Jesus Christ Superstar at St. Matthew Community Theater

If you want to support a community theater chock-full of amazing talent, get yourself a ticket to see Jesus Christ Superstar at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, presented by the St. Matthew Community Theater.

Jesus Christ Superstar, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, is a staple in the musical theater catalog. It follows Jesus during his last days before his crucifixion.

This production is, above all else, brimming with passion from the cast and crew. It is clear that there is a strong backbone as to why they chose to do this show at this time. The time and place are a bit unclear in this production, but it does attempt to weave in modern-day with a few small choices by the director, which adds a certain level of drive to this story.

Vanessa M.H. Powers directs this show with a clear angle in mind. Her notes in the program really helped me understand her view, and performing this in the church really brought the story to a new level. We commend Powers' on her passion in presenting this story.

Some of the blocking suffered from the way the stage was built - sometimes actors were stuck on the platform in the back or shoved upstage in a way that made it hard to focus on them. Jesus and Mary Magdalene specifically needed a bit more focus on them to better follow their journey - sometimes they got lost in the crowd. There were also ties when more movement in the blocking was needed. Especially during the crucifixion, there didn't seem to be much to look at during the long instrumental.

Blocking aside, some of the performances were breathtakingly good.

I think we truly have a budding star in Xander Condie (Jesus). Playing Jesus is admittedly a tall order, but Condie does it with grace and the perfect amount of humility. His vocal control and falsetto were amazing. "Gethsemane" was a standout moment in the show. There were times when he could've used a little more grounding in his body, and could've taken a bit more time to visibly think through his character's decision-making. For someone who (as far as I can tell) has not done a ton of theater, this was a star-making performance.

Christine Kullman (Judas) honestly slayed the house boots down. I LOVE to see a female Judas, and Kullman's energy was the best of the whole cast. Every moment she was onstage, she made the best of it. Her vocal control was precise and she was someone I was always excited to see when she came on. I do wish "Heaven On Their Minds" had been transposed to a key that was more in her range - she sounded wonderful, but there were times when it was clearly too low for her and she had to go the octave up on certain lines. We also could've used a bit more obvious conflict between her and Jesus to really sell her betrayal of him.

Janelle Karlsrud (Mary Magdalene) was a nice calming presence in the midst of the hectic scenes. She had a wonderful, if a bit more pop-style, voice, and her acting was something I really wanted to focus on. In "I Don't Know How To Love Him," I wished they had simply let her sing onstage by herself instead of complicating it with the dancing. I found her very moving to watch when I could find her.

Janet Skidmore (Pontius Pilate) was commanding and had a lovely voice, but I wish she had been onstage a bit more.

Trevor Woggon (Caiaphas) and Camryn Hodny (Annas) were certainly strong presences, but tough to hear, which confused the plot a bit for me.

The apostles were hit and miss - some of them gave very strong performances, including Isaiah Dietz (Peter), who had a strong voice and a nice presence, and Kate Callen (Simon), who has a KILLER voice, but tended to go a bit sharp on the especially high notes.

Gary Peterson (King Herod) was a nice treat during the darkest parts of the story. He had energy that folks half his age don't have, and he was clearly enjoying his time onstage.

The ensemble as a whole had great energy - although they could have used a bit of polishing up. The times that they were all in-synch were great, but sometimes things got a bit confused. It was a large cast, and because of that, sometimes the ensemble upstaged the principal characters. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear much when the ensemble was singing, but from the snippets I heard, they really did sound beautiful. I wish they had been more emotionally involved throughout; the crying at the end didn't feel earned.

The scenic design (by Gabe Gomez) was cool - I liked all of the things that were permanent fixtures on the stage, and the graffiti was very well done and set the tone nicely before the show started. However, some of the extra things that were added, like the black curtains, seemed like unnecessary hassles that weren't worth the effort of bringing in and out. Other than that, the set changes were very streamlined and quick.

This is a hard show to costume. Jesus' first costume was very convincing, as were Mary Magdalene's and Judas'. The ensemble though could've used a little more uniformity. The ensemble representing the followers of Caiaphas, Annas, Pontius Pilate and King Herod were in gold, and it tended to look a bit cheap. I also didn't love when Jesus came out in a stereotypical orange prison jumpsuit - it was a bit too on-the-nose. It seemed like there were SO MANY costume changes and if it had been pared down, more thought could've gone into the costumes that remained.

At the end of the show, Jesus is given 39 lashes by Pontius Pilate. The way this was done was one of the coolest things I have seen onstage in a long time. I won't spoil it, but keep your eye out for it. It was magical and horrible, and wonderful innovation. 

The sound design (by Jason Zemke) was successful for the main characters, but I really could not hear the ensemble.

The band (Walter Boumann, Erin Larson, Scott Neaderhiser, Matthew Polum & Drew Wagner) were really great. I wish we could've seen them!

The choreography (by Ann Elizabeth Brown) was very successful in certain songs, namely "What's the Buzz" and "King Herod's Song." At other times, it seemed a little too showy and show choir-y, especially during serious moments.

The music direction (by Sarah Meier) seemed to be successful from what I could hear - the only thing we noticed was that the parts traditionally written for men that were played by women in this production did not seem to be supported in finding a way to sing the parts that were too low for them.

I really loved the projection on the wall behind Jesus after his crucifixion - I wish projections had been used throughout the show!

The feeling the audience is left with is one of solemnity, but the house lights come up so fast and so abruptly that the feeling doesn't really last.

It is and always will be important to support community theater. I would like to note that during intermission a speaker was talking about how hard COVID-19 was for their organization monetarily. I highly recommend seeing shows at St. Matthew Community Theater to support them - they clearly embrace a diverse audience, and they have some amazing talent; this show was a very fun, if sometimes confusing, rollercoaster to watch.

You Should See This Show If:

You want to support community theater and new talent, you want to see a new spin on the story of Jesus, you love Andrew Lloyd Webber, and you want to see a really amazing Judas & Jesus duo!

Content Heads Up:

Torture, violence, suicide, religion

Rating:

2.5/5 Scones

-Review by Cranberry & Raspberry White Chocolate Scone