The cast of Jesus Christ Superstar during it's 4+-year tour.
Photo courtesy of Debbie Spykerman (spyk002@aol.com)

***UPDATE:  12/13/05*** (see below)

This GORGEOUS shot was sent to me by Silvia Toselli (silvia29@fastwebnet.it).  It is the book cover of "Joshua", written by Joseph F. Girzone.  Glorious, isn't it?  Enjoy! 

CONCERT PHOTOS FROM THE RUBICON THEATRE BENEFIT SHOWS - 11/15-16/98

	There is not much more I can say about Jesus Christ Superstar that hasn't already been posted on any of the website links I have on my homepage. The best thing I can say about a tour that was supposed to last three months, but was so popular that it lasted nearly FIVE  YEARS, and produced gross incomes approaching $100 MILLION DOLLARS, is that it showed an entirely new generation of people what some of us had already known from the original Broadway production and the film's initial release in 1972.  Which is - that this is one great show, with a super cast of individuals. The show itself was such a feast for all.  Every time we saw the show, there were different things to marvel at.  From the opening, to the Temple scene (there was NEVER a night that Ted's singing in that scene did not draw cheers from the audience), the candlelight in "Could We Start Again Please", the joyful dancing in "Simon Zealotes", the drama in the "Trial Before Pilate" and the sarcastic humor in "King Herod's Song" -- everything was an amazing piece to see at each performance.  I remember our House Managers at Playhouse Square Center here in Cleveland telling us that we HAD to be back in the theatre for the last eight minutes of the show, because we ABSOLUTELY had to see Ted floating off the crucifix.  One House Manager said it would "knock our socks off". We can attest to that! Another amazing special effect was Judas Iscariot's hanging.  Both in the film and live on stage, when Carl jumped off the platform and hung by his neck, it was eerily real.  One humorous aside to this, I was backstage after one of JCS' performances, and was reading the callboard while I waited to see Carl and Ted.  There in all it's glory was a cast note: "IN TONIGHT'S PERFORMANCE:  JESUS WILL FLY, JUDAS WILL HANG."  This really cracked me up.  I laughed so hard I almost fell over.  Apparently, at different times during this tour, performances were done where the hanging and resurrection did not happen for various reasons.  We got lucky that night. Superstar also brought audiences much closer to its stars: Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson, who began their now-legendary autograph lines after their performances in Cleveland, Ohio in 1994.  It enabled us to get the now-famous "Tedhugs", and let us show Ted and Carl how much we all love and admire them. Unfortunately for us, Andrew Lloyd-Webber forced the tour's closing in 1997, when he began putting together his revival of JCS, which played on Broadway for one  season, and closed in September, 2000.  In Ventura in June, 2000, the question was put to Ted as to what the chances were that he would be playing Jesus again, now that the current production would be closing.  His reply was: "Very good."  (With Carl's passing, the proposed revival Ted and Carl were planning to open at the Vatican in 2004-2005 had not yet come to pass (of course, none of us even knew about the proposed new tour until Carl died).  However, as posted below, Ted has been on the road with the A.D. Tour (nee: JCS - The Farewell Tour") - which commenced in September, 2006 and runs - at least - through early 2010, so, indeed, stranger things can happen after all! :-) The final "full-production" performances of Ted and Carl's 25th Anniversary Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar were in Philadelphia, PA, where it closed on January 19, 1997, however, there were three concert performances of Superstar on November 15 & 16, 1998 in Ventura, California at the Ventura Theatre, to establish the Rubicon Theatre Company (RTC).   The audio recording of Gethsemane you are listening to was taken from an unofficial live recording of the final performance of the A.D. Tour on January 19, 1997 and given to me by fellow JCS fan and Ted Neeley list member John Conti.  The pictures in this section - courtesy of Michelle Owens (May121961@windstream.net), Laura Da Costa (dacosta4@sympatico.ca) and Susan Horlick (a.k.a. DaSusan/Da:S) (horlicksue@juno.com) - are from these JCS performances. Click on any jpeg for a larger view of that picture.  I hope you enjoy them.  If you have any pictures you'd like me to post, please e-mail them to me here:
Courtesy of TeddieNeeleyFour.com (Laura)
Courtesy of Rubicon Theatre Company		Courtesy of Rubicon Theatre Company

Von (Shevonia) Thompson (dabaone@yahoo.com) posted this review/analysis of the final performance of JCS today (7/2/04), and it is an EXACT description of the full production of JCS on Ted and Carl's tour.  Thanks, Von:
 

This is taken from the JCS.net. site. I do not know how accurate this article is, but it will give those of us who haven't had the pleasure of seeing the tour when it ran back in the 90's a chance to see what it might have been like. It is a review by Chip Harmison. The last part is an excerpt from Aunt Mary's " God's gift the world ". 

Enjoy!

Act One

The play opens with the discordant sounds of the "Overture," smoke filling the floor of the stage, in the center of which is a platform whereon lie a man and a woman (representing Adam & Eve). They rise slowly and grab at the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" in the center of the platform to eat the forbidden fruit. The "Overture" kicks into high gear as hooded figures carry them away from the Garden of Eden.

Following this, men and women dressed in timeless peasant garb are groaning and shown cowering (a symbol of mankind's oppression through the ages) when Herod, then Caiaphas and Annas, then Pontius Pilate cross a catwalk, looking down on the people (literally & figuratively). After these unjust rulers leave, the people get up & form a circle stage left (audience right), one of them walking off to stage right (it is Judas, wearing a black leather jacket with a Harley Davidson logo). As the music crescendos into the instrumental intro to "Superstar," Jesus rises through the stage floor and up through the adoring followers, His head and hands lifted heavenwards. He is brilliantly lit. He then looks at His followers with total love. As the "Superstar" music ends abruptly and off-stage voices sound the wordless finale to "John 19:41," Jesus and Judas approach each other and embrace warmly - it is obvious there is a great deal of love and friendship between these two. When Judas goes back to stage right, three young female non-singing dancers clad in red appear to his right and use their hands to seemingly cast a spell on Judas (these ladies reappear at crucial moments throughout the play; they are Temptresses, goading Judas into his eventual betrayal of Jesus).

While Jesus warmly embraces each of his followers and takes time to listen to each one and respond to them (unheard by the audience), Judas sings "Heaven on Their Minds," surrounded by the Temptresses. When he comes to the conclusion of his song, Jesus and His followers have moved center-stage onto the platform (used for Adam & Eve) and are in frozen "tableau" as Judas wails, "Listen, Jesus!"

When this song ends, Jesus, the apostles and the faithful women "un-freeze" and the apostles begin an animated dance as they start singing "What's the Buzz?" Jesus is bemused (rather than annoyed) by their impatience and their determination to take over Jerusalem (it's obvious they've never really paid attention to Him or His Message). Mary Magdalene brings in a bowl of water and wipes the brow of a grateful Jesus, who points out that she is doing the right thing in offering comfort & kindness, but the apostles are undeterred and repeat "What's the Buzz?"

Judas enters, followed by the Temptresses. Jesus is happy to see him and extends His hand in friendship, but Judas (goaded by the Temptresses) launches into a diatribe against Jesus & Mary in "Strange Thing Mystifying." Jesus comforts Mary and listens to what Judas has to say, then responds that Judas should not cast stones; finally, sick of His apostles' self-involvement, Jesus lets them know He knows that none of them really care about Him, which they vigorously deny.

