Culture Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from HuffPost's signature lineup of contributors Michael Giltz Freelance writerGET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ Follow NY Around Town , Musical Theater , Theatre , Video , Alexis Bledel , Andrew Lloyd Webber , Jesus Christ Superstar , NY Theater , Broadway , Jesus Christ Superstar Review , Musicals , Regrets , Regrets Play , Regrets Play Review , Regrets Review , Culture NewsReact Amazing Inspiring Funny Scary Hot Crazy Important WeirdTheater: Jesus Christ Superstar Not Divine, Regrets Has a Few JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR * 1/2 out of **** REGRETS * 1/2 out of **** JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR * 1/2 out of **** NEIL SIMON THEATRE First things first: Jesus Christ Superstar is not really a rock musical.</p><p> Composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has about as much affinity for rock and roll as Liberace.</p><p> Thisproduction contains thudding, muffled orchestrations that emphasize the anonymous nature of Lloyd Webber's "pop" sound.</p><p> He's much happier taking inspiration from Puccini than the Rolling Stones. (Or even from the tango and other non-pop areas, as Evita would soon prove.) The music direction and supervision is by Rick Fox, but the blame lies with Lloyd Webber.</p><p> The show has been revived on Broadway twice before (once briefly in 1977 and again almost as briefly in 2000).</p><p> On each revisit, the work seems less distinguished and the same is true here.</p><p> This production began in Canada and is helmed by Des McAnuff, who had such a success with The Who's Tommy .</p><p> Unfortunately, his magic is lacking here.</p><p> It would take a miracle to keep this open for much longer than the five months the show enjoyed the last time around.</p><p> Despite the title, the musical -- which began as a concept album -- really focuses on Judas.</p><p> Rather than a pure villain, it takes the revisionist approach to imagine Judas as confused by Jesus suddenly seeming toembrace divinity, worrying about the presence of women among his followers (a scandalous, radical act for the time) and genuinely striving to keep Jesus from endangering his life.</p><p> Their back and forth as Judas struggles with what to do before making the fatal mistake of betrayal he immediately regrets is theengine that powers the show.MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2 Former 'SNL' Star Makes Shocking Comments About Rape And Gay Friends Mitt Romney To Flood Victim: 'Go Home And Call 211' Paul Ryan Admits Marathon Lie WATCH: Rachel Maddow At A Loss For Words After Clint Eastwood's RNC Speech Eastwood Misfires Celebs React To Eastwood's Wild SPeech 35 Awesome 'Simpsons' GIFs Sarah Palin May Be Done At Fox News: Report NJ Supermarket Shooter A Former Marine, Officials Say DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5 Dr.</p><p> Peggy Drexler Why It’s Important To Let Your Child Make Mistakes Gary Hart Welcome to the American Republic, Mr.</p><p> EastwoodFOLLOW USArts Books Film Architecture Music TV September 1, 2012 Edition: U.S.</p><p> FRONT PAGE POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA ARTS TV BLACK VOICES LATINO VOICES RELIGION COMEDY LIVE ALL SECTIONS Dr.</p><p> Peggy Drexler Gary Hart Rep.</p><p> Dennis Kucinich Kevin MaurerHOT ON THE BLOG HuffPost Social Reading Like 107 Posted: 03/28/2012 2:41 pm SHARE THIS STORY Submit this storyGet Culture Alerts Sign UpLike 1k Like 6k Like 5k Like 2k Like 4k Like 201 Like 1k Like 2k Recommend 212iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More Log in Create AccountOf course, any musical lives and dies by its songs and Lloyd Webber is always good for a few catchy numbers.</p><p> This time they are the brief "Hosanna," sung by the crowds when Jesus enters the city before Passover; the three note riff of "Jesus Christ Superstar" (effective even in this context) and "I Don't Know How To Love Him." But songs don't work if they're not sung well and this show commits the mortal sinof casting poor singers.</p><p> That always seems unforgivable for a Broadway show, when New York is burstingwith so much talent.</p><p> Chilina Kennedy is not remotely up to the vocal or acting demands of Mary Magdalene, modest as they are.