Review: Jesus Christ Superstar

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Jesus Christ Superstar.
I was really eager to see Jesus Christ Superstar during its initial run at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in 2016, however to my disappointment the show had quickly sold out. When an announcement was made declaring that the show would be returning, I immediately got tickets. I had seen the show two years ago at Wimbledon Theatre, where it had made a stop during its UK Tour. That production was set in the actual time period that Jesus Christ had lived in, however the Regent's Park production reimagined the show to have it take place in the modern era. It was very interesting to see the differences, and whilst I do prefer the show being performed in the actual time period the musical is set it, I still enjoyed seeing a different director's take on the show.

The score of Jesus Christ Superstar is legendary. I think that Andrew Lloyd Webber is an absolutely brilliant composer; I adore all of his music. It would be a very hard decision, but I would ultimately say that the score of Jesus Christ Superstar is my favourite Lloyd Webber score. Each song is highly memorable and there are some truly wonderful songs. My chosen highlights from the score are "Damned For All Time", "Gethsemane" and "Judas' Death". The lyrics, written by Tim Rice, are extremely clever and have a lot of depth within them. Performing the music was a phenomenal orchestra. The orchestra were in a compartment above the stage, viewable by all audience members. It was great to be able to see the orchestra in plain-view, and my attention occasionally came off the main stage in order to take a look at what the orchestra were doing at certain moments during the show. A particular stand-out from the orchestra was the guitarist, who was exceptionally talented.

It took me a while to warm to Declan Bennett's portrayal of Jesus, however he really comes into his element when singing "Gethsemane" and after that moment he got better and better, to the point where his performance was perfection. Co-starring with Declan as Jesus, was Olivier Award nominee Tyrone Huntley as Judas. Judas is an extremely difficult role to play, and there are many different types of voices I have heard sing the role. There are some who choose to sing it with little control over their voice, to the point where they are practically screaming. There are some who choose to sing it by straining their voice, but with control and no screaming. I don't know how he has done it, but Tyrone has found the perfect way to sing as Judas. His voice is incredible; he has very good control of it and has an extremely wide range. This is a Judas like no other. Tyrone has an extremely large stage presence, and whenever he entered the stage I was always captivated by what he was doing. I really hope they make a cast album of this production, as it would be wonderful to have Declan and Tryone's voices in the show preserved. Other cast members who stood out were David Thaxton as Pilate, Phillip Browne as Caiaphas and Peter Caulfield as Herod.

The set design is very minimal, with the show being a concert staging. The set design did not particularly stun me, however I think it would be fair to say that it served its purpose. The lighting design had received an Oliver Award nomination, and I had seen pictures of it where it looked great, however because I was at the matinee the lighting design was minimal due to there being natural light in the theatre. It was a shame that I was unable to see the full effect of the lighting design, but it was definitely not a major concern. Whilst I understand what the costume designer was attempting to do when creating the costumes for this production, I was sadly left very disappointed. The costumes came across as being fairly bland and not really to my liking. Having said that though, unexpectedly I thought King Herod's costume was marvellous. I'm sad to say that I also felt the choreography was a little bland too. It's serviceable, however it left me a little unimpressed. Despite my negative thoughts on those aspects, I thought that the sound design was great. Every note played by all instruments could be easily heard, and each word said by any actor could also be easily heard.

Whilst it did take me a while to get into the show at first, I was extremely impressed with act two, which was full of stunning moments which I am sure to remember. I was very happy to see Tyrone as Judas, and I hope he will continue to do the role, as he is truly an amazing Judas.

The featured star of Jesus Christ Superstar is, drum roll please... TYRONE HUNTLEY!

I cannot praise this performance enough. It's a real shame that Tryone was competing with Andy Karl for the Oliver Award, as Andy Karl is very hard to beat, but hopefully Tyrone's year will come soon!

Now for my final verdict on Jesus Christ Superstar. I give Jesus Christ Superstar...

The music and a great deal of the performances were excellent and would be enough for a four star, however I have chosen three stars due to feeling a little bit let down by the costume design and choreography. There are rumours that this production will head to the West End soon, and if so it would be very interesting to see how they would deal with a different venue. I'll be keeping a close eye to see what happens next with this production!

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer