Jesus Christ Superstar

Feminists would have been in seventh heaven with Orpheus Chorale’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar where major traditional male roles were sung by women - Judas and Annas. It was, as I overheard an audience member saying at interval, a “new age” production and that concept was followed through to the costumes which were street wear; jeans and sneakers, t-shirts, hoodies and mobile phones. A big screen TV even made an appearance in the second half.

Star of the performance was the kick-arse band under Greg Wilson’s baton. They were the glue that held it all together with great work being done by guitarists Ross Beauchamp, Nathan Rule and Steve Norris.

Krystel Spark had the right pop-inflection for Mary and scored heavily with “I don’t know how to Love Him.” Warren Pennell also had the right timbre and range for Jesus but his performance was marred by too many vocal mannerisms which meant “Gethesmane” was not nearly as effective as it ought to be. Which brings us to Kym Brown’s Judas. Although she sang it like a rock pro delivering an intense reading of the part, it lacked raw emotion.

Robert Bendell’s Herod was an audience pleaser with his Sergeant Pepper costume and tap dance, with Daniel Inglis making his mark in the Mary and Peter duet “Could We Start Again Please?”

Miranda Selwood’s production kept it simple, a few roll on set-pieces, and a very effective live video feed which displayed on-stage performances on the rear of the set. Stripped back to its bare bones in this semi-staged version Jesus Christ Superstar is still a powerful rock-opera. At the end of the show when the lights came up the entire audience stayed in their seats to hear the band jamming on the title tune. It was undoubtedly the best moment of the show.

Peter Pinne