Jesus Christ Superstar is...

I seem to recall reading an interview with Tim Rice, lyricist for the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar," in Time Magazine at about the time the original play debuted. It said (and I'm paraphrasing),"This is simply the right man in the right place at the right time." 

If "Superstar" was simply a question of being at the right place at the right time, then why is it still receiving such great interest all these decades later? Why did nearly everyone watch, and become engrossed in, the recent NBC TVLive in Concert production of "Superstar?" 

I believe there are three specific numbers in the story by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber that may help explain why this interpretation of the last days of Jesus’ life are especially relevant to every generation that hears the music and the words. 

First, there is "The Last Supper" which features the apostles lamenting the “trials and tribulations” they are enduring as followers of Jesus. We hear the weary and worried apostles' concerns that their efforts may have been in vain. Second, there is the soulful sound of Mary Magdalene who, despite her vast experience with men, admits, “I don’t know how to love him.” We meet a perplexed woman in love with an icon who needs her, and she feels unable to help him.  Finally, there is the powerful admission of fear, uncertainty, and doubt that Jesus expresses in “Gethsemane.” It is here that we truly feel his humanity. He shows us, as Mary says, that “he’s just a man.” 

We hear, in these three songs, the total humanity of these men and women. We hear their emotions expressed in a seemingly timeless art form that was created by Rice and Webber. We can identify with their stripped down feelings, their vulnerability, and their questioning what originally seemed to be a mighty God-directed cause.

How timeless is all that? The New York Times' reviewsays it best when it calls the play "an Old Story for (Yet Another) New Millennium." It's true. "Jesus Christ Superstar" is an example of masterful communication that always feels relevant. Great job, NBC!