Everything’s Alright, ’cause Superstar is back!
It was the ultimate ’70s rock album that inspired a revolution, that became a hit stage musical that introduced rock opera – and now Jesus Christ Superstar has been revived for the new millennium, with the extraordinarily talented Michael Paynter in the titular role.
You can count on more bangers than a Bunnings sausage sizzle when the classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar opens at Brisbane’s QPAC next month – and you might also get to experience a novel out-of-the-box bonus.
For more than 50 years, the show and songs such as I Don’t Know How to Love Him, Everything’s Alright, Superstar, Hosanna and What’s the Buzz have been associated with some of our biggest music names, from Marcia Hines and Jon English to John Farnham, Kate Ceberano and Jon Stevens.
And now this Australian production presenting the award-winning 2016 British revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s early masterpiece is showcasing another generation of singing stars as the focal trinity of Jesus, Judas and Mary Magdalene.
While it’s Mahalia Barnes as Mary who’s best known by the public, Michael Paynter in the titular role and Javon King as Judas also deserve to be household names.
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Singer-songwriter Paynter is a platinum-selling international recording artist with several Top 20 singles who has worked with global stars such as Miley Cyrus, Seal, and Hall and Oates, plus Aussie legends Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham and Icehouse. He’s also a multi-instrumentalist and producer.
With more than two decades in the industry under his belt, and a motivating mindset that “you’re only as good as your last gig”, the 39-year-old believes Brisbane audiences are getting his performance, and the entire production, at their peak, as the final stop before the national tour wraps up on August 10.
Based on that assessment, the tantalising prospect of the novel alchemy I witnessed at the Australian premiere in Sydney last November recurring here seems even more likely.
Paynter’s flawless delivery of the impassioned multi-octave Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say) had galvanised the Capitol Theatre’s audience to instantly rise as one at its conclusion to acknowledge and celebrate its spine-tingling magic. In my decades of theatre-going across all genres here and abroad, this was the first time I’d witnessed a standing ovation within the course of a full-length production.
One doesn’t expect such an apotheosis just after interval, so given that most of the second act was yet to unfold, Paynter’s comments about the acclaim reflect both professionalism and humility.
Thanking me for the compliment, he continues: “I really had no idea that happened. I have been told that it’s happened many times since” (including opening night in Melbourne).
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“I really don’t pay much attention to the crowd when I’m doing a show – I can’t. I have to just block it out. That part of the show is quite emotionally taxing. So I’m trying to breathe and stay the course.”
his sublime vocal mastery left me wondering why he was playing a superstar without being one himself
He adds that being “more of a rock and roll guy” than an experienced actor, maintaining focus on “what I do, what I can control, and the character’s journey” provide consistency.
Paynter had appeared in Season Two of The Voice on Joel Madden’s team before being knocked out after the first live final – such are the vagaries of TV talent shows. Thirteen years on, his sublime vocal mastery left me wondering why he was playing a superstar without being one himself.
“It probably depends on your classification of ‘superstar’,” he responds. His website description as “respected musician” is one clue; his priorities as a husband and father to three daughters aged seven, four and one, is another.
While chart rankings provide proof to some people, “I would say that coming up to a 25-year career in the business, doing nothing but music, music that I love, and being able to feed a family and help set up the lives of three children, doing solo music – I would say that classifies me as being a superstar.
“I’ve had dalliances with the other stuff, and I obviously spend my life around very famous people. There’s not much about it that I would want. I’m just happy that I work and people enjoy what I do, and whether it’s playing guitar with Jimmy (Barnes) or singing Gethsemane or touring around Asia with The Veronicas, whatever it is, I feel very fortunate to have that as my job.”
Jesus Christ Superstar plays the Lyric Theatre, QPAC, June 29 to August 10; qpac.com.au