Tonight the national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar came to this benighted corner of bumf*** lovely little Appalachian town.

Here are the good parts:

-I bought tickets from some guy for $5 each, instead of $20 for ‘real’ tickets
-Mary M was quite good
-Pilate was quite good except for Pilates Dream– he evidently interpreted it as an invitation for breathy vocal ditherings completely out of step with the rest of his excellent performance. Hint- it’s a tender, reflective, worried song, not a jingle to sell used cars
-The second half of The Temple was truly unsettling, with a sea of lepers thrashing around under a big piece of fabric. They looked like a monster. It was something out of a nightmare.
-Judas convincingly fell apart as a person from Damned for All Time on. He was frantic and bizarre and it was great.
-leather costumes on the studly Romans

And the bad:

-Jesus was about 90 and his voice had degenerated into a scary rasp. So instead of a young and vital falsettist, we had a crusty, stiff, croaking/screaming freak tottering around the stage, blessing people like a demented Pope. I’m sorry to say he bombed all his songs. He was dreadful.
–Herod’s Song Another mediocre performance of this one. I just don’t get it. It’s an infinitely singable song and can be easily costumed with a sequin jacket. So what gives? Why is this song always performed so heinously?
–The Crucifixion went on for endless ages. This scene has enough built-in drama and really does not need to be overdone. And I see no reason why John should be crouching in the corner of the stage like the Yeti.

And then leaving the theater, the people in this red Camry failed to understand the message of Jesus and wouldn’t let me merge into traffic. I forgive them. They know not what they do.