</p><p> Paul Nolan has a few effective moments as Jesus, especially his wrath at the moneychangers in the temple, but is otherwise undistinguished in a role that is admittedly very passive and sedate.</p><p> Tom Hewitt actually commands attention as Pontius Pilate, turning "PIlate's Dream" into a quiet highlight and creating genuine drama out of Pilate's desire to get Jesus to say something, anything that can help Pilate spare him in "Pilate and Jesus." But up and down the line, virtually every other part large and small is sung poorly by the ensemble.</p><p> The shining exception is Josh Young as Judas, who not only betrays Jesus but practically steals the show out from under the Messiah.</p><p> I'm tempted to call it a star turn by Young, but the material doesn't quite justify that.</p><p> Still, from the very first note, Young makes the most of Lloyd Webber's melodies and the lyrics by Tim Rice, such as they are.</p><p> Every moment he's on stage, you can look at Young and know what Judas is thinking and feeling, his internal conflict and moments of grace.</p><p> Looking sexy and confident in an all-blue suit at the finale (despite having just hung himself), Young singlehandedly almost manages to shake the show out of its dreariness.</p><p> This is his Broadway debut but hopefully it won't be his last.</p><p> Other than Young, there's little to praise.</p><p> The scenic design by Robert Brill is functional and unsurprising.</p><p> The costumes by Paul Tazewell are drab and -- for the "naughty" scene at Herod's -- just silly.</p><p> The lighting by Howell Binkley confuses glaring brightness with a glimpse of the divine.</p><p> And thechoreography by Lisa Shriver leaves no impression.</p><p> Obviously, a better production of JCS is possible, starting with a cast that can bring to life the not-very- demanding songs.</p><p> But it seems doubtful the show is worth the effort.</p><p> Lloyd Webber would soon far outpace this effort with Evita and other works.</p><p> What once seemed cheeky and modern (Herod's joke about daring jesus to prove he's a God by walking across his swimming pool) now seem mild and tame.</p><p> Godspell seemed hopelessly naive in comparison even at the time.</p><p> But it has influenced the music of Christian worship for generations and its revival makes the piece feel timeless , if not exactly earth- shattering.</p><p> This Jesus Christ Superstar is stuck in the seventies.</p><p> It's true that audiences often give standing ovations at the drop of a hint but surely this show has aguaranteed one built in.</p><p> When Jesus has died for your sins and the bright lights break out and theorchestra plays the triumphant "da-da-dum" of the title song and the actor playing Jesus strides in blazing white to the front of the stage, you can't help but feel it would be churlish not to rise to your feet, whatever you thought of the show.</p><p> Besides, you never know -- He might be watching.</p><p> REGRETS * 1/2 out of **** MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB AT NEW YORK CITY CENTERMatt Charman is clearly the hot young playwright in the UK.</p><p> He's got a commission from the National Theatre for a new work, he's writing a screenplay for the venerable film company Working Title and he's developing a drama for the BBC.</p><p> Let's hope they're all more promising than this thin play about a groupof men isolated at cabins in Nevada in 1954, waiting to establish residency so they can get a divorce.</p><p> It takes six weeks to stake that claim to residency, just enough time for men to bond over their travails, reveal why their marriages collapsed, fight, bicker and have a sentimental goodbye.</p><p> This is a perfectly valid basic for a play, but Charman piles on the plot twists and buried secrets, confusing revelations with drama.</p><p> The new guy shows up but Caleb (Ansel Elgort) immediately sticks out like a sore thumb.</p><p> Calebclaims he's 21 but he sure doesn't look it.</p><p> And even if true, that's an awfully quick leap from the honeymoon to despair.</p><p> The other guys almost can't believe it, but since they make a game out of figuring out the backstory of newcomers, they don't have to believe it.</p><p> Gruff, ex-military man Robert (Curt Bouril) imagines Caleb killed a man and is hiding out.