MOVE Magazine – 'Jesus Christ Superstar' comes to Columbia
The Columbia Entertainment Company will be performing "Superstar" on
Thursdays through Sundays until Feb. 20.
By Susan Costa
Published Feb. 11, 2011
Past the crumbling walls and pillars of the Second Temple of Jerusalem,
clouds of dust are seen in the distance, forging through the vast
backdrop of desert. A colorful bus appears and from it a large group of
shaggy haired and bell-bottom wearing hippies leap with enthusiasm and
hurriedly begin preparing props and costumes.
This is the opening scene of the powerful 1973 film version of Andrew
Lloyd Webber’s beloved and controversial rock opera, depicting Jesus’
last week on earth. The show has been performed in high schools and
theater companies ever since and now it has come to Columbia. Columbia
Entertainment Company is now showing its production of "Jesus Christ
Superstar," directed by Chris Bowling.
“The music is amazing and the story is incredible on many different
levels,” Bowling said. “It is one of the most central stories to our
culture.”
Drawing heavily from the Gospels, "Superstar" tells the story of Jesus’
final days through the eyes of Judas, shedding a sympathetic and
understanding light on him, and a humanist light on Jesus himself.
This intriguingly unconventional interpretation was received by
religious groups with much criticism and charges of blasphemy. But
Bowling believes it is one of the strengths of the show.
“Jesus and Judas are both running up against the inevitable and striving
against it and are carried away by events that neither have control
over,” he said. “(Jesus’ doubts and fears about meeting his death) give
the story more power because if he went to his death with no doubts and
no fears, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice at all.”
Adam McCall, the actor who plays Jesus in the CEC production, feels
similarly.
"('Superstar') takes a little bit of liberty in conveying a less than
godly perception of Jesus, without being irreverent,” he said.
Bowling was influenced by the eccentric, hippie-clad aesthetic of the
1973 film.
“I look at it as both a historical piece, and a product of the time that
it was created in,” he said. “My guiding vision was combining those two
times.”
Bowling described the set as based on artists’ renderings of what the
Second Temple Of Jerusalem probably looked like, while the characters
are drawn from archetypes that would have been active in the early ‘70s
counter-culture, such as hippies, beatniks, militants, members of the
black panther movement, proto punk rockers and glam kids.
“I was very excited to be able to delve into the dances and movement and
music of that time,” said choreographer Dee Dee Folkerts, who worked
with Bowling on the concept since last summer. “The music is very late
‘60s and early ‘70s but is also timeless.”
Influenced by the 1973 film, Folkerts said she used original
choreography for the CEC production, except for one verse from “Simon
Zealotes,” a song she describes as “the emotional highlight of the
entire show.”
“('Superstar') is socially pervasive in a very intense way,” McCall
said. “We are trying to help people relate to what (Jesus) and Judas
were going through.”
CEC’s "Superstar" is performed by 28 volunteer actors and has been in
the works since December. The show opened last weekend and will run
Thursday through Sunday until Feb. 20.
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