When the song is over, Jesus approaches front center-stage to respond to a spotlight that shines from above the audience only onto Him (it is God the Father). Jesus begins a conversation with Him, but is interrupted by a well-intentioned Mary, who proceeds to anoint Jesus' head and feet with ointment and sings the soothing "Everything's Alright," backed-up by the faithful women. Judas self-righteously tears into both of them again; Mary responds with a chorus of the song to Judas. Jesus gently tries to get Judas to realize they'll never stop poverty with their limited resources and to appreciate the good things he has. He places His right hand on a surprised Judas' right shoulder and gently tells him he'll be lost & sorry when Jesus is gone (He does this not as a threat, but as a gentle warning to try to keep Judas from making the mistake that will cause him to commit suicide). Judas puts his right hand on Jesus' arm, but backs away from Jesus, who is unflinching in His show of love for his troubled apostle as the women finish the song. The stage darkens & the company leaves.

Whereupon arrive the Temple Council, all bearing staffs, who conduct a meeting about what to do about Jesus and His ever-growing popularity; the high priests Caiaphas (whose basso profundo voice elicits cheers from the audience every time) and Annas (whose wheedling screeching tone elicits jeers from fellow priests every time) concludes "This Jesus Must Die" and all of the priests drop their staffs to meet at the head in agreement. The stage darkens and they leave.

A re-lit stage shows banners dropping from the rafters proclaiming "JESUS THE MESSIAH IS IN TOWN WITH ALL 12 DISCIPLES" and the like. Jesus is carried in on the shoulders of 2 of His apostles to a crowd waving palm branches and joyously singing "Hosanna." Caiaphas amd Annas appear on the catwalk above and Caiaphas jeers Jesus and His followers; Jesus good-naturedly tells him that if the crowd were silenced, the rocks and stones would start to sing. Annas, carrying a rolled-up scroll, leers nastily at Jesus, who joins the crowd for the final chorus.

The trumpets blare. Jesus calls Judas aside and instructs him to find out what the scroll Annas was carrying is about. Judas runs off to comply. The crowd joyously sing "Simon Zealotes" and Simon urges Jesus, who is enjoying this happy time, to encourage his followers to overthrow Rome. Jesus is dismayed by this and tries to caution Simon, who keeps singing of the "power" and "glory" that will be theirs as Simon & the crowd finish the song. Judas has returned with the scroll and shows it to Jesus; although it is not mentioned to the audience, it is obviously the priests' arrest warrant for Him & Jesus is shaken (this is based on historical fact - the ancient Jewish Talmud, section Sanhedrin 43a, contains the arrest warrant for Jesus and the info on His crucifixion at Passover; this was reportedly actually printed on the fake scroll). When the ardent followers finish their song with a mighty "Amen," Jesus gently and bittersweetly lets them know that their conception of power is not God's way and that Jerusalem, with her people bent on war against the Romans, is doomed (which, of course, came true in 70 AD). Jesus leaves, Simon and the followers unsure as to what's going on. The stage darkens and the company leaves.

A re-lit stage reveals a Roman guard in Pontius Pilate's quarters at the Fortress Antonia (across from the Jewish Temple); he is alerted into a defensive mode by off-stage screaming. The screamer comes on stage and turns out to be Roman procurator Pontius Pilate, who relates his foretelling nightmare of his dealings with Jesus and His accusers in "Pilate's Dream." The stage darkens and they leave. The re-lit stage reveals "The Temple," replete with unsavory-looking merchants hawking unauthorized Jesus mementos (such as buttons, hats and t-shirts) to capitalize on the popular leader's presence in town. A giant illuminated Jesus head & hands inflate to serve as a backdrop for their selling. Caiaphas and Annas come by. Caiaphas disgustedly rips in half a Jesus t-shirt, while Annas gladly collects the royalties from the merchants (overall, a wry commentary on capitalism and hypocrisy). Jesus and His apostles enter from stage left in discussion with one another, when Jesus stops in His tracks, utterly appalled by the misuse of His Persona for mercantile gains. He screams "My Temple should be a house of prayer..." and grabs a knife from a merchant rushing towards Him to stab Him (they're not about to let their good thing be stopped, even if it's by the One they're capitalizing on)! Jesus stabs the inflated head & hands, which "deflate," then, while saying, "Not in My Temple," struggles with other violent merchants seeking to stop Him. He overpowers the leader who is trying to attack Him with a staff and throws the staff to the ground. He screams, "Get out!" Judas is panic-stricken and keeps trying to remind Jesus of the danger He's in by showing Him the arrest warrant, but Jesus will not let His Father's House be made a mockery of. When Jesus screams "Get out" to the greedy gang, Judas tears the warrant in half and leaves. Jesus is alone and front-center-stage facing His Father (the spotlight) and sadly sings, "My time is almost through..."

He is (again) interrupted by a group of infirmed people in hooded robes who beg for His healing touch. He proceeds to heal them one by one until a crowd mobs and taunts Him, to which He replies, "Heal yourselves!" The crowd leaves, Mary enters and reprises "Everything's Alright," to which Jesus finally gets some sleep. The backdrop changes to a gorgeous midnight blue illuminated by hundreds of stars as Mary contemplates "I Don't Know How to Love Him" over His sleeping body. At song's end, the stage darkens and they leave.

"Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles, went to the chief priests and asked, 'How much will you pay me to get Jesus into your hands?' And they gave him thirty silver coins. From that time on, Judas watched for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them." -- Matthew 26: 14-16

The re-lit stage reveals a confused Judas sitting on the center platform. A single event rarely causes a suicide. Rather, it is the victim's inability to cope with a series of events that leads them to the brink of self-destruction where some final event becomes the last straw. By the time we see Judas, he's already despondent. He's already hearing "voices." In short, he's already suicidal. It is Judas' hour; the hour of shadows. The Temptresses swirl around him. He tries to flee, but there is no escape. He hears the voices calling him by name. Then he desperately responds to what he thinks is the voice of Jesus. "Judas." He flees in the direction of the voice and then turns in terror. "Judas," laughs Caiaphas. He's been hearing the voices of the priests imitating Jesus to get his attention. Annas blocks the path of his escape and Judas falls to his knees. He is desperate to find a way to save his dreams, his mission and his life. Caiaphas and Annas (and the Temptresses) surround Judas, who spills his guts about his ever-increasing doubts in "Damned for All Time." The priests salaciously offer him "Blood Money" to get him to lead their soldiers to Jesus when He's not surrounded by crowds. He doesn't want the money and yet he suddenly finds it in his hands. Despite his protests, Annas has dropped the silver into his open hands. Finding it there destroys him. Maybe he feels that everything is out of his control. Maybe he thinks there is no other way. Maybe he's wrong. It is a tragic moment. Judas gives in, but realizes what he's done. Caiaphas and Annas are not his friends. As soon as they have the information they want, they abandon him. He feels horribly alone and lost. He curls into a fetal position on the floor and cries out in agony. The sound seems to come from the depths of hell itself. "No-o-o!" He screams out Jesus' name as the first act curtain descends. The curtain falls and it's as if a prison door has slammed.

