Jesus---The Musical!!!

I love musicals. To know me is to know that I LOVE MUSICALS. I have such an obsession with musicals that I've been known to say that I am a gay man trapped inside a woman's body. I have a nice little collection of musicals on DVD. From The Sound of Music to RENT. A whole discussion on musicals and its impact on my life will have to wait for another day. Today's post is about one musical. A musical so appropriate for this Holy Weekend. A musical that I am proud to own. Jesus Christ Superstar.

Yesterday I complained that there were no traditional Easter movies on t.v. That growing up I always watched Jesus of Nazareth during Holy Week. I searched and searched for something on t.v. to share with my children, especially my daughter. This is a big year for her, religiously. In just a few weeks she will be taking part in a very special ceremony from our religion, her First Holy Communion. Because of this, she has shown an increased interest in the origins of Holy Communion, Jesus, and the days of Holy Week.

I do own Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, but that movie is so graphic and realistic that I did not find that my daughter is ready for that. Then the gay man inside of me remembered my musicals. On my living room shelf where I keep my prized collection of musical DVD's and nestled between CATS and Moulin Rouge was Jesus Christ Superstar.

This movie goes way back for me. I remember seeing it for the first time on t.v. when my parents and I lived in our small Garden Apartment. I had to be under 5 years old. My mother was extremely devoted to her religion and she was also a big fan of movies and musicals. I remember bits and pieces of actually watching the movie, but what I remember most is my mother's passion for the movie. How much she enjoyed it.

I remember the songs the most. Especially King Herod's song. It's a fun and catchy tune, a bit out of place among the rock and roll styled opera where there is a lot of that heavy metal screaming. I think I remember it mostly because as a very little girl, I thought King Herod was my Uncle F. I'm not sure why. I think it was the hair and glasses. I look back now and King Herod looked nothing like my Uncle F. did back in the 70's, but I also swore Carol Burnett was our neighbor back then. I must have had some imagination. Or seriously needed a strong pair of glasses.

The song I Don't Know How To Love Him was a song I heard throughout my childhood. A beautiful, haunting song that Mary Magdalene sings. A song written for the original Mary Magdalene, pre-DaVinci Code controversy. A song about a woman who had been had and used by so many men, and now is forgiven and loved by Jesus. Every time we would hear this song, my mother would gush "Oh, I looooooove this song!!!!" And now, that song is on my iPod, because I, too, love that song.

Jesus Christ Superstar is a great way for children and for adults to learn the story of Holy Week. It's entertaining with its song and dance numbers and interpretations of the Bible and Jesus' final days. The kids got it. They recognized the scene where people were waving palms and singing "Hosanna" as Palm Sunday. They remembered hearing similar lines from the Last Supper at church.

When the movie first started, I had to explain that it is sort of a movie within a movie. It begins with a bunch of people driving out into the deserts of Israel on a bus, hippie style. They unload props and put on make shift costumes and then begin to put on a play about Jesus and his final days.

It is beautifully put together with very few props and no real back ground and settings for the scenes. They used modern items to get some points across. Sinners in the temple are selling postcards, machine guns, and such. Soldiers and guards carry guns. Army tanks chase Judas down as he wrestles with betraying Jesus. You have to use your imagination and interpret the movie as you will.

Judas is very much a main character in this movie. This movie dedicates so much time to his torment of being dedicated to Jesus or betraying him. It shows how he loved Jesus, but was so scared at the same time. This is very much Judas' story as it is Jesus' and it is done so well. I don't think there is any other movie that spends so much time on the psyche of Judas and his relationship with Jesus. If there is, please let me know in the comments section. I would love to see it.

My kids sat through the whole movie, completely mesmerized. I had to narrate along with some parts, explain that there were no fighter jets in the times of Jesus. But they got it. The story was told in a very different and entertaining way.

What I love about this movie is that it does not try to be controversial. Anyone can enjoy it from any religious or non-religious background. It is not challenging what the Bible says and trying to discredit Jesus and his claims. It is also not shoving Jesus and his preaching down your throat. It's a simple movie filmed in the early 70's with its Hippies and a touch of Disco in the title song. It just simply tells a story through singing. A Rock and Roll Opera at its best. I'm sure God would approve. After all...God gave Rock and Roll to us.

Happy Easter!!!