It was a pop culture miracle. On Sunday night, NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live show craftily walked the line between Broadway musical, pop concert and contemporary TV drama, writes The Los Angeles Times.
Starring John Legend as Jesus and Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene, the two-hour-plus production was broadcast live from a theater space in Brooklyn. The show was blocked and choreographed like a theater production and all action took place on the stage, but there was a live audience that reacted with cheers and claps, making it feel more like a pop concert. Featuring 40-plus cast members — including veteran rocker Alice Cooper as King Herod and Hamilton‘s Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas — the show was broadcast live on the East Coast from the Marcy Armory in Williamsburg and taped for the West Coast airing.
Critics felt that Legend, Bareilles and Dixon carried most of the production. Legend and Bareilles brought the songs to life for a modern audience without “forsaking the original charm of the numbers” writes LA Times. As Judas, Dixon was able to showcase both athleticism and some serious belting. The show was modernized, with many cast members showcasing tattoos, piercings and funky hairdos, and even cellphones.
It was a collision of “religion and theater and pop culture that could have been one holy mess.” But instead, LA Times writes, it not only worked, but was great.
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