Past the crumbling walls and pillars of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, clouds of dust are seen in the distance, forging through the vast backdrop of desert. A colorful bus appears and from it a large group of shaggy haired and bell-bottom wearing hippies leap with enthusiasm and hurriedly begin preparing props and costumes.
This is the opening scene of the powerful 1973 film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved and controversial rock opera, depicting Jesus’ last week on earth. The show has been performed in high schools and theater companies ever since and now it has come to Columbia. Columbia Entertainment Company is now showing its production of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” directed by Chris Bowling.
“The music is amazing and the story is incredible on many different levels,” Bowling said. “It is one of the most central stories to our culture.”
Drawing heavily from the Gospels, “Superstar” tells the story of Jesus’ final days through the eyes of Judas, shedding a sympathetic and understanding light on him, and a humanist light on Jesus himself.
This intriguingly unconventional interpretation was received by religious groups with much criticism and charges of blasphemy. But Bowling believes it is one of the strengths of the show.
“Jesus and Judas are both running up against the inevitable and striving against it and are carried away by events that neither have control over,” he said. “(Jesus’ doubts and fears about meeting his death) give the story more power because if he went to his death with no doubts and no fears, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice at all.”
Adam McCall, the actor who plays Jesus in the CEC production, feels similarly.
“(‘Superstar’) takes a little bit of liberty in conveying a less than godly perception of Jesus, without being irreverent,” he said.
Bowling was influenced by the eccentric, hippie-clad aesthetic of the 1973 film.
“I look at it as both a historical piece, and a product of the time that it was created in,” he said. “My guiding vision was combining those two times.”
Bowling described the set as based on artists’ renderings of what the Second Temple Of Jerusalem probably looked like, while the characters are drawn from archetypes that would have been active in the early ‘70s counter-culture, such as hippies, beatniks, militants, members of the black panther movement, proto punk rockers and glam kids.
“I was very excited to be able to delve into the dances and movement and music of that time,” said choreographer Dee Dee Folkerts, who worked with Bowling on the concept since last summer. “The music is very late ‘60s and early ‘70s but is also timeless.”
Influenced by the 1973 film, Folkerts said she used original choreography for the CEC production, except for one verse from “Simon Zealotes,” a song she describes as “the emotional highlight of the entire show.”
“(‘Superstar’) is socially pervasive in a very intense way,” McCall said. “We are trying to help people relate to what (Jesus) and Judas were going through.”
CEC’s “Superstar” is performed by 28 volunteer actors and has been in the works since December. The show opened last weekend and will run Thursday through Sunday until Feb. 20.
