For more than 40 years, the timeless musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar” has entertained audiences with a theatrical presentation of the last week in the life of Jesus Christ. Although the story is well-known and familiar to most people, the play
For more than 40 years, the timeless musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar” has entertained audiences with a theatrical presentation of the last week in the life of Jesus Christ. Although the story is well-known and familiar to most people, the play dramatizes the events through the eyes of an unlikely character, Judas Iscariot.
The Aloha Performing Arts Company’s presents this legendary musical, which opened Feb. 10 at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu.
The musical debuted on Broadway in October 1971 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York. Set against the backdrop of an extraordinary series of events, “Jesus Christ Superstar” was the first musical by the epic duo, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to be professionally produced for the stage. Since its debut, the wildly successful production has been performed worldwide a countless number of times.
“The show is based on bible stories and the gospels,” said director Jerry Tracy. “These are stories that have lessons for everybody. It’s about the last week of Jesus’ life, and it shows his relationship with Mary Magdalene, and especially with Judas. The show is told from Judas’ perspective. I remember when I saw it the first time, I was amazing to see Judas portrayed as anything but the villain. It really shows him as a human being and it also shows Jesus as a human being. The fact that Judas kills himself, then comes back to sing a song to Jesus sort of indicates that anyone can be for-given anything.”
Tracy believes the show will appeal to everyone, especially those in his age group.
“The concept album came out in 1970 when I graduated college,” he said. “A lot of our snowbirds and locals will remember it fondly and will enjoy being reminded of why it was such a great rock opera at the time, and also why it still remains compelling in 2017.”
“It’s a pure rock experience,” said Tracy. “It’s a hard driving rock and roll musical that touches on raw human emotions. I think everyone who sees it, will walk away being moved by the show. There’s something about the show that speaks to all of us. It’s a sobering story, but we have a lot of fun telling it and performing it, so I think the audience will have fun, too. Anyone who sees it will be reminded of a time gone by that still speaks to us today.”
Cast members include Miguel Montez as Jesus and Winton Nicholson as Judas. Other principal performers are: Tiffany Kutsunai, Peter Anderegg, Peter Schonberg, Don Chinery, Pete Hoffman, Brett McCardle, Topher Manna, Miles Lugo, Kent Kane, Bob Williams, Yasir Bey, Julia Compton, Kathryn Mayer, Kathryn St. Martin, Brandon Braam, Victor Lugo, Megan Hodge, Chamika Fujioka, Zara Nicholson, Bill Cottle, Daniel Moretz, Kira Kane, Piper Pearson, David Kerchman, Bobbie Lloyd-Anderson, Dave Anderson, Levi Suydam, and Jesse Franklin. In addition to Jerry Tracy as director, other crew members include, Joel Gimpel, Marinella Savarese, Ellen Farnsworth, Judy Tringali, Gerald Lucena, Daniel Moretz Sarah Crawford, Nora Beck Judd, Wendy Buzby, Terry Ann Fujioka, Toni Reynolds, Kaitlin Moore, Cameron Bailey, Kerry Matsumoto, Sharyn Toyama, Jeff and Linda Rowand, Nicole Gour and Justyn Toyama. Producers are Jan Rae and Peter Schonberg
The show runs through March 12, with Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Tickets range in price from $10 to $27 and may be purchased online at www.alohatheatre.com or by phone from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and at the theater box office beginning one hour before curtain time.
Info: 322-9924. ■
