The rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar was written by Tim Rice, then 25-year-old lyricist and Andrew Lloyd-Webber, then 21-year-old composer. The rock opera portrays the last seven days of the life of Jesus as it was seen through the Judas’ eyes. This piece of art is considered as a fairly radical rock hybrid concerning the final days of the life of Jesus. This was the third musical that had been written by Webber and Rice. His long fascination with Judas Iscariot made him perceive Judas as a dear friend of Jesus who was struggling with the consequences of the growing celebrity of Jesus rather than a craven betrayer of Christ (Evita Music, pg. 16).
Despite this musical finding broad support among the vast liberal Christian churches, the piece was nonetheless too controversial as to get financial backing that was essential for its stage production. The lyrics of this musical were particularly clunky and its score normally overwrought. Despite this, this musical was the turning point of popular cultural representation of Jesus as it consequently made a powerful statement concerning the celebrity figure in the process.
Thesis statement: The musical, Jesus Christ Superstar is about the suffering as well as the pain that was caused to an individual by the dehumanizing effect of fame.
Jesus representation in Jesus Christ Superstar was particularly influenced by the Jesus Movement as well as the hippie culture that emerged in California in the late 60s. This prompted several
Therefore, people questioned why they made him a black character. In the rock musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice the portrayal of the crucifixion of Jesus was created to fit a musical, causing controversy and criticism; as well as issues of racial norms and the devilish rock culture of the 1970’s.
Contrasting to ‘Didn’t my lord deliver Daniel’ we move onto ‘Fix me Jesus’ which is performed as a duet and portrays the priest and someone that has gone to confess. The lighting changes to blue and white which gives a crystal like intensity. At the start of this section the male figure is stood behind the women and almost covers her movements as if to protect her and to show the trust. The repetition of the women’s hand gestures also seems as if he’s giving her his blessing. There is also repetition from sub section one ‘I’ve been buked’ with the use of proximity and actions such as the bird pose which helps to portray the emotion of this part. Throughout this part the women doesn’t always focus on her partner but is still reliable on him. This is shown through tilted balances and lifts where the male is the supporter. There is an extensive use of weight bearing, strength and trust which are all metaphors within this piece and the use of off kilter positions and balletic actions help to enhance the mood.
There are many characteristics that could impact one’s life in a negative way causing them to lose everything in life such as selfishness, messiness, untrustworthiness, self-righteousness, or ego. In the award-winning musical, Hamilton: The Revolution, by Lin-Manuel-Miranda, the character of protagonist, Alexander Hamilton may be described in many ways. However, one character trait stands out among the rest. The main character trait of Alexander Hamilton, self-righteousness, shaped everything about his life: how he grew up, how he dominated in debates, and even how he fell from grace. Hamilton always stuck by his ideals, not caring whether it affected other people. These traits led him to lose and gain
In my paper I will be discussing what makes Rent such an extraordinary rock musical, the care that went into creating it, and how it was different from what came before. I will provide analysis of characters and the plot, plus I will be describing the importance and relevance of certain songs.
The play was very well done and was not dull even though it was catered to a large audience. The musical numbers are very entertaining, and the spectacle, both visual and emotional, is well accomplished. I would recommend this to most children and adults, due to the Christmas themes and general lightheartedness of the play.
There’s a reason that English classes have students study Oedipus the King, A Raisin in the Sun, The Crucible, and many other titles in schools across the globe. Adding music to a story focused on a serious issue doesn’t impact the message that it carries to audiences. Musicals like Next to Normal, and South Pacific carry themes of extreme social struggle like racism and mental illness all with soundtracks that stand the test of time. What I love most about how theatre affects people is that most theatre kids are well adjusted due to the exposure to these wide ranges of themes, making them the best people to be around; theatre kids are well adjusted because of the awareness of theatre, and not necessarily juggling education and stage productions.
One of the many things that puzzle people even today; is how Jesus was portrayed and how he became a part of history throughout the centuries. Fortunately, within the book Jesus Through the Centuries, written by Jaroslav Pelikan, readers are able to get a sense of what societies viewed Jesus as and how he was/is important to many aspects of the world such as; the political, social, and cultural impact he had left. As Pelikan discusses this very topic and theme in his book, we see how there’s a connection between his audience in this book and Jesus’s are closely similar. When he got his motivation to write about Jesus through the Centuries, Jaroslav had an open audience, which was intended for anyone of all ages, races, and beliefs to read
Godspell is a musical that explains various parables from the Gospel of Matthew (and a few from the Gospel of Luke.) The production of Godspell put on at Carthage took a modern approach to the Broadway classic. Instead of philosophers debating religion during the opening, it was college students venting on the internet. Additionally, the actors chose not to don clown makeup after choosing to follow Jesus, but instead, each wore a pin to demonstrate their allegiance. The music is set to modern beats but the lyrics are derived from popular hymns.
This also presents the idea to the reader that Owen was a miracle since birth. In addition, the reader can see that the Unspeakable Outrage also has to do with the priests controversial belief system because they believe Owen’s story is a sin and the story of Jesus’s birth is a miracle.
American culture is moving increasingly away from believing in Christianity. However, themes of Christianity has undoubtedly left a huge influence on even secular western culture- from politics to theater to film. Depictions of Christ-like figures and interpretations of Jesus Christ can be seen in a variety of media. One example of an analytic rendition of Jesus’ life is musical production Jesus Christ Superstar, which is a semi-gospel rock opera interpretation of the seven days prior to Jesus Christ’s death. It was first debuted on Broadway in 1971 with a movie adaptation later being made in 1973 by Norman Jewison, which had earnings of over $20,000,000 (Kinnard and Davis). So, what does this widely popular rock opera say about the state of Christianity in the contemporary age? Jesus Christ Superstar is a microcosm of the evolving state of popular understandings of Christianity and overall shift in culture based on twentieth century events such as the World Wars, the Vietnam War and countercultures of the 1960s.
In this article it gives us a perspective on how people react when they meet such a public and older idol is still pretty important in 2011. This gives us a view on how people react to meeting such a public figure.
Just as it was a crucial time for America in terms of politics and social issues, it was just as big for the music industry. People expressed their social opinions and political beliefs in a way that was the most true to them. Music was, and still is, a worldwide phenomenon for it has been able to take the shape of justice and to mold the minds of it’s listeners. Artists at the time had extreme social and political influence and used their defined stances on cultural issues to influence their music as well as their
The various symbols Jesus employs in his preaching reflect the common lives of most of his hearers. The agrarian and pastoral themes were especially popular, because many Israelites were farmers and shepherds. Most of Jesus’ parables and
However, the music in Billy Elliot seems to confront the issues within the lyrics and not withdraw an audience’s attention from the problems that are presented within this show.
A few weeks ago, I had a chance to watch Les Miserables at Imperial Theater. Les Miserables is play based on Victor Hugo’s award winning novel. I must admit that the play made me realize the great stories that will continue be told in mass media for years to come. Much to my astonishment, the characters in the play essentially delivered a great show, ranging from their acting to their singing.