It’s ironic that Judas Iscariot upstages Jesus of Nazareth in Jesus Christ Superstar. After all, Judas is the bad guy, right, and Jesus is the Messiah.
But Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote the musical primarily to tell the story of the last week of Jesus’s life from the perspective of Judas, humanising the biblical figures and exploring their psychological complexities and interpersonal relationships.
Both Lloyd Webber and Rice had been brought up in religious households and they wanted to tell the story of Jesus Christ for a more secular audience. What they came up with is a rock opera that has stood the test of time.
Now playing QPAC’s Lyric Theatre (with its swish new seats), it’s a classic that is as perennial as the gospel story itself. This is, as some would have it, the greatest story ever told, and it has lost none of its power in the telling over a couple of millennia.
Was it sacrilegious to turn it into a musical? Not in this case, because Rice and Lloyd Webber are geniuses. They manage to pare back the story, giving us the elemental facts of the matter. And, with respect, they tell the story through songs that are memorable and form part of the soundtrack of the lives of some of us. Numbers such as I Don’t Know How to Love Him and Everything’s Alright are timeless and beautiful songs – but there isn’t a bad song in this show.
For me, this latest version of JCS, the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Production, is a bit frantic at times. When I saw people hopping around in hoodies and track daks, I was alarmed. What the hell have they done? I want tunics and sandals but, hey, that’s just me. At least Caiphas and his priests looked like something from 1st Century Judea.
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But as the show progressed things seemed to fall into place. The material is so strong that it would be pretty hard to stuff it up. And while some of it was just too loud and frenetic for my taste (I will admit the live music is smoking hot), the story does carry and the performances are strong.
Javon King as Judas is brilliant. He has the voice and presence to be a star and he portrays the complexity of Judas while, as Jesus, Michael Paynter was excellent in parts and has an amazing voice, but I never quite managed to see him as the Messiah.
Brisbane boy Peter Murphy was excellent and had great presence as Pilate, another interesting historical figure, the man who asked Jesus a question that has rung down through the ages: what is truth?
As Mary Magdalene Mahalia, Barnes is soulful and heartfelt. Her songs give us a pleasant break from some of the more riotous numbers.
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Elliot Baker had gravitas as head priest Caiaphas, who plots to get rid of Jesus because he’s competition. John O’Hara is good as priest Annas, and Reuben Kaye is entertaining, but maybe just a bit over the top as Herod.
The music pumps and while it is histrionic as times, this is a rock opera after all.
‘This is … the greatest story ever told and it has lost none of its power in the telling over a couple of millennia’
We can be satisfied from the gospel narratives, which have been shown to be historical documents, that these events occurred, even though I did hear a former Brisbane Catholic priest once claim that he wasn’t sure Jesus even existed. We know from other historical sources, including the historian Josephus, that he did. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all agree on the essential details of his story.
It’s a powerful and tragic one and the violence of Christ’s crucifixion is shocking and bracing. And that’s where we end this show but, of course, the story doesn’t end there. What happened next is a matter of faith.
Whether you’re a Christian believer or not this is the foundational story of Western Civilization and it’s a story everyone should be familiar with regardless of who you think Jesus really was. Some think he was a revolutionary, a communist. Of course, in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, the novel posits that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and they had a daughter whose bloodline was later protected in France and became the Merovingian dynasty.
That’s a good story but it has no basis in historical fact. Some would say the gospels are fiction too but, as I said, there’s plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Regardless, Jesus Christ Superstar demonstrates what a compelling story the passion of Jesus is. Focusing on Judas, who was elemental in helping Jesus finish his mission, is a brilliant twist. This musical debuted on Broadway in 1971 and is well worth revisiting.
Jesus Christ Superstar plays QPAC’s Lyric Theatre until August 10.
qpac.com.au/whats-on/2025/jesus-christ-superstar?s=4TICKETOFFER