</p><p> Timid pet store owner Alvin (Richard Topol) guesses that maybe Calebstole something.</p><p> But the one-time school teacher Ben (a fine Brian Hutchinson in the show's best performance) figures out something deeper and unexpected is at work and at the very least nails Caleb over his age, forcing the kid to admit he's just 18 years old.</p><p> HOT ON TWITTER 1 of 2 HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES Movies Most Popular Iran College Football NCAA Foreclosure Crisis Egypt Joseph Kony Bashar Assad MORE BIG NEWS PAGES » Slate Articles »Apocalypse Meow Louie, Season 3 Doctor Feelbad aol RetweetIn honor of Labor Day, here are some of TV's hardest workers http://t.co/XTjvtfGy via @HuffPostTV aol RetweetStaying in this Labor DayWeekend? Here's what to watch on TV http://t.co/Ygqtb4U6 via @HuffPostTVMrs.</p><p> Duke (Adriane Lenox), the owner of the establishment, just wants the men to bother her as little as possible and keep women out of their cabins.</p><p> That brings her in sharp conflict with Chrissie (Alexis Bledel), the local prostitute with a heart of gold that -- surprisingly -- doesn't take a shine to the preternaturally handsome Caleb but sleeps with the besotted Robert and yearns for the stability of Ben.</p><p> Again, the basic material for drama is here, but Charman doesn't trust his characters enough to simply let them come to life.</p><p> He brings in the Red scare, Hollywood, abusive fathers, suicide and more in revelation after revelation to spice up the events.</p><p> None of it is terribly convincing.</p><p> The cast is by and large capable, though Lenox is saddled with a cliched, truth-telling black woman.</p><p> She drives two white men to their cabins from the bus station and later says she could already see death inthe eyes of one of them.</p><p> Because, you know, black women are always in tune with the supernatural.</p><p> The two unfortunate exceptions are Bledel and Elgort.</p><p> Bledel is a charmer on TV and has proven Gilmore Girls was not a fluke with movies like Tuck Everlasting .</p><p> However, in her New York stage debut, she clearly doesn't have her theater legs yet and needs voice work to allow her to project the wonderfullynatural and quirky delivery she's capable of in a live setting.</p><p> Even less successful is Elgort, making his professional acting debut.</p><p> Typically, young actors can shine in roles that reflect who they are in real life, at least to a degree.</p><p> But the complicated backstory of Caleb (married, in love, fleeing the Feds) is far afield from the experience of any teenager.</p><p> Elgort simply doesn'thave the tools to tackle this part and struggles to look comfortable onstage, despite his background in professional ballet.</p><p> Director Carolyn Cantor was simply wrong to cast him.</p><p> The play is flawed but certainly might have been presented better with a more experienced lead.</p><p> In a rare show of restraint, Alvin talks repeatedly about getting up the gumption to start playing his clarinet again.</p><p> I would have bet money we'd end a scene or the show with Alvin breaking out into a glorious tune.</p><p> Instead we hear him practicing roughly and sketching out rather nicely but tentatively asong at one point.</p><p> It's believable and true, something Charman would do well to focus on in the future.</p><p> The Theater Season 2011-2012 (on a four-star scale) The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Steve Jobs ** 1/2 All-American ** All's Well That Ends Well/Shakespeare in the Park ** Assistance ** The Atmosphere Of Memory 1/2 * Blood Knot at Signature ** Bob *** 1/2 Bonnie & Clyde feature profile of Jeremy Jordan Broadway By The Year: 1950 ** 1/2 Broadway By The Year: 1997 ** 1/2 Carrie ** 1/2 The Cherry Orchard with Dianne Wiest ** Chinglish * 1/2 Close Up Space * Crane Story ** Cymbeline at Barrow Street Theatre *** Damn Yankees ** Death Of A Salesman with Philip Seymour Hoffman ** 1/2 Dedalus Lounge * 1/2 Early Plays (Eugene O'Neill at St.</p><p> Ann's Warehouse) * Ernani at Met w Angela Meade *** 1/2 An Evening With Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin *** Follies *** 1/2 Fragments *** Galileo with F.