[NEohioPAL] REVIEW: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Players Guild Theatre

[Tom Wachunas]

Their Cup Runneth Over

By Tom Wachunas 

   “Wipe your face, you just swallowed mysoul.”  - Hugh Prather

   The Players GuildTheatre continues to wreck my heart in a most wondrous way. With its productionof the musical, Jesus Christ Superstar,opening night left me not only gobsmacked (as its English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice mightput it), but God-smacked as well. And once again, director Jonathan Tisevichhas brought to the stage his uncanny prowess at not only assemblingastonishingly gifted performers, but also inspiring their impassioned immersionin the spiritual and emotional essence of the story. 

   Every element ofthis production works successfully to maximize electrifying drama, including the set designed by Joshua Erichsen, withits towering, cavernous Romanesque architecture encased in scaffolding; theinfectious tribal energy of the choreography by Molly Weidig; the rugged,streetwise modernity of costumes by Stephen Ostertag; the fiery textures andrelentless rhythms from the superb live orchestra conducted by Steve Parsons.

   Here is a brisklypaced, implacably humanist perspective on Jesus Christ. We watch him strugglemightily to reconcile his humanity with his divinity. While he intimately knowsthe what and the how of dying, he also questions the why of it. Nowhere is thistension more heartrending than in the second-act song, “Gethsemane,” when Jesusis praying alone in the garden, his apostles fallen asleep around him. AsJesus, Justin Woody is an enthralling and luminous theatrical force. Theexpressive sonority and amazing range of his singing voice is breathtaking inthe way it makes both gentleness and anger a tangible presence.

   This sublimeemotive potency is all the more enhanced and amplified when seen in tandem withthe volatile performance by Sean Fleming as the conflicted Judas, theunbelieving apostle we love to hate. With a singing voice every bit ascompelling as that of Justin Woody’s, Fleming’s haunting rants and wails aretruly frightening.

   Speaking of‘conflicted,’  it’s Desiree Hargrave, inher role of Mary, who most tenderly embodies the sociocultural angst thatsurrounded the misunderstood Jesus. When she sings the powerful anthem, “IDon’t Know How to Love Him,” time seems to stop altogether. The sheer pathos ofthe moment sears our hearts as she tearfully voices her urgent spiritualdilemma in achingly sweet and soaring tones. Later, she sings the equally sweet“Could We Start Again, Please?”  It’s abrief but very moving duet with Daryl Robinson, who plays Peter. Their piercingharmonies are a brilliant articulation of real sorrow and supplication.

   In “King Herod’sSong,” Micah Harvey delivers one of the evening’s rowdiest and most salaciousinterludes – as hilarious as it is chilling. Accompanied by high-kickingshowgirls, he brings down the house with his bawdy portrayal of a viciouslystrutting monarch hurling sardonic taunts at a passive Jesus.

   Not so overtlyraucous are the stern-faced demeanors and throaty intonations of ChristopherGales as high-priest Caiaphas, and Mark Dillard as Roman governor PontiusPilate. Both are remarkably solemn if not downright  scary in how they wield their dark authorityover the fate of Jesus.    

   Finally, there’sthe otherworldly lighting, designed by Scott Sutton. It creates a consistentlycharged atmosphere of ethereality that culminates in a mesmerizing flash ofwhite at the conclusion of the production - like bolts of frozen lightningdelineating the suspended body of the crucified Christ. But this startlingimage doesn’t depict the devastating end of a life. It is indeed the profoundlycontemplative and glorious vision of a life beginning. 

 JesusChrist Superstar /  Through April 14,2019 / Performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday / atPlayers Guild Theatre Mainstage, Cultural Center for the Arts, 1001 Market Ave.N, Canton / TICKETS: $32 for adults, $25 for 17 and younger, $29 for seniors.Order at 330-453-7617 and www.PlayersGuildTheatre.com

For other commentaries by Tom Wachunas on the performing andvisual arts in the greater Canton area, please visit his blog, ARTWACH, at www.artwach.blogspot.com 


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