Act Two

Curtain rises on the center platform, which is illuminated to (tastefully) represent a round stained-glass window covered by a white cloth. Judas sits dejected at stage right as the Faithful Women enter, followed by the Apostles (one at a time from opposite ends of the stage, meeting at the middle to descend the steps to this, the original Round Table a la King Arthur's Knights) singing the chorus to "The Last Supper." Jesus is the last to enter and tragically muses on His fate being handled by His own friends as He distributes the bread and wine to the apostles at either side of Him. He realizes they STILL don't get Him or His purpose, so He flatly tells them one of them will deny Him, another betray Him. The Apostles (except for a nervous Judas, who tries to flee, but is pushed back by the Temptresses) vehemently protest this, so Jesus names Peter as His denier and when starting to name His betrayer, Judas explodes and Jesus urges him to go ahead and get it over with. The apostles are confused; they sing their second chorus as Jesus wipes their feet. Judas kneels down and clasps Jesus' head with his hands. When he sees the bag containing the blood money tied to his belt, he jumps to his feet and launches into his nastiest diatribe against his Master yet, while Jesus holds off the angry apostles ready to throttle the traitor. Judas finishes his venom and falls to his knees and into Jesus' loving embrace with Judas wrapping his arms around Jesus' waist; it is obvious they are both devastated by this. Judas leaves with Jesus following him, His arms still outstretched to welcome back his tortured, wayward friend, who goes off-stage, dashing off into the darkness. The apostles sing their third chorus as they, too, leave the stage and the women wrap up the tablecloth. Drowsy from the journey, the food, the wine, the apostles drift off to sleep. Jesus turns to smile at Mary, who is once again trying to comfort Him , but He sees the Light (His Father God) and turns towards Him. Mary leaves & Jesus is alone, poignantly singing, "Will no one stay awake with Me? Peter? John? James? Will none of you wait with Me? Peter? John? James?" Alone. Afraid. Heartbroken. All He wants is for someone to be there with Him.

He now, finally, gets to have an extended discussion with His Father and is center stage to sing the haunting "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)," in which a tired and hurt Jesus pleads for His life (the star-lit background from "I Don't Know How to Love Him" re-appears for this entire scene); during the instrumental coda, Jesus turns His back and walks to the back of center-stage shouting "No" at the prospect of dying when, at the coda's climax, thunder sounds and strobe lights convey lightning to show that it is God's will for Jesus' substitutionary death. Jesus acquiesces and finishes the song (to what is usually a standing ovation that stops the show cold for several minutes).

Judas and the Temple party arrive for "The Arrest" and the apostles awaken to fight the soldiers. Jesus puts a stop to the violence and tosses Peter's sword to the ground; the apostles flee and Jesus allows Himself to be captured by the soldiers, who place two evenly-lengthened metal poles in an X-cross formation between His elbows & knees. In another bit of subtle social commentary, trench coat and hat-clad reporters step in with microphones to get Jesus' reactions to their cynical questions. They gleefully take Jesus (whom the soldiers uplift on their poles so that Jesus is raised up parallel to the ground) to Caiaphas & Annas, who gleefully condemn Him into Pilate's hands. They leave the stage, whereupon Peter encounters a maid, a soldier and an old man by a campfire; they recognize Peter from being with Jesus, which he vehemently denies in "Peter's Denial," to the dismay of Mary, who wonders how Jesus knew that would happen...

Jesus is brought in by Roman guards and shoved to His knees in the palace of Pilate, who makes a grand entrance and sarcastically comments on Jesus' tattered appearance in "Pilate and Christ." He sends him off to Herod (the puppet "king" of Jesus' homeland, Galilee) while the mob (who have turned on Jesus for not using His power against the Romans) deride Him as He is taken to the court of drag queen/effeminate Elvis impersonator Herod. Things are pretty intense by the time Jesus is forced to his knees at Herod's palace. Herod injects some levity with "King Herod's Song," but, in a strange way, it makes him seem all the more menacing. Herod's palace is a den of iniquity and depravation. Herod moons Jesus while a member of his heavily made-up court takes a quick flash Polaroid of His face. Herod takes sadistic pleasure in tormenting his prisoner. He takes his riding crop and puts a chokehold on Jesus' throat. Herod sarcastically tries to goad him into performing miracles. Like a spoiled child, Herod throws a tantrum when Jesus refuses to perform for him. He slips off one of his gloves and wraps it seductively around Jesus' neck, the threat apparent. But when even this fails to provoke a response, he pulls it tight like a noose. At the very last minute, he releases it with a dirty laugh and kicks Jesus over, sending him sprawling on the ground. Jesus, his arms bound behind his back, struggles to his knees, but offers no defense to Herod's brutal attacks. The courtiers roughly pull him to his feet and drag him from the palace as Herod angrily sends Him back to Pilate.

In the midst of this cruelty comes a song/scene of gentility and respite. The star-lit background re-appears as Mary (in a hooded robe) shows up center-stage on the platform carrying a lit candle singing "Could We Start Again, Please?" She is joined by Peter (also clad in a hooded robe), who lights the candle he's carrying from hers, as does Simon Zealotes and all of Jesus' (remaining) followers (again, all clad in hooded robes, lighting their candles from each others' wicks). This scene is unbelievably moving in its simplicity. However, we know we're going back to the tragedy when they put out their candles and leave.

Judas is appalled at what Jesus is being put through, but worries mostly about how he'll be viewed in "Judas' Death," much to the bewilderment of Caiaphas & Annas. After they leave, Judas reflects on his mixed feelings about Jesus, then is goaded by the Temptresses into blaming God for his actions. This is very eerie. The guitar opening to "Heaven on Their Minds" (now played discordantly) plays as Judas is pushed into suicide by the Temptresses. We see Jesus and his guards in eerie strobe lights, as if being seen in a vision. They have tormented his friend horribly. How much worse is it, then, to be the man who delivers his friend into the hands of the abusers? Haunted by what he has done and driven by the Temptresses, Judas slips a noose they give him around his neck, then the music comes to a sudden stop as Judas hangs himself, dangling in silhouette against a fierce red backdrop.

Jesus is once again roughly shoved into the palace of Pilate, who is surprised at the determination of Caiaphas and Jesus' fickle (former) followers (now a bloodthirsty mob) to have this innocent man crucified and tries to get to the bottom of it all in "Trial Before Pilate." When the music from "Pilate's Dream" plays, Pilate realizes this is the man whose fate he will determine and tries to sway the crowd against crucifying Jesus, but the crowd is relentless in their cry for crucifixion. Unable to stop the crowd, he orders Jesus' flogging to try to appease their bloodlust and to (hopefully) make them more sympathetic to Jesus' plight with the line "To keep you vultures happy, I shall flog Him!" "No!" cries Mary Magdalene. "He's an innocent man!" But the guards grab her and carry her off. Pilate's soldiers tie Jesus' arms to stakes, rip the clothing from His back and zealously begin doling out the sentence. They are brutal. They are supposed to be alternating lashes, but, on several occasions, they both strike him at the same time. After thirty-nine counts, they cut him loose and Jesus crumples, collapsing to the ground, broken and bleeding. Pilate then questions a dying Jesus about who He is. Jesus acquits Pilate for his role in this, but Pilate takes it the wrong way and gives in to the crowd, washing his hands of it. Pilate and the mob leave while Jesus staggers to His feet and reaches out to Mary & Peter, who are kept away by the Roman soldiers. They leave Jesus alone on the center stage platform as the instrumental intro to "Superstar" crescendos, Jesus becoming a silhouette against blindingly flashing strobe lights.

The curtain descends in front of Him and the actor playing Judas (dressed in modern clothing, a sharp-looking white suit with a white sequined vest, representing "Everyman") walks across the stage in front of the curtain, eventually joined by the "Soul Girls," wearing odd hats, who all query Jesus as to His identity and mission. The title song climaxes as they leave the stage and the curtain rises.

