ONU Student Production of Jesus Christ Superstar

Over the Easter weekend you might have heard about NBC’s latest live TV version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. Fitting, as it musically portrays the last days of Jesus’s life, it aired on Easter evening and starred Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene, Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas, Alice Cooper as King Herod and John Legend as Jesus. I watched it and I was honestly blown away by the production. The vocals, orchestra, set, and lights were all incredible and there were definitely moments of me exclaiming, “I love musical theatre!” Most importantly, watching this production got me even more excited to see our very own ONU student production of Jesus Christ Superstar this coming weekend!
If you didn’t already know, there will be performances of Jesus Christ Superstar in the ONU Chapel this Saturday, April 7 at 7:00pm and Sunday, April 8 at 1:00pm. This production is a little different for many reasons, with the biggest difference being that it’s completely student directed. At the end of last semester Bryanah Austin, a sophomore International Theatre Production major, brought the idea up to theatre faculty and Theta Alpha Phi, explaining she was passionate about directing a production of Jesus Christ Superstar and wanting to start a trend of producing more student-run works. She officially proposed the plan and was given the space and support she needed to build a team and get started. After running auditions, casting, designing, and rehearsing, they are now in their final week of rehearsal. From working in the costume shop and getting a sneak peak of their creative costumes, watching the NBC version and being reminded how awesome the music is, and rooting for a student production like this to succeed, I am so excited to see it! They’ve all worked so hard, scheduled their rehearsals in between other rehearsals and class and have done so well with the limited resources they have. I’m also ecstatic because of the non-traditional female casting of this normally male-dominated show. Four of the women of my musical theatre class (MT19) are playing some of the leads with Darby Beckwith as Mary Magdalene, Haley Ward as Judas, Logan Hill as King Herod, and Jaymi Horn as Jesus. I think this will be such an interesting version of the show because of the casting, and I can’t wait to see my friends shine!     
Jesus Christ Superstar is quite literally a rockin’ musical; the music is crazy, beautiful and it is a show for everyone! If you are religious, it’s an amazing new perspective on a story you know well, and if you’re not it’s like a rock concert with some awesome dramatics. So if you saw the NBC version, come experience the musical spectacular again in a new way, and if you missed out here’s your chance to see it, this Saturday at 7:00pm and Sunday at 1:00pm in the ONU Chapel! Admission is free, but donations are welcomed and will go back to the ONU student organizations who helped put this production on its feet, like Theta Alpha Phi. Please come support these talented students who had both the passion and work ethic to put together an amazing production!

Comments

  1. Adelyn HelmsApril 16, 2018 at 12:25 PM

    This was posted late due to technical difficulties with Blogger, I apologize. The show was even more magnificent than I could have imagined!

    ReplyDelete

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