Jesus Christ Superstar, A Work in Progress: Supping With the Savior

It's like you've stepped into the famous da Vinci painting: a beaming Jesus presides over the meal from the middle of the table, with Judas the traitor seated on his left and faithful Simon (boyish good looks and all) seated on his right. But this is no Italian basilica--this is the Currier dining hall, and Jesus (Jeffery E. Fowler '01) is complaining about the service, Judas (Ryan P. Shrime '00) is cracking off-color jokes, and one of the apostles (but not Simon, played by Stefan H. Atkinson '03) is still nursing a hangover. Grab some of His body and blood and pull up a tray: it's time for "The Last Supper" la Jesus Christ Superstar, the show (two millennia in the making) that opens tonight on the Loeb Mainstage.

With their penchant for re-christening (so to speak) all things Biblical, the cast and crew of Jesus Christ Superstar have renamed this meal "The Ultimate Supper." The original Last Supper starred only Jesus and the 12 apostles, but version 2.0 includes not only them but also most of the cast and crew joining together in one unholy racket. Everyone is trying to talk at once, each hoping to convey the unbridled, almost cultish enthusiasm that pervades all aspects of this show's production. Jesus tries to silence the masses a few times but eventually takes to silently breaking His bread (actually a calzone) and drinking from His cup (just lemonade).

In many ways, the dinner is a model for the show itself. The show is heavily infused with the (slightly clichd) flower-power flavor of the '60s and '70s (the era in which it was written): it's brash, it's carefree--make love, not theater. The problem is that everyone's so busy having fun in the show, Jesus' message sometimes get lost in the fuss. This is best emblematized in the twelve self-proclaimed Jesus "groupies." (The apostles are: Ari K. Appel '03, Stefan H. Atkinson '03, Brian J. Averell '02, Thomas N. Blodgett '01, Adam V. Kline '02, Hollin N. Kretzmann '02, David E. Larson, Ryan P. Shrime '00, Shawn H. Snyder '03, Krishnan N. Subrahmanian '03, Krishnan Unnikrishnan '02, and Nathaniel A. Whitman '02). Supper conversation reveals that the apostles in this production are basically a bunch of potheads who spend their time hanging out and partying. (If you think this meal is bad, the Last Supper you'll see on the Mainstage is supposedly a mix between a backyard barbecue and a raging kegger.) Although they're sympathetic to Christ's dilemma, none of these quasi-"Deadheads" (did someone say cult?) really understands that Jesus has something serious to say--they just want to have a good time, man.

Drugged out comparisons aside, the glimpses of this show most people on campus have caught have been less about wacky weed and more about whack. You can't have missed Tuesday's and Wednesday's staged Last Supper in front of the Science Center. Publicity has been quite a point of contention for the show. Although now the campus is inundated with the slick, black, official posters for the show, the previous weeks' many teasers took on the Stations of the Cross, Harvard-style, making anyone walking around campus an unwitting pilgrim on a very postmodern Via Dolorosa. On one poster, Jesus pours himself a Slurpee; on another, he checks his email from a Science Center kiosk. The diners at the "Ultimate Supper" mention that they've had their teasers torn down and covered up by other posters (even once or twice by posters advertising events sponsored by religious groups)....A common fate for posters, yes, but also a not-so-subtle social critique?

The odd publicity turf war aside, the "buzz" about this production has been largely positive, namely because the cast and crew have tried to steer clear of any sort of pointed commentary. This is a story about one of the most important figures in the Christian tradition, but it's just that--a story (and a great one, no less). The curtain is not going up tonight on a group of dancing, singing Biblical scholars or cultural critics but a group of zealous students ready to have a kick-ass-and-take-numbers good time.

Some have dared to call this the last Jesus of the millennium--a trailer if you will, a preview of the Real Deal. Whether you've been bitten by the Y2J bug or just think the whole thing bites, we hope you've enjoyed this weekly feature on one of the biggest productions of the fall theater season. Ready for the Second Coming? Operators are standing by.