Instead of jingle bells, Santa Claus and angelic choruses, WaterTower Theatre is giving North Texas a superstar for Christmas. Jesus Christ Superstar, the rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, is running at the Addison theater company through December 11.
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice released Jesus Christ Superstar as a concept double album in 1970. Its popularity led to the Broadway premiere of the stage musical in 1971, a film in 1973 and many iterations of the famous story, including NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert starring John Legend as Jesus Christ in 2018. WaterTower Theatre is one of the first theatres in the nation to obtain the rights to the rock opera following the 50th Anniversary Tour production.
The rock opera is loosely based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and shows the last week of Jesus Christ’s life from the perspective of Judas. The Christmas story is a prequel to the events in this musical.
“It’s the beginning of the story,” said Natalie King, the show’s director. “It’s the reason for the season, as they say.”
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“If you are looking for something new and if you’re looking for a way to see the Christmas story or the characters of Christmas differently, then this is a really good opportunity for you,” said Feleceia Wilson, who plays Jesus.
King felt free to create a fresh concept for the show. She saw the recent national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar and a few concepts on YouTube.
“It’s always just a little bit different. The freshness comes in the fact that I see it differently than lots of the people who have done it before, just in pictures, just in the way I picture these things happening,” King said. “The script leaves open so much room for you to kind of shape it, mold it in the way you would like to, in the way it would best fit your people.”
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A theater teacher at Skyline High School in Dallas, King did not plan on casting a woman as Jesus Christ.
“I was asked to be open to all different types of ideas. As a high school teacher, I’m open to all kinds of ideas always. Whatever is going to work, whoever can do the part is who you put in the part,” King said. “It wasn’t until the audition that I went, ‘Wow, let’s check this out. This is different. This will sound different. It will be different.’ It’s the same story, but because it’s coming from a different mouth and different perspective, you get to see it anew.”
Musically, the part posed a significant task for Wilson.
“We didn’t necessarily change keys, but we’re not shying away from the way that I sound, so that is a challenge, just understanding how to position this sound that was designed for a rock singer to fit inside my voice,” Wilson said.
Playing Jesus could be intimidating for Wilson, the daughter of a pastor who has embraced her own spiritual journey. Instead, she views herself as a storyteller.
“I feel like I’m a carrier of this story, like I’m just a vessel who is telling the story,” Wilson said.
Jesus Christ Superstar focuses on the humanity and the relationships of Jesus, Judas and all the Biblical characters.
“There’s a reason why the story continues on and continues on because we can find bits and pieces of ourselves in these characters that are on the stage. We have doubts. We have faith. We have all these different things in us which make each character universal to us,” King said.
While working on the show, Wilson reconsidered what she thought she knew about Jesus and his disciples.
“Diving into the story and thinking about this relationship that