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| Ted Neeley as Jesus and Corey Glover as Judas |
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Jesus Christ Superstar, the first musical collaboration between composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice, opened on Broadway in 1971 and has had a strong following ever since. The rock opera chronicling the last seven days of the life of Jesus of Nazareth became so popular that it was made into a movie by director Norman Jewison in 1973, starring Ted Neeley as Jesus. Neeley began his role as Jesus in a 1972 tour of the production and has remained an icon of the musical.
Director Dallett Norris and choreographer Arlene Phillips revived the musical in 2006 with a national touring production starring Neeley once again as Jesus. The musical’s penultimate (or some might say ultimate) role is Jesus’s right-hand-man and eventual betrayer, Judas. For this two-year touring production, Living Colour front man Corey Glover was chosen for the role.
The music of JCSS is so complimentary to Glover’s work in Living Colour and his solo work in its mix of soul, funk, rock and roll, and social reflection that his role in the musical seems like a natural progression. How did he end up in this role?
“Really all it took was a phone call. They called me and I said yes.
This is a show I always wanted to do. Now I had a chance to do it. And I took it immediately,” Glover explained.
Glover describes his time in the production working with Ted Neeley as a learning experience. “It’s incredible. It’s an education every night,” Glover says. He adds that though Neeley has been working in this musical for 30 years that his voice is even better now.
Like most JCSS fans, Glover has been one from the very beginning. Fans are moved by different elements of the production and for Glover it is the combination of the music and the story. “I was moved incredibly by it. I felt really strong about this particular piece. When it came to doing this for a living, this is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
When I told him that playing the part of Judas is something that I, too, have always wanted to do, he chuckled. “I’ve come across a lot of women who’ve wanted to do this part. I’d love to see a woman play this part. Indigo Girls did their version of the whole record; I have that record.”
There have been several iterations of the JCSS music over time (some of which have used women in the role of Judas) from those starring well-known musicians such Jack Black as Herod and Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach as Jesus, to soloists performing the music at open mic nights. [To read about one fan’s love of the show, see What’s The Buzz? from the Music Issue]. The musical has a sort of cult following of fans that never tire of the music. Glover believes it is the story that resonates so strongly with fans still today.
“It’s not just the fact that the story is the greatest story ever told; it’s a real story that’s told over and over again. People live this story. It’s a very, very human story, a rise and fall. Everyone has dealt with a rise and fall. Everyone’s going to have their high highs and low lows and that’s what the story is and everyone can relate to that story. And there’s triumph in it all,” Glover explains.
Despite the fact Glover gets to do something he’s always wanted to do and work in a musical telling the “greatest story ever told,” it must be damn hard to tour and perform for two years. “It’s definitely work,” Glover says. “There’s a lot of traveling. When you’re a musician you work 4-5 days a week, maybe. Whereas we do eight shows a week, two on Saturday and Sunday. You’re not sitting on your ass all day.”
With this much work involved, can each performance really be as powerful as the one that came before?
“Absolutely,” Glover says. “The music is so incredible you get up for it every night.”
Though he’s been working on this production since the fall of 2006, Glover is still active with his own music. Living Colour fans will be happy to hear that they are currently recording a new album. When asked how he can keep up and make time for all of this, he is pragmatic. “That’s exactly it. You make time.”
While talking with Glover, it became apparent that his long musical career is one he’s definitely earned through hard work. He may be a natural talent, but he clearly has a level of dedication and commitment that plays a big part in his success. And yet this man who can sing with a fury and work with a diligence was extremely soft-spoken and polite during our conversation, a gentleman who calmed my nerves as we talked. But the man is not a pushover. He has many large shoes to fill in his role as Judas and he is not afraid to fill them.
“I’m trying to be me in this,” Glover explains. “I got Murray Head, I got Carl Anderson, I got Ben Vereen [all three are former actors in the role of Judas in various JCSS productions], I got so many people that I’m dealing with. At the end of the day I just have to say, ‘Look, I’m me, I’m Corey. Corey is doing what Corey does.”
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