You Judas

Tonight we went to see the Jesus Christ Superstar Arena Tour at The Hydro. It was absolutely outstanding. HUGE thanks to MrsCyclops for getting me tickets for my birthday.

I’m going to review this as 5*, which for me means that if on the way out the venue someone said “we’re going to run the show again right now – want to buy a ticket?” I would say “YES!”. It was that good.

The musical arrangement has changed very little from the 20th Anniversary London cast recording, which I considered to be almost flawless vocally before today. The setting has been modernised however, using in very 21st century imagery related to the anti-poverty movements in the UK, Greece and elsewhere during the financial crisis.

To me Judas (not Jesus) is the star of Jesus Christ Superstar. It is by far the most consistently technically challenging role, and a good Judas makes the show while a poor one kills it. Tim Minchin was beyond brilliant – I lack the words to express how good he was. His vocal we intense and emotional from start to end, showing huge range in every respect – whisper to yell, low to high, soft to harsh. His descent from worry into confusion and despair was painful to watch. He completely owned the part, and has ruined it for anyone else. He was the definitive Judas.

Mel C’s rendition of “I don’t know how to love him” nearly had me in tears. Her portrayal of Mary was as a more powerful than I have seen before, but it really worked and her performance was outstanding.

Ben Forster’s performance as Jesus was very good in the first half but felt overshadowed by the brilliance of Tim Minchin and Mel C. That made it all the more surprising when he kicked “Gethsemane” out of the arena at the start of the second part. Intense, emotional and with vocal technique not far off what Tim Minchin was delivering. An excellent Jesus all round, and perhaps a definitive version of Gethsemane.

The rest of the cast were also brilliant – I didn’t notice a single missed note or slipped beat from anyone. Even by Broadway or West End standards they were conspicuously good. Ciaphus stood out with a glorious bass voice and sinister attitude, Pontious Pilate wonderfully straightforward, and Annas suitably slimy. Chris Moyles played well to the crowd and put in a very respectable performance, but he didn’t stand out in this company.

The staging felt much bigger than could be accommodated in a theatre, and although in some ways it is quite simple (there are relatively few elements of scenery) it is stunningly effective. The stage is backed by a huge video screen, and I have seldom seen one used so effectively or with such variety. Sometimes the projected images blend with the physical sets, sometimes they are an abstract complement to the lighting, sometimes they are live video close-ups of the performances. The live video is very artfully, especially in the first meeting between Judas and Ciaphus where the use of clever shooting angles and focus is stunning.

The sound on the vocals was consistently excellent, with the ensemble well balanced with the leads. Given the dynamic vocal range and pitch range of some of the performers, this must have been a huge challenge. The only real criticism I can offer for the whole experience is that at times the band sound felt a little soggy – it lacked a certain crispness especially on the drums.

The Hydro only opened a couple of nights ago, and it seems like a brilliant venue. Most of the seats look like they will have a good, although as usual it will be a bit limited from right at the back in the gods, or right round the side. It seems to be running pretty smoothly, and the new parking garage is great (although some signs wouldn’t go amiss). Getting out of the car park was a bit of a free for all, but better than the old SECC parking arrangements as you can pay before the gig rather than everyone trying to pay at once after. Traffic onto the main routes seemed to flow more freely too.