Thriving Thursdays :: Jesus Christ Superstar :: Glasgow Hydro

The Milkman and I had a nice surprise through the post last week - tickets to see Jesus Christ Superstar.  We had totally forgotten that we'd ordered them! 

Now, I have to whack in a huge disclaimer here - I
know nothing about musicals.  I watch Glee, but something tells me that isn't exactly the same thing.  When it comes to a live stage performance where there is basically no spoken dialogue that isn't part of a song, I was a virgin until Tuesday night.

So what possessed me to buy tickets?  One word - Minchin.  Tim onlyagingercancallanothergingerginger Minchin.  I go all fangirl when I try to describe how much I adore this guy.  He's a genius.  I fell in love with him the first time I saw him on tv back in 2008 at the Secret Policeman's Ball, I've seen him live in both a dingy festival tent and in a concert hall with a full orchestra and he is always incredible.  The sharpness of his wit, his way with words, his voice...gah,brain melting.  Love him.

Sorry, I'll mop myself up off the floor.  But yes, the fact that Tim plays Judas was really the sole reason we bought tickets.  It was even through his Twitter page that I knew it was on at all.  I didn't know anything about the musical - seriously, I didn't even know that the storyline is taken basically straight from the bible.  You'd have thought the clue was in the title, right?

approaching the hydro

The other interesting part for me was that it was being shown in the newly opened Hydro in Glasgow.  I've watched this building emerge, so it was very cool to be seeing a performance in it on only it's second night of being open to the public.  Our seats were a couple of tiers up, and even though I am never bothered by heights (I'd even say I love them) I felt a bit nervous as we made our way to our places!  The scale of the place is incredible.  It does look a bit unfinished, with lots of exposed concrete, but I don't doubt that was the look they were going for.  The seats were suprisingly comfy too, despite looking like the soft of cheap plastic things people are always injuring themselves on in You've Been Framed clips!

The performance itself really impressed me.  As I said, I'm not a musical aficionado.  My view is simply based on one criteria - did I have a good time?  And yes, I really did.  At first I found it hard to get into the fact that everything was sung.  I was even getting a little irritated.  But something clicked about ten minutes in and I gave myself up to the momentum of the show.  And what momentum!  The show barely pauses for breath, and there are always so many things going on.    I loved how it was all staged on a staircase and kept very clean looking, with little touches of scene like the bonfire and pop up tents in the protest camp.  And Judas' exit was incredibly hard hitting.  The only part I felt my attention slip was the boardroom scene, though I appreciate it was a vital plot line element.  The finale kind of lost me a little too, as it all got a bit cheesy.  But I assume that was Jesus hallucinating in his torment, and it added some breathing space to stop things getting too heavy.

the stage is set...

The cast is incredibly strong, there wasn't one vocal that sounded weak or made you cringe when they couldn't hit a note.  I was most surprised by Mel C, who blew me away and kind of stole the show with I Don't Know How To Love Him (a song I actually knew...I just didn't know it came from this!).  Ben Foster, who played Jesus, was a bit too musical theatre for me at times (yes, I am aware that only a newb would criticise that in the context of musical theatre), but he sure can hold a note and I thought his portrayal had the right mix of arrogance and conviction.  And of course, Mr Minchin didn't disappoint - he brought the torment of a torn friend, the frustrations of someone who can see their ideals being muddied and the string of jealousy of someone left in the shadows.  And the guns of someone who's been working out!  It was strange seeing him do something so removed from what I love him for - and I have to say I far prefer his comedy - but had I not known who he was, I wouldn't have thought he was anywhere else than where he belonged. It was just a shame Chris Moyles was in it.  And I don't just say that because he's a sexist, self-absorbed twat.  I just felt his being there was a bit cheap, as he wasn't as strong as the rest of the cast.

After the hell of getting out of the Hydro car park, the Milkman and I had a good chat sparked by the performance.  Neither of us are even slightly religious, but we both have the same opinion in that we do believe a man named Jesus existed.  The fact he was the son of god and could perform miracles was probably either a myth perpetuated by himself or those around him, or urban legends that snowballed through the grapevines of the times.  Maybe everyone knew someone who knew someone who was at the wedding where the water turned to wine...just no one was actually there themselves.  Whatever the details, I think the fundamentals that he preached are very valuable - compassion, living a good life, not judging others.  Religious or not, those are all values that should be upheld by us all.  It's a shame the fat, middle aged git in a Fiat Panda who threw a tantrum in the Hydro car park missed that memo...