The sound of nails being hammered is heard, a dark edifice is rising from center stage. When fully erect, it is lit to show Jesus nailed to the cross, writhing in torment and speaking the famous "Seven Last Words from the Cross" in the "Crucifixion" scene as eerie music plays. Two mocking Roman soldiers and the grieving faithful women (including the Virgin Mary, for whom Jesus calls out in His grief) surround the cross. When Jesus commits His spirit into the hands of His father, His body comes forward and He breathes His last - a sound heard as if all the wind in the world were being expelled. As the wind dies down, "John 19:41" is mournfully started as Jesus bows His head & His dead body sags downward from the cross and the women bow their heads, BUT the tempo of the song changes mid-way as Jesus is resurrected from the dead! He looks stunned and then His body moves out and away from the cross. As He slowly rises upward, He looks bittersweetly at the faithful women (who raise their heads & are stunned!) whom He's taking leave of and then He looks fearlessly into Heaven, relieved at being over His trials & torments, happily anticipating His return to God the Father, who has vindicated Him after all the misunderstanding and betrayal He has endured. When He is fully ascended out of view, the women and soldiers (who are also stunned) turn to face the audience, their gazes still lifted Heavenwards as tiny beams of light emit from the center of the cross in time to the closing notes of the music, which ends, not mournfully as it had started, but triumphantly. The curtain descends while Ted gets out of the safety harness he wore to fly off and puts on his last costume.

The curtain rises to reveal the center-stage cross fully illuminated. Each cast member takes a bow; then it's time for the countdown to Jesus! Huge spin and one finger from Carl, then another spin and two fingers (keeping the audience on the edge of their seats), then the final spin and three fingers sending them into a fever pitch. As the orchestra breaks into the strains of the familiar theme, at last, Ted comes out in a spotless white robe we've not seen before (to symbolize His glorification) and hugs Judas in a show of forgiveness. The crowd is on its feet, the applause threatening to drown out the orchestra completely. Hands folded across His heart, Ted takes His bow and then extends one hand to the orchestra and the other to the rest of the cast. The cast members join hands, with “Jesus” and “Judas” in the middle, to take repeated bows to thunderous ovations. A woman in the first row tries to reach across the orchestra pit to hand a huge bouquet of roses up to the stage. Ted makes His way to the edge of the stage, then raises his eyebrows and places His hand upon His chest, as if to ask, "For me?" The woman smiles shyly and holds out the bouquet. "Thank you," He mouths above the roar of the audience. He bends down and reaches across the orchestra pit to retrieve the roses, then waves the bouquet in the air and bows to more applause.

CAST AT THE TOUR'S FINAL PERFORMANCE:

Ted Neeley as Jesus of Nazareth

Charles DiMaria as Judas Iscariot (Carl Anderson played Judas in the '98 post-tour shows in Ventura)

Christine Rea as Mary Magdalene

Scott Spalding as Pontius Pilate (James O'Neil played Pilate in the '98 post-tour shows in Ventura)

Christopher P. Carey as Caiaphas

C.T. Butler as Annas

Anthony DiBenedetto as Simon Zealotes

Randy Millheim as Peter

Scott White as King Herod

James Paul as Soldier by the Fire

Erika Insana as Maid by the Fire

Charles LeTrelle Holt as Old Man by the Fire

Priests: Patrick Herwood, Seth Hampton, James Paul

Swings: Emily Frangipane, Patrick Herwood

Soul Sisters: Erika Insana, Kirsten E. Gerding, Liza Shaller

Temptresses: Christene LeBeau, Danielle Gruzas, Jennifer Watkins

A FEW THINGS OF INTEREST:

*1. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR 
           TED NEELEY
           THE 2006-2009 AD TOUR  

*2. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - YouTHeatre - America! 8/13/06 Los Angeles Benefit!
       Come take a look at the wonderful evening we had at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre
       in Los Angeles, CA!  The page is HERE

3.   JCS WIDESCREEN JCS DVD WITH COMMENTARY BY TED AND NORMAN JEWISON!!!

Laura Dacosta (dacosta4@sympatico.ca) from DaGirLS) found this info - thanks Laura:

INCLUDES:

• Audio commentaries* with Director Norman Jewison and actor Ted Neeley (EEEE-HAH!)

• Production Notes

• Filmographies

• Theatrical Trailer

• 2.35; 1 Anamorphic Widescreen transfer

• Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track

     Courtesy of (hnc62ngg@telecable.es), the latest info on this Special Edition DVD that we've been waiting for! 
     This DVD includes an interview/commentary with Ted and Norman Jewison.  Here's the Amazon UR to order:

     http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00028HBIO/theunofficiacaro/103-9162020-0424623 

  

    http://www.jcs.pair.com/index2.htm

     
     Mianne (mtripprn@hotmail.com) found the DVD at Empire for $8.99+ S&H:
           http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=00000213259258&searchID=380516&item_id=607159 

Susan (Beachie) Kern (beachkern94@yahoo.com) found a great review of the new DVD here:  

            http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=12025     

Courtesy of Linda (lindafenton@hotmail.com) we have two terrific finds on JCS info.

4.  An ENTIRE DIRECTORY of 32 articles on Charm.net.  Most of these articles are about JCS, and are either interviews
     that Ted did during the four-year tour, or show reviews.  Also in the directory is an article about Rasputin and one about
     Tommy.  Take a look.  This is a REALLY FABULOUS find!  Thanks SOOOOOO MUCH, Linda!:

     ftp://ftp.charm.net/pub/usr/home/sky/

     NOTE:  Recently, the directory link has been taken offline.  If the directory does not return, I do have all the links printed
                   out, so I may scan them and put them here at a future date.

5.  Here's another article, courtesy of Linda (from #1), which should have been in 
     the sky directory, but somehow wasn't.  Enjoy!
 http://archive.nextwerk.com/rlibrary.nsf/e91e43943c9fabbf862567e60006ad4a/939b5055c0d2b44a862566e100832203?OpenDocument

6.  Yet another find by Linda (from #1), which may or may not settle the argument as to whether the 1973 film, or 
     the new video provides the definitive version of JCS.  As Linda puts it (and at the risk of upsetting the Glenn 
     Carter followers): 

"...the writer has got the point about who can act, hasn't he?"

http://apolloguide.com/mov_fullrev.asp?CID=2994

"Carter is tall and classically distinctive looking and has a great singing voice. Lacking the beard that is commonly associated with Jesus, he also doesn’t possess the sort of charisma you might expect, given who he’s playing. This might be a case of the intrusive camera noticing what isn’t usually an issue onstage, as it’s Ted Neeley’s eyes in the 1973 version that tell the biggest story, and one’s eyes just don’t have the same impact onstage. ... There’s nothing awful about this play, er… movie. It’s just that there’s nothing new either. For the life of me, I can’t think why someone would choose to watch this one over the 1973 version."

And speaking of Glenn Carter:

7.    Here's an article on Glenn Carter and the aliens from the Edinburgh Evening News/Scottsman website.  Guess we finally 
       can understand why the emotion was so lacking between Jesus and Judas in that particular production.  Well ALW?
       BTW, just couldn't resist putting my own comments into the article (they're the ones in red italics)

       http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/whatson.cfm?id=130562005

8.  Here's one advertisement from Iowa, 1996 - again from Linda - which includes the picture below:

http://www.daily.iastate.edu/volumes/Spring96/Mar-19-96/ph-christ.html

9.  A very funny, well-written article I found on Salon.com by Julene Snyder called "Masterpiece" follows her experiences with 
     JCS, Ted and Carl from age 12 up:

      http://www.salon.com/ent/masterpiece/2002/03/19/jc_superstar/index.html

10.  A WONDERFUL article by Mark Goodacre about JCS, which has quite a few complimentary mentions of Ted, entitled:  
      Do You Think You're What They Say You Are?
      Reflections on Jesus Christ Superstar  :

     http://www.unomaha.edu/~wwwjrf/jesuscss2.htm

11.  The Playbill Online November 22, 1996 article entitled:  "Ted Neeley's Jesus Holds Off 
     Pandemonium":

      http://www.playbill.com/news/article/32481.html

12.  A link to a super JCS review by Sue Gońi (one of our Spanish Tedheads):

     http://www.culturedose.net/review.php?rid=10000670

     Here's what the reviewer (John Nesbit) says about Ted in the movie:

      I was concerned about Ted Neeley as Jesus. No way was his voice up to Gillan’s (Ian - from Concept album), and his 
       vocal abilities  seemed relatively wimpy. I still feel a bit uncomfortable with the thinness of his voice on a few of the 
      early songs, but I forgive any initial shortcomings for his magnificent rendition on one of the film's key songs, 
     “Gethsemene (I Only Want to Say).”

     This is the song in which Christ wrestles with himself. He asks God to take “the cup of poison” away, and wonders 
     why he must die. It plays fairly straightforward on the album, but with Jewison’s staging and Neeley’s 
     interpretation, there comes a turning point so profound it brings pause every time I see it.

    And Neeley does this near-imperceptibly. Watch him closely when he’s talking about being scared to finish what he started: 
    Neeley does a quick doubletake and states “What you started—I didn’t start it!” His whole attitude changes here, and 
    he ends with a moving resolution.

13.  A link to a very interesting fiction of a Starsky and Hutch story, entitled: "God's Gift To The World",
     featuring Ted and Carl and the Superstar tour, found by our newest Spanish Tedhead:  Sue Dospalitos:

      http://www.skeeter63.org/~bcl/stories/godsgifttotheworld.shtml

14. Mianne Tripp (mtripprn@hotmail.com), one of our newest Tedheads, has found a VERY INTERESTING interview here:

      http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?docid=1P1:91054536&refid=hbr_flinks

     done with Lynn Neary on the Highbeam show "Talk of the Nation" on 2/12/04.  The interviewees include, among 
     others, Norman Jewison.  The interview is VERY LENGTHY, and I will not post it all here.  There are a few parts 
     mentioning Ted, which I have posted below.  You can buy the entire interview at the link above:

    EXCERPT I:

NEARY: We've been talking about the fact that the various images of Jesus have emerged over time as sort of both products and reflections of the times that these images are created in. What do you think the Jesus of "Jesus Christ Superstar" said about the time in which that film was being made? How did it reflect that time? What did it say about that time?

Mr. JEWISON: Well, I think it captured the imagination of millions of people all over the world. I think of all the films I've made it probably had the most--the strongest reaction, especially in Latin America and certain strongly Catholic countries. I think the film, because it was a musical and because it was a very strong, strong score and extremely popular throughout the world--I think it carried with it a kind of a modern identification for Jesus, for the character. I think Christ, the character played by--Ted Neeley was the actor, and for the rest of his life, Ted Neeley has played this role, in a way. He has literally become that character and has, I think, performed in the stage version of "Jesus Christ Superstar" almost continually for the past 30 years or so. I

It's very strange. I think it was young--I think Ted Neeley was very attractive and very--he was a rock star. And this kind of interpretation of the young, dynamic, angry at times character--because, you know, he was anti-weapons, he was anti-guns, he was anti-money. He was--there was enormous scenes where he was smashing everything from American Express cards to travel posters simply because of the materialism of the secular world, almost.

NEARY: He was very much a product of the '70s.

Mr. JEWISON: Yeah.

NEARY: Yeah.

Mr. JEWISON: And it's such a young person's--you know, you must remember Tim Rice was only 25, 26 years old when he wrote this.

NEARY: Right.

Mr. JEWISON: I mean, they were young men. And they defended it brilliantly. I went to many debates. The archbishop of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, he had a tremendous debate with a representative from the Anti-Defamation League in New York. And it was really astounding, the amount of controversy that eventually started to rise up in such a way that the film was not nominated for an Academy Award and all of those things. And it won awards all over the world.

 EXCERPT II:

NEARY: Producer, director and writer Norman Jewison is a veteran of many films, including the 1973 film "Jesus Christ Superstar." His latest movie is called "The Statement." He joined us from his home in Los Angeles. We are talking about Jesus as an American icon. If you'd like to give us a call, the number is 1 (800) 989-8255. And I wanted to ask you now, regarding "Jesus Christ Superstar," you say in your book, Richard Wightman Fox, that it was at that moment that Jesus became part of the sort of celebrity culture of America.

 Mr. FOX: I think I would've told Norman Jewison this if I'd had a chance. I just think his film is magnificent in this particular way, that it does a new job on celebrity itself. It helps us as Americans understand what celebrity is because he gives us in Ted Neeley's Jesus a Christ who is actually destroyed by his own celebrity. So we get, in a sense, a depiction of the downside of fame. This Jesus is destroyed by his own followers in a sense. The crowd more or less consumes this Jesus and he's driven to a kind of despair by the very popularity he engenders. And the Gethsemane scene in "Jesus Christ Superstar" is, in my mind, the greatest Gethsemane scene we've ever had on film because it's this wrenching anguish on the part of Ted Neeley trying to understand how he can possibly take another step forward in life, given the forces that have conspired...

15.  Courtesy again of Linda, just to give everyone something great to look at, here are two interesting finds: the new UK cover
      of the VHS JCS:

PRETTY NICE, ISN'T IT?

and an interesting shot of a "young Jesus understudy" from the early JCS days:

Linda found this photo at the following URL:
http://www.orlok.com/hair/holding/photographs/hair/PhotosNYTMag1-2-72.html
Initially, the photo was part of the Tom O'Horgan Interview - 
The New York Times Sunday Magazine
January 2, 1972

THE CAPTION:  
Rehearsal for Jesus Christ Superstar with Jesus understudy, and Hair alum, Teddy Neeley.

Two more shots of "the Understudy" - these are part of Rita's contribution (noted below).

16.  AND FINALLY...I do want to make mention of the new JCS production, currently touring the US. While it is not a popular 
       item for most of the Ted-List members, and/or most folks looking at this site, I want to include a local review by Keith
      Joseph of the Free Times, as well as my own thoughts on that production, since both support the far-reaching longevity of
       the quality and the memories of Ted and Carl's tour.  One BIG clue with Keith's reviews, he has a one line title for each
       review on the Free Times Table of Contents page.  For this review?  Three words:  OH, MY LORD!  Have a look:

Our local Free Times reviewed the new tour in the 4/21-27/04 issue.
     See the review below - and pay attention to the FINAL PARAGRAPH:

http://www.freetimes.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1380

CLEVELAND FREE TIMES Punk Passion Play  Updating Jesus Christ Superstar is sheer blasphemy By Keith A. Joseph  Wednesday, April 21, 2004   FOR THE LOVE OF GOD Natalie Toro and Eric Kunze. IT'S NO SURPRISE that the two most colorful riffs on the Good Book were wrought by show-biz scribes. It's 1956, and we find Anne Baxter as the breathy royal Egyptian minx Nefertiti (inexplicably ignored by the Old Testament), vamping her recalcitrant, newly holified ex-boyfriend with, “Moses, Moses, you adorable fool.” Now, flash forward to 1971 A.D: a confused gaggle of Birkenstock apostles are inquiring into the antics of their naughty leader with, “What's a-buzz, tell me what's a-happening.” Jesus Christ Superstar Through April 25 Palace Theatre 1501 Euclid Ave. 216.241.6000 Cecil B. De Mille's The Ten Commandments and Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar share a propensity for canny self-mockery and outrageous piety. De Mille's final film is a culmination of his recipe for raging hormones and raging prophets. The aforementioned musical is an even more mercurial triumph: a schmaltzy, old-fashioned show piece trying to disguise itself as a rock musical, and the passion play told as a flower-child parable. The show follows the same team's grade-school-pageant rewrite of the Old Testament known as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Joseph 's caffeinated bedtime Bible story was put together with pop building blocks, ranging from a mock pharaoh Elvis to Hebrew hoedown and ersatz French apache dancing. To create Superstar, Lloyd Webber and Rice took the same concept, darkened it and tied it to a superb metaphor: Jesus as a reluctant celebrity, succumbing to his painful destiny — the martyrdom of stardom — and subsequently pissing off the establishment, which in this case is embodied as Pharisees portrayed as baritone Nixons. This concept renders the story sociopolitical rather than religious, and keeps it blessedly free of the sadomasochistic bathos and anti-Semitism that plagues Mel Gibson's The Passion . Christening it a rock opera is a misnomer, for behind the few electric guitar licks and wails, the score is theatrical ambrosia, embracing soft shoe and torch numbers and, for Christ, an aria of self-exploration reminiscent of Billy Bigelow's great Carousel “Soliloquy.” And Tim Rice's lyrics are open-hearted, tongue-in-cheek and powerfully colloquial: “God, thy will is hard, but you hold every card.” After 33 years, the show remains amazingly funny, affecting and original. It has none of the derivative kitsch and over-inflation that would mark the collaborators' subsequent work, together and apart. Like Hair, it remains a melodic time capsule and a perfect reminder of the romance of flower-child rebellion. The work has proved indomitable. It has stood up to the worst abuses bestowed in church basements and high-school auditoriums, and it even stands up to the soulless, synthetic, industrial-show feel of this present tour edition. The first insanity is trying to update the piece with a punk-rock façade of pierced nipples and spiked hair, which is fatally incongruent with the '60s ethos of the show. Everything about the production is effect for effect's sake, including a Guys and Dolls -like temple scene with pinstripe suits and rolling dice, various Stars of David covered with swastikas, Darth Vader centurions, choreography redolent of a Gap commercial, and characters who don't seem to acknowledge one another's existence. Director Kevin Moriarty and choreographer Dana Solimando have obviously not gotten over the breakfast-cereal commercials of their childhood. As the eponymous JC, Eric Kunze is every inch the romantic leading man — and that's the problem. What would be perfect for a road company of The Pajama Game is disastrous for a pop-rock Messiah. He plays his Savior with a toothpaste smile, a booming tenor and a washboard stomach that looks fetching on the cross. Missing, however, is any shred of tenderness, vulnerability or pathos. Lawrence Clayton's well-fed, overage Judas speaks more of Republicans at a picnic than tortured betrayer at the Last Supper. One thing one can say about Natalie Toro's voluptuous Mary Magdalene is that it's an original take — Betty Boop in Jerusalem. Playing King Herod as Daddy Warbucks, Barry Dennen at least gives the evening some misguided laughs. If you've never seen Jesus Christ Superstar live, this benighted production may give you a vague sense of its former glory. However, if you prefer to see it done brilliantly, rent Norman Jewison's superb film edition. I know it would be the perfect curative for the dispirited audience member who could be heard wistfully commenting, “Where are the bell-bottoms?”

NOTE:  I've been told by a very reliable source that this show is losing money on the road, and they have resorted to certain requests I will not get into here in order to recoup their earnings.  One request was not granted, fortunately, even though granting it would ultimately have forced this show to close.  Well, I guess Lloyd Webber will never learn, will he?  Here, also, are my thoughts on this show, as posted to Ted's list today (4/26/04) for the 4/25/04 JCS matinee in Cleveland, Ohio:

JCS PRODUCTIONS ON STAGE AND ON FILM

THE STAGE

UPDATE 12/15/04:

A little while back I was asked when/if there had been an onstage production/reunion of JCS that included Ted, Carl and Yvonne after the film, but before the 25th Anniversary Tour.  Yes, there was. It ran September 10th (though due to rain it really opened September 12th) - October 3, 1976 at the Santa Barbara County Bowl in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA.  And, thanks to Jenean Bugiada (jbugiada@yahoo.com), who I had the pleasure of meeting when Ted introduced us at BeckettFest this Fall, we have these 7 pictures, both onstage and off, from that production.  Jenean has graciously allowed me to post her pictures here for all to see.  (GOD - they look so YOUNG!  LOL!)  Jenean also has some wonderful stories of that production, (so e-mail her and see what she has to say), and two of these stories are posted below!  Thanks, Jenean!

UPDATE 3/3/05:

Two new shots from Jenean, along with a message below:

NOTE: Here is Yvonne onstage with Ted. According to Jenean, Yvonne only did one weekend of performances in the show.

3/3/05 - Memory Two: 

Greetings:

Since it is Easter season (2005), I thought I’d tell stories that revolved around our Crucifixion scene in the 1976 production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Santa Barbara County Bowl in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. The Bowl is an outdoor theatre that seats around 4,000 people. It’s usually used for concerts and really beautiful because it is made of rocks and wood with many trees all around to give that woodsy feel. The stone made for a wonderful setting that matched the set. The dates of the performances were September 10^th - October 3^rd, 1976. They were only weekend performances, 3 performances a week. Attached, I have included a couple of photos that you might like. One is a photo of Ted on the cross. It came out really well and I saved it just for this time of year. The other is of Yvonne when she appeared the one weekend with us. It was the last time she ever performed with Ted and Carl on stage in the show.

Anyway, the Crucifixion story I’m going to tell is mostly out of a journal I wrote about a year later. In it, I wrote out many experiences of JCS. I would never have remembered all the things written below if I hadn’t written them down back then.

It all started just before we opened. We never got to rehearse the Crucifixion scene during most of rehearsal. We started to block it once, but it got too dark and we had no lights on stage yet. Remember, we were outdoors, so our director Gary Goddard stopped the rehearsal. It was only explained to us in words what we were going to do. We had a large 16-foot high platform that had stairs and ramps on it. At the top was where the cross would be. There was a ladder that Ted would climb during the JC Superstar number.

Finally, it was full dress rehearsal and run through. I believe it was 2 days before opening night. I was a dancer in the Superstar number and had on this white jump suit with feather boas for sleeves. Those sleeves were interesting. One time, another dancer named Cindy started chocking on a feather. She was coughing away. Gary ran all the way down from the top of the “Santa Barbara County Bowl”. Cindy managed to get the feather out. The rest of us dancers kept dancing around her. Carl ran up to her and put his arms around her stomach and punched it in to make her belch it up! (Can’t spell the name of the maneuver - you know what I’m talking about). (NOTE: Heimlich)

Anyway, after the number, Gary yelled, "keep going". So everyone, remembering what we were told to do, started drudging up the 16-foot platform to where Ted was on the cross. We crawled in slow motion moaning and groaning all the way up. I remember that I was really in a bad mood. Some things weren't going well for me at the time and I blew the "Superstar" dance. I was also mad because I was crawling up that dirty platform in my white costume. All the way up I was saying to myself, "I can't do this scene in this costume." I was definitely NOT in character! Nor was I ever thinking about how I should feel or about getting into the scene. All of a sudden, I was at the top of the platform. I looked up and there was Teddy on the cross! The formation of the lights and seeing Ted SHOCKED me into the scene. I forgot about everything else. All I could think about was what I saw. I don't remember, at that moment, being ever more into anything in a performance as much in my life as I was into that! All of a sudden everything I had bottled up inside me burst, and I started crying like I hadn't cried in years!

I was really embarrassed after I burst into tears. I realized I couldn’t control myself. I hid my face on top of another cast member’s leg. Her name was Janelle. I heard everyone around me crying, but for some reason, I thought they were just faking! I especially remember the loud sobs of Roger. I really thought they were all fakes! I kept my head down with my tears dripping on Janelle’s leg. Every once in awhile I’d peek up to see if anyone else was really crying like me, but I couldn’t tell for sure. Everyone was crouched in balls all around on top of each other because there wasn’t much room. Some were kneeling, but I couldn’t see their faces because they had their backs to me facing Ted/Jesus. I’d peek at Ted and hid my face again crying. Ted was so real up there! Even to this day, except from an actor in a movie, I have never “in real life,” heard grown men sobbing! Women were crying also, but I expect it from women. But the guys! Out loud!! Louder than the women!!! So I thought they were all just acting.

After the Crucifixion scene came “John Nineteen Forty-One”, but all too soon it was over and then came the curtain call music. We still hadn’t blocked the curtain call. All of us, in the mean time, were still up on top of the platform shaken from what we had all just experienced. We couldn’t move. I still couldn’t control myself and was still crying! I kept my head down till someone (I think Janelle) asked me if I was all right. Embarrassed, I looked up and saw that everyone else had been crying as much as I had. Even the guys! Roger had definitely NOT been faking! Everyone had red swollen eyes. Gary ran up to us for at least 15 minutes asking us if we were OK. It was hard for Roger and he asked me if I would sit with him while we listened to our directions after we all finally got down off the platform. I couldn’t stop crying and many of the others couldn’t stop for a long time either. We just all sat around listening to Gary and Tony give us performance notes while we cried.

We didn’t have any fancy effects for getting Ted down off the cross. We weren’t that high-tech in those days. Getting off the platform always took awhile. Every night after “John Nineteen Forty-One” we all helped Ted down from the cross. Even doing that, he was still in character. Still with his head tilted and eyes closed, he would go limp and drop his arms. Then he would be lifted down. Then everyone crowded around him in a big huddle hugging everyone and trying to get over crying. I can’t imagine what Ted must feel when he does that scene. I’ll never forget what I felt. (As I type this, I am again starting to cry. It is really emotional to talk about this even after 28 years!) The feeling is always there when I remember back. The feeling was always there every time I did the scene. I cried many more times after that. But it was never as strong as it was that 1^st time I did it. I can’t describe the feeling I experienced in words. The thoughts that would go through my mind were “No, No, Jesus.” It was like Ted really WAS Jesus. The expressions he had on his face were the perfect expressions that said so much, but yet I can’t define it. It was definitely much more powerful than the movie. When I watch the movie, it just isn’t the same experience.

The next day at rehearsal, I kind of wanted to talk about it, but NOBODY would. I remember some things Sarah said. She was our Mary Magdalene. She said, it took strong character (meaning “within” a person) to go through it. Someone who was mentally messed up would probably really break! She herself was doing some real soul searching because it was hard for her when she was into the character of Mary Magdalene to distinguish Ted from the real Christ! Then she said, I don’t really want to talk about it.

There was one guy who I always wondered about. I always feared for his life up on the platform. Janelle (who by now we called each other our crying partner) would always say hold onto him. For some reason he was always by the edge of the platform and always acted strange. I just never knew for sure if he was stoned or not. He actually went up to Gary and asked to be the one who whipped Jesus! He played one of the guards so Gary let him. He actually was a nice guy. I wonder whatever happened to him?

In general, it is an experience I will never forget as long as I live. It was one of the experiences that still draws me to be a big fan of Ted’s to this day. There really is something special about him though I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is about him that makes him so special. But in the weeks that we all got to spend with Ted, he was a wonderful person to work with. He would do most anything the director asked unless Ted felt that it was wrong for his character. Actually, that was never a problem, and he and Gary got along great. They still associate together to this day. Ted would always make it a point to be giving to the cast and made friends with everyone (including chorus). He made each person feel special. He was one of the kindest people I ever met and worked with in show business. He was always professional. I feel honored that I got to experience Superstar with him. There isn’t enough space to say all the kindnesses that he is.

After that 1^st night the storm clouds started coming in over Santa Barbara. The next night was our final dress. There were rain predictions. We did a run through with everything. Everyone was crying at the end again. I remember that Gary called a meeting afterward. I had a girl out in the audience filming my home movies for me. She had taken movies for me before and did a pretty good job. Gary told us we were going to run part of the show again from a certain part to the end. We didn’t have to do it in costume unless we wanted to. I still had some film left, so I took more movies from the side in the wings. We never got to the end. All of a sudden it started to rain!

Quickly, Gary shut down rehearsal and told us to all go downstairs to the dressing rooms. All the crew started quickly to cover up all the lights and sound equipment with plastic. It soon started to thunder and lightning. It was dangerous for all the electrical equipment to get wet, and with all that metal scaffolding that towered higher than our 16-foot platform, one could easily get electrocuted. Downstairs we all waited for at least an hour talking and singing and listening to a barbershop group sing. When everything was covered up Gary & Tony came down to give us notes.

It poured rain the next day and we had to cancel our opening night performance at the outdoor amphitheatre. But Ted and Carl insisted on doing a performance that night. So, we sat up at Santa Barbara High School (which is next door to the Santa Barbara County Bowl) and gave a FREE concert version of the show. It was announced on the local radio stations and people with tickets were directed to come too. The concert was still effective and we all cried during the whipping scene and crucifixion. We had a full house even though the rain was coming down hard outside! We could hear the rain pounding on the ceiling as we performed. The audience loved us and went crazy!

It rained the next day too! We didn’t give any performance the 2^nd day. I went to the movies that night. The 3^rd day it rained again, but it stopped in time and we finally had our “opening night” performance at the County Bowl. Our poor producer Jack Nakano! Ticket sales had been going pretty good until the rain came. The day it rained made history in Santa Barbara. Jack said he checked back into Santa Barbara history records and it had not rained on those dates for something like 80 years! As far as anyone could remember, it never rained in Santa Barbara in September. And so, for most all of the rest of the run of the show all through September, it rained and rained. We didn’t cancel any more performances, fortunately, but it rained during the coming weeks in-between performances. That had an effect on ticket sales. When it was raining, nobody phoned in for tickets, but as soon as the sun came out, the phones would start ringing again. We added one more weekend of performances to make up to those ticket holders with cancelled tickets. That added weekend was October 1, 2, & 3, 1976. (It was exactly the same closing weekend as “Waiting for Godot” 28 years later when I went backstage to visit Ted in Ventura)!

There were nights we almost had to cancel in the middle of a performance. It was drizzling pretty hard. I remember slipping around on stage. The show was a great show, but the weather kept people away! I really felt sorry for people who came up from L.A. who got turned away. Sadly, our show lost money.

I don’t know what it is about crucifixion scenes that are done outdoors, but this seems to happen on a regular basis. (We can all start doing “Twilight Zone” music now! Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do!) There is a neat story that goes along with the rain that Ted told us about while he was filming the movie. It is always depicted on movies that it storms after the real Jesus Christ died on the cross. Including Mel Gibson’s version. Though I’m not a very good Bible student, the Bible does mention events that happened at the moment of Christ’s death that include earthquakes and tombs opening up. When Ted was in Israel filming the movie, it was summer and it never rained EVER at that time of year. That’s what Ted was told. You can read the words in Cindi’s JCS site of the DVD film narration under “EPILOGUE (JOHN: 1941)” :

T. I - I just have to say one more thing. I just, when you said, "What are you thinking of right now?", I mean, there are so many images that are apparent in my spirit as a result of this experience. Do you remember all that we went through during the crucifixion, with the sudden weather change, and…

N. Yes.

T ... it hadn't rained in that country....

N. Right.

T ... forever, in that spot? And all of a sudden, it was gale-force winds, and overwhelming rain storms and you on the squawk box telling everybody to get out of here, because we didn't know what was gonna happen. And I'm stuck up - I'm up there on the cross! And then, I remember you tellin' - I hear - I hear you on that box, "Get him off of there! Get him down off of there!" And, you know, I never cried so much in my life, out of the emotional experience of this piece. And how, once we finally finished the crucifixion, how nurturing, and warm, and wonderfully supportive you were for me when I was falling apart after that.

In my journal I wrote that Ted told us they started filming the Crucifixion scene at night and all the next day it clouds up and starts raining almost as soon after they did the scene the 2^nd time and it rained for 3 days. Just like it happened to us in Santa Barbara! But people were surprised about the rain in Israel, as it just never rained at that time of year. In fact, Ted pointed to some little tiny clouds in movie photos and said, “see, those were the last of the rain clouds.” Like I said, it hadn’t rained for years in Santa Barbara in September. Jack, our producer, had the documentation to prove it! We do the crucifixion scene the 1^st time and all the next day it clouds up. Then we do it the 2^nd time and boom!

The day of closing night October 3^rd, was especially freaky. I was at home alone because my parents were up in Vancouver Canada. I was to join them the next day and travel with them after the show. They had the movie camera, darn it! I wish I had it to film the sight I saw. These powerful rain clouds started in Goleta (a suburb of Santa Barbara) and passed over slowly that afternoon down through town to Montecito (another burb at the other end of town). They poured super heavy rains down. I lived next to the ocean and I looked out my window toward the ocean and saw a sight I’ll never forget as long as I live! There was a funnel out over the ocean! A tornado on the ocean that is actually called a “waterspout”!! There was this county or city truck next to my house with weather watchers (sort of like “storm chasers”). They were keeping an eye on the spout. I don’t mind saying that I was freaked!!!! The waterspouts were in local photos and magazines for a number of years after that in the Santa Barbara area! My parents have lived in Santa Barbara for all these years and there has been some bad storms, but there has never since been waterspouts that I have heard about in Santa Barbara then.

Believe it or not, the rains stopped long enough for us to do our final performance!

The same thing happened to Mel Gibson when he was in Italy filming “The Passion” movie. Much of the rain you see at the crucifixion scene is real! Their Assistant Director got struck by lightning 2 times! The 1^st time was while working on the Crucifixion scene. They dubbed this fellow a nickname “Lighting Boy”. A few months back I told everyone to go to a web site and listen to an interview that was recorded about his experiences of working on the film. You go to www.kfi640.com . Then click on the name Bill Handel. Then “Archives”. If you hold your mouse over the word “Archives” you see the word “Interviews”. Click on “Interviews” and then scroll way, way, waaaayyy down to an interview called “Meet Lightning Boy”. You click on the interview and you can listen to Bill Handel interview the man & hear his rain story.

I was also in Germany in 2000 where I went to see a play called The Oberammergau Passion Play. This passion play is performed outdoors, but the audience (only) is covered by a roof, a roof does not cover the stage. Every 10 years since 1680, with the exceptions of 1770 and 1940, the villagers of Oberammergau Germany have performed this passion play. Nobody is allowed to be in the cast except people who live in the village. The year I saw it 1,600 adults and 550 children were involved in the show! It’s all in German, but I knew what everyone was saying as I knew the story very well. I must say that the mob scenes were really impressive. If you ever get a chance to go in 2010, go! But be warned that the show is about 8 hours long! My husband and I want to go again. Anyway, I just want to say that the day we saw it, September 20, 2000, during the crucifixion scene near the end of the show, it started to rain!

Well, those are some of my many memories. Hope you enjoyed.

Jenean Bugiada

~~~

1/7/05 - Memory One: 

Jenean's description of the first five shots below:

"The 1st photo attached is backstage. I'm next to Ted getting a famous hug. The other woman was Sarah Rutledge our Mary Magdalene. (Yvonne only did 1 weekend). The photo of Ted alone is while he sings "Gethsemane". Then a photo of the Crucifixion scene. It's a neat shot. Hope you enjoy!",  (shot #4): Guess who's B'day?! Henry Johnson (guy on his left) was our Simon, (shot #5): a photo of Ted with a couple of Guards. In the blurred background is Forbes Candlish. Forbes was later a Producer of the JCS tour that you saw in the 90's. Our production is where he and Ted met! Forbes played the part of Herod, as well as playing one of the 12 Apostles in the 1976 production.

 .

Stage Shots From the 25th Anniversary Tour and Other Tours


Photo Courtesy of Jan Stetler

Photos courtesy of: http://darkstreet.hostrack.com/

Courtesy of Kellylee
(http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/2596/ )




Photo courtesy of : http://www.chuckdimaria.com/jcs.jpg


Photo on e-Bay - found courtesy of Mianne Tripp (mtripprn@hotmail.com) - Thanks, Mianne!

Thanks for the great find, Helena! (hnc62ngg@telecable.es)

Thanks, Mianne!

Thanks, Alessandra!

Per Mari, photo courtesy of:  www.arturovillone.it/foto/jcs/art_jcs_foto_01.htm
and: 
art@arturovillone.it

I bought these 2 wonderful stage stills below at RTC while we were out there to see "Murder In The First" in June, 2000. My Salespeople? Tessa and Zach!

 

This wallpaper was sent to me by Rita, but created by Mark Ellison (ozmarky@bigpond.net.au) (alias "Mark From Oz"), our first Australian "Tedhead".

THE FILM

I finally decided to take the bull by the horns, as it were, and put all of these lovely film stills in storyline order. I also separated the media and publicity shots that were separable.  To do this, and keep giving credit where credit is due, I needed to thank all my contributors (to this page) in one paragraph. I did it alphabetically by last name, so you can find yourselves easily, if you're looking (LOL!). If I left anyone out, please let me know and I will add  you immediately! So, thank you to everyone who has contributed to my website, particularly this page:

Brigitte Brummans (mb.venlo@hccnet.nl), Jenean Bugiada (jbugiada@yahoo.com), Gina Clay (PanicAttacks63@aol.com), John Conti (john@capitol5.com), Laura Da Costa (dacosta4@sympatico.ca), Mark From Oz (a.k.a. Mark Ellison) (ozmarky@bigpond.net.au), Francesca Fassina (miciame@yahoo.it), Linda Fenton (lindafenton@hotmail.com), Sue Gońi (suxana34@hotmail.com), Susan Horlick (horlicksue@juno.com), Rita Liekens (dominique1112001@yahoo.com), Mari Michetti (marimi@mclink.it ), Maribel Navarro (maribelnm63@yahoo.com), Helena Nieto (hnc62ngg@telecable.es), Michelle Owens (MAY121961@aol.com), Troy Peters (hideout@midwest.net), Lesley Anne Sharratt (st.bernard@btopenworld.com), Debbie Spykerman (spyk002@aol.com), Ann Stickford (thumperdances2@sbcglobal.net), Eustaquio Taype (cartonbanz@yahoo.com), Shevonia ("Von") Thompson (a.k.a. Dana Lee) (dabaone@yahoo.com), Silvia Toselli (silvia29@fastwebnet.it), Mianne Tripp (mtrmtrm@aol.com), Alessandra (cp.ulisse@tiscali.it),  and the numerous websites that everyone found these treasures on, that are usually credited by the byline on or below the picture.

 On a special note, you can find some of these gorgeous stills at a wonderful store called OHLINGERS.  Here is their website link:

http://moviematerials.com/

And here is their contact information, for any locals, or folks planning to visit NYC soon.  It's a GREAT place!:

Jerry Ohlinger's Movie Material Store, Inc.

242 West 14th Street

New York, NY 10011

(212)989-0869

Open Every day 1:00 - 7:45 P.M.

NOTE:  I don't have the URLs for the pictures on this page, so if you're browsing and happen to see your contribution here, and wish to be credited, or removed, please let me know, and I will be more than happy to comply.

MEDIA/PUBLICITY:

Interview with Norman Jewison:

NOTE:  For those that don't know, and/or are newly-found "Tedheads", the dancer in the top left-hand corner of the poster above is Leeyan, Ted's wife.