cronoserge (imported) wrote: Wed Dec 10, 2014 8:14 am
"Jesus Christ Superstar" early protests.
i heard about these protests, who and what were they protesting?
as far as i know atheist/agnostic were the primary viewers.
and i saw nothing that would offend the believers of the the judeo/christen mythology.
in replay to "tugon" post #2
What I most remember is that to think of Jesus as a superstar was disrespectful. It was a term used for humans and not a demi god. Of course fundamentalists are apt to protest anything. I wish they put more fun and less mental in fundamentalist. Whoops might get edited.
Seven Brides For Seven Grooms has to be absolutely the most corniest musical ever! But I did like the colors and the dancing. They always kept leaving the doors open when it was supposed to be cold outside (kind of a pet peeve of mine). Even when they abducted the women all the doors were left open. And then the avalanche scenario. I wish I could estimate an avalanche like that. I don't see how anyone can though.
The critical comments about "Jesus Christ Superstar" didn't happen until it played on Broadway and had a pink Herod on the half shell singing that rather sarcastic "Try it and See" (or King Herod's Song in the second act). Some rather strange religious types called Herod's prancing and mockery offensive but then, the real Herod is recorded in history as saying those things. As far as I know, the protests went nowhere.
I saw one of the first performances of JCS in the (now torn down) Civic Arena and as they arranged a stage and a nearly full orchestra there were 15,000 maybe 18,000 people in the arena (it was sort of seating in the round) and Pittsburgh definitely doesn't have that many atheists or agnostics. The crowd loved the performance. It wasn't fully staged, more of a concert performance but there was a scaffold used as a stage and costumes and lighting of the singers. IT was very well received.
The movie was set in the Holy Land and used a lake for Herod's song. IT is wildly different because the camera can move in to show the actor's face. You can't do that onstage. Even the recordings of various stage productions for the camera are done with those tight shots of mocking faces.
The original version of the song got all of its sarcasm from the rhythm of Herod's song. It was a ragtime Charleston (I think that's the right name) and mirrored one of the Vietnam anti-war songs of a few years earlier. There is nothing like that syncopation in its ability to create mockery.
Remember that nearly contemporarily GODSPELL came to Broadway and was well received. There even was some scurrilous gossip about a quartet of musicals - each based on a different book.
Major problem when I was growing up with the original Jesus Christ Superstar was that "Judas" happened to be black and a lot of people didn't like that insinuation. However the disk and certain songs were listened to a lot.
I have both "Flower Drum Song" and "South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut" on DVD.
I like Flower Drum Song and the movie production is notable because they used an all oriental cast. I like the songs.
"South Park: Bigger Longer Uncut" still leaves me breathless with the amount of pure crassness and vulgarity they can achieve. However, it works as a musical, even with the dancing Saddam and the floating penises. And that's not a spoiler because those details are on the cover of the DVD.
I totally forgot about SP-UC. It has so many musicals in it and it is one of the best. Trey Parker I believe was in Flower Drum Song in a HS production. That's where much of his old fashioned musical theater come in to play. In their Book of Mormon it shows up best with the patter of Music Man and the spoof of King and I. NC
Parker and Stone relate the story that although they wrote the zany songs of South Park BLU, they needed someone with musical experience to do a Broadway show. That was Robert Lopez who did AVENUE Q years before. What happened is that the Broadway writers and their composer wanted a Broadway hit and that changed BOOK OF MORMON. Apparently much of what redeems if from being an anti-Mormon spoof turned it into a real Broadway musical.
Not many composers, writers or even actors get a chance to premier a play on Broadway and none of them want to do something awful. It's a reason that Daniel Radcliffe went to Broadway to do EQUUS and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. It's a different type of acting and singing and dancing.
Take a look at the Tony Awards - - each nominated musical gets to go onstage and entertain their friends and neighbors and fellow entertainers. That's what makes the Tony Awards so much fun to watch - they want to entertain, they are trying to entertain, and they know this is a time to shine.
So BOOK OF MORMON became something that Broadway could be proud of and present to the world.
This is one I haven't seen yet but one day, I'll get the chance to see it on tour and then I'll come back and make comment.
Got to see Daniel in How "so unexpected and danced his ass off the whole time and saw Mormon twice, I don't think Q holds up as well because of Coleman's death makes the show dated. Can't wait for the Movie of Mormon it's still on national tour and no sign of a movie. I think all will like Woods it does look magical.