</p><p> Murray Abraham ** The Gershwins' Porgy And Bess *** 1/2 Godspell ** 1/2 Goodbar * 1/2 Hair *** Hand To God *** Hero: The Musical * 1/2 How The World Began * 1/2 Hugh Jackman: Back On Broadway *** Hurt Village *** Irving Berlin's White Christmas *** It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later *** 1/2 Jesus Christ Superstar * 1/2 King Lear at Public with Sam Waterston ** Krapp's Last Tape with John Hurt *** The Lady From Dubuque ** 1/2Lake Water ** Leo *** Love's Labor's Lost at the PublicLab ** 1/2Lysistrata Jones * The Maids ** Man And Boy * 1/2 The Man Who Came To Dinner ** Maple And Vine ** Master Class w Tyne Daly ** 1/2 Measure For Measure/Shakespeare in the Park *** Milk Like Sugar *** Mission Drift * 1/2 Misterman ** 1/2 The Mountaintop ** 1/2 Newsies ** No Place To Go ** 1/2 Painting Churches * 1/2 Pigpen's The Nightmare Story *** 1/2 Once *** 1/2 Once on Broadway **** Olive and The Bitter Herbs ** 1/2 On A Clear Day You Can See Forever * 1/2 One Arm *** Other Desert Cities on Broadway ** 1/2 Private Lives ** Queen Of The Mist ** 1/2 Radio City Christmas Spectacular ** 1/2 Regrets * 1/2 Relatively Speaking * 1/2 Richard III w Kevin Spacey at BAM *** The Road To Mecca ** 1/2 Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History Of The Robot War ** 1/2 The Select (The Sun Also Rises) ** 1/2 Seminar ** Septimus & Clarissa *** 1/2 Shlemiel The First ** 1/2 Silence! The Musical * 1/2 69 Degrees South * 1/2 Song From The Uproar ** Sons Of The Prophet *** 1/2 Sontag: Reborn * Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark * 1/2 Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays ** Stick Fly ** The Submission ** Super Night Shot ** 1/2 Sweet and Sad ** The Table ** 1/2 Titus Andronicus at Public with Jay O.</p><p> Sanders * 1/2 Tribes *** 1/2 The Ugly One ** Unnatural Acts *** Venus In Fur *** We Live Here ** Wild Animals You Should Know ** 1/2 Wit ** 1/2 Zarkana ** NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL 2011 Blanche: The Bittersweet Life Of A Wild Prairie Dame *** 1/2 Central Avenue Breakdown ** 1/2 Crazy, Just Like Me *** Cyclops: A Rock Opera * Ennio: The Living Paper Cartoon ** 1/2 F---ing Hipsters ** Ghostlight ** Gotta Getta Girl ** 1/2 for staged reading Greenwood * Jack Perry Is Alive (And Dating) * 1/2 Kiki Baby ** 1/2 Kissless * 1/2 Madame X ** The Pigeon Boys *** Time Between Us * 1/2 Tut ** FRINGEFEST NYC 2011Araby * The Bardy Bunch ** Books On Tape ** 1/2 Civilian ** Hard Travelin' With Woody *** Leonard Cohen Koans *** 1/2 The More Loving One ** The Mountain Song *** 1/2 Paper Cuts *** Parker & Dizzy's Fabulous Journey To The End Of The Rainbow ** 1/2 Pearl's Gone Blue *** Rachel Calof ** 1/2 Romeo & Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending ** 2 Burn * 1/2 Walls and Bridges ** What The Sparrow Said ** 1/2 Yeast Nation *** Thanks for reading.</p><p> Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests.</p><p> It's available for free on iTunes.</p><p> Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.</p><p> Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.</p><p> Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.</p><p> Note : Michael Giltz is provided with free tickets to shows with the understanding that he will be writing a review.</p><p> Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz Read more from Huffington Post bloggers: Fern Siegel: Stage Door: Evita The Broadway revival of Evita at the Marquis Theater may have star power, but it lacks sizzle.</p><p> David Finkle: First Nighter: Declan Donnellan Takes No Pity on John Ford's "'Tis Pity She's a Whore" 'Tis Pity She's a Whore -- John Ford's 1633 tragedy about a brother and sister who fall in love and voraciously act on it -- isn't often seen and hasn't been presented all that frequently since it first played a London theater.</p><p> Michael Giltz: Theater: F.</p><p> Murray Abraham, Early O'Neill and a Victorian Adventuress The winter theater season in New York has a certain rhythm.</p><p> A few shows open on Broadway and then there's a lull until the crush of big names in March, April and May.</p><p> Here are three shows, all of themaiming high though not succeeding for one reason or another.</p><p> Around the Web: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR | Official Site | Home Jesus Christ Superstar - Broadway Tickets | Broadway | Broadway.com Hosanna! Jesus Christ Superstar Revival Opens on Broadway ... 'Jesus Christ Superstar' on Broadway: What did critics think ...</p><p> PHOTO CALL: Jesus Christ Superstar Opens on Broadway; Arrivals ...</p><p> Regrets, World Premiere Play by Matt Charman, to Complete 2011 ... 12:00 PM on 04/02/2012 Ironic that the original story has aged well but the Broadway adaption isn't aging well at all. 11:13 AM on 04/01/2012 Well it's difficult to incorporate separating the blessed wealthy from the sinful poor.</p><p> The chorus of fetus's and Jesus now played by Rush Limbaugh defunding a public school before a trip to Haiti'schild prostitute warrens.</p><p> I've heard the sets burst into flames.Recency | Popularity HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR Gronkie Radical Independent Permalink | Share it HCBurlingame Permalink | Share itComments 14 Pending Comments 0 View FAQ Comments are closed for this entry View All Favorites 888 Fans 32 FansThis user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program 04:21 PM on 03/31/2012 The emperor has no clothes and yet the subject matter makes most polite people refrain from stating the obvious.</p><p> The story has to have a Lucifer, a Judas because he is the only interesting personality.</p><p> Perfect is not personality. 06:34 PM on 03/30/2012 Never saw the play but the movie was awesome.</p><p> That guy who played Judas was off the charts. 01:23 PM on 03/30/2012 Tim Rice is the worst lyricist in the business.</p><p> I can't imagine how he gained his reputation. 12:01 PM on 04/02/2012 I'm not so thrilled with Lloyd-Webber either.</p><p> I think they're both incredibly over-rated. 10:29 AM on 04/03/2012 Could not agree more. 11:49 AM on 03/30/2012 Horrible songs, horrible book...jeezis, Jesus! 08:14 PM on 03/29/2012 Lady Gaga as Mary Magdalene 07:36 PM on 03/29/2012 It wasn't that great the first time around. 04:09 PM on 03/29/2012 um, IMHO the original had no place to go but Up . . . my mind boggles at it getting worse! =(HUFFPOST SUPER USER Tulka2 Solidarity.</p><p> Courage.</p><p> Humor.</p><p> Permalink | Share it jokamachi Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER cloudmaker Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR Gronkie Radical Independent Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER cloudmaker Permalink | Share it miz mendo unbind your mind, there is no time Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER CowboySandtoes Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Halter Permalink | Share it glitterpet Permalink | Share it ProCynic An armed society is a polite society2315 Fans 6295 Fans 1010 Fans 888 Fans 1010 Fans 58 Fans 44 Fans 54 Fans 251 Fans 414 Fans10:27 AM on 03/29/2012 Poorly executed revivals can ruin the reputation of a show.</p><p> I have been lucky enough to see "Cats" (BW), "Phantom" (London), and "Chess" (London), loved them, won't see them again because theywere good.</p><p> I wish I could find a good production of "Rent" because I hear it was good, the ones I've seen have been blah. 09:19 AM on 03/29/2012 Yep.</p><p> We have to admit that Jesus Christ Superstar -- as a thing, as an entity -- simply isn't good enough to sustain a full night in the theater or to merit the absurdly high price of admission, no matter who'sproducing it or starring in it.</p><p> We survivors of the '70s should simply say of it, "Well, I guess you hadto be there," and move on.</p><p> And it isn't just that the melodies are, with a few exceptions, mediocre (which can be said for every Lloyd Weber score I've ever heard).</p><p> It's also that the libretto/lyrics are technically clumsy and emotionally feeble-mined.</p><p> Tim Rice is, and has always been, a hack.</p><p> That a man with nearly no talent at all could succeed so spectacularly never ceases to amaze me. 10:27 PM on 03/29/2012 Wow,I was thinking almost the exact same thing but must admit I still have a soft spot forthe movie .</p><p> Advertise | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | About Our Ads | Contact Us Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.</p><p> All rights reserved.</p><p> Part of AOL LifestylePermalink | Share it 3fingerbrown Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER donnyraindog Grass shack nailed to a pinewood floor Permalink | Share it609 Fans 1614 Fans
