Absent Ian Gillan, it’s less of a Jesus Christ Superstar to me

Recounts the last days of Jesus Christ from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, his betrayer. As Jesus’ following increases, Judas begins to worry that Jesus is falling for his own hype, forgetting the principles of his teachings and growing too close to the prostitute Mary Magdalene. After Jesus has an outburst in a temple, Judas turns on him.

Prior to last evening, the most recent time I’d viewed Jesus Christ Superstar (the film) was two decades ago, and maybe longer. I’m thankful that my friend Jay proposed a trek to Jeffersonville to see it again.

Whatever scant traces of theology have managed to sneak past this atheist’s innate bullshit filter owe entirely to the original Jesus Christ Superstar (Original London Concept) by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

It was a pop culture phenomenon at the time of release in 1970, when I was 10. Some of the songs were well known even in the Southern Hoosier wilds of my youth, but JCS didn’t begin to resonate for me until around 1974, when I borrowed the LP from a friend’s brother and made a cassette copy.

From that moment forward, I was hooked. Significantly, I hadn’t seen director Norman Jewison’s film, which appeared in 1973....Read more