of a reprise role. Seeing a performer who is so famous for a part but should no longer be playing it is kind of like going to an old-timer’s baseball game: You’re not necessarily going to get the best show, but you get to experience at least some of the glory that shines through the famous faces on the field. And you can always say “I saw him play that part.” Neeley is talented, no doubt about that. But at 65, Neeley is also likely twice the age of the next oldest cast member, not to mention twice Jesus’ age at his crucifixion.

The production is a bit haphazard. The show book and score itself was laughable, sorry. It doesn’t help that I’m not an Andrew Lloyd-Webber fan, but I knew what I was getting into. I had never seen JCS before, but I enjoyed it for what it was. Really, some of the lyrics were so basic that I’ve lost a little respect for Tim Rice. My ears desperately long for “A Little Night Music” to soothe the assault from last night’s bombardment of sound.

But back to the Bearcub. He is Matthew G. Meyers. A tenor, he’s about 30, not a big bear but a strong stocky build, brown hair and light beard, and cute pug nose. He was actually one of the better performers on the stage, bringing more life even in his background parts than most of the cast. His performance singing Simon’s song was excellent. He also acts as the understudy to Judas, as well as some management parts on stage (I forget the titles; my Playbill isn’t here next to me). Looking at Meyers’ bio in the Playbill though, Dave noticed that he won the Best Actor in a Musical in “NYC’s Fresh Fruit Award.”

Hmmm. “Fresh fruit.” In NYC? Sounds kinda gay. Sure enough, it is! A little Googling will find a lovely photo of Matthew with his husband at Disneyworld (or land) in front of Cinderella’s castle. So this is one of the few times I’ve seen a hot bearcub actor who actually turns out to be family.

I’d include a photo for you here, but I didn’t find any publicly online that does him justice in his Bear-esque look. In his headshot he looks way too pretty and thin. I find that to be a problem with hot bearish actors. Their headshots make them look too much like “actors” than people.

It was a welcome change to see a cast that didn’t all look like buff chorus-line dancers in period costume. On the flip side, they looked like they were still in high school or college – with Jesus as this kind of creepy old janitor that shuffled along with them. The high energy that the cast shows compares strikingly to the low energy Neeley brings as Jesus, making him appear that much older.

I enjoyed the show for what it was. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it unless you want to see Neeley reprise the role for which he is famous. The staging looks inspired by Les Miserables, with the arched bridge set and the chorus blocking. Even the actor who plays James looks like he should be playing Jean Valjean. If you have a need for bombastic sound and incomprehensible material that takes itself too seriously, JCS might do until the next tour of The Phantom of the Opera comes to Wolftrap. If you want to see a hot Bearcub on stage, see if you can get cheap walkup one-off front-row seats a half hour before curtain. (Not sure if you can.) The show is at the Warner til Sunday.

Rent: Oh the Drama!

Really can we all please just take a pill now? He said this; she said that. I fell like we’re back in high school… er, wait…

Martin says Asrani and the school board then opted to cancel the play. Asrani says the decision was Martin’s.

When students were told the production had been canceled, their outreach quickly led to mass media attention. Gay activists and alumni of the high school charged that the play’s cancellation was a form of intolerance and homophobia.

Martin in turn requested a rush copy of a toned-down version of the script, which he submitted to Asrani for approval.

via Canceled High School Production of Rent Back On  | News | Advocate.com.

Remember. When I was in high school we had a gay-straight alliance. It was called drama club.

Super Heroes officially Jump the Shark

The superhero resurgence will be coming to an end soon. Here is evidence that it has jumped the shark:

A musical based on the Marvel comic book hero Spider-Man will open on Broadway in 2010.

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark will include the story of the superhero’s origins and will feature music and lyrics by U2 members Bono and The Edge.

via BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Spider-Man musical set for 2010.

Who do you believe in the “Rent” controversy? Why?

A high-school production of Rent has been shut down over concerns with the show’s “adult content.”

Corona Del Mar High School students found out last week from their drama teacher that after a meeting with the school’s principal Fal Asrani and a union representative, the play was canceled due to objections about the ‘gay characters.’

via High School Production of Rent Cancelled for Gay Content?  | News | Advocate.com.

Agreed facts: The script was requested for review. The decision to cancel the play was made by the teacher (however, they disagree about why).

Rent Script

The principal says (paraphrasing): “I wanted to review the script, something that is my responsibility. When I asked for it, the teacher canceled the play.”

The teacher says (again paraphrasing): “I was asked to provide a script because of gay characters. But I haven’t ordered scripts yet and they wont be here for two weeks. The principal told me we won’t have time to revise the scripts before the show starts April 23, and that she won’t like gay characters, so I’m canceling the play and doing something safe instead.”

I dunno, I don’t think it is a smart idea to start crying “homophobia” here. “Rent” has an implied group sex scene, lots of shown adult sexuality, and plenty of cursing. It seems perfectly responsible that a principal would request to see the revised script as offered by the licensing company. I”m not convinced bigotry is at play here.

This is one person’s word against another’s. And I’ve learned in the world of blogging to never make a homophobia judgment based on a stranger’s word. (I’ll call it the “Die fags” theory, based on the douchebag homos who vandalized their own place with “Die Fags” graffiti, blamed homophobia, and reported a hate crime.) The principal’s story seems lacking detail, but the teacher’s story seems hysterical.

The writers at Queerty, who automatically assumes homophobia, point to the students for help but the students only repeat what the teacher told them. That’s just hearsay.

So who do you believe? The teacher, or the principal? Why? Are you sure your opinion is objective? Or are you just instinctively crying homophobia?