Superstar

As mentioned earlier, I have a few reasons for liking the show “Jesus Christ Superstar,” not the least of which is the terrific music. When I was in college at Marshall University, a friend of mine (Dana Grooms, where are you?) maintained that everyone who was buying albums in the early ‘70s had at least one of the following in his or her record collection: “Frampton Comes Alive,” Carole King’s “Tapestry” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Most had all three - including me.

Of course, there was a lot of controversy around “Superstar,” especially when it was first released in 1970. Many considered it to be sacrilegious because the story is actually presented from the viewpoint of Judas, and attempts to explain why he betrayed Jesus. It’s also criticized for the fact that the play ends with the crucifixion and doesn’t depict the resurrection. However, aside from those objections and a line or two in the songs, the story actually follows the scripture (fairly) closely, and has brought more than a few people back to the church. You can count me among that group - it really spoke to the teens at my church in the early '70s, and gave us a great topic of discussion.

The album later became a stage musical, then a movie in 1973. It’s been a TV special and a touring show, and quite a few community theatre groups have tackled the show. When my church decided to stage the show a few years ago, I found myself being asked to be the director - but I’ll save that story for my next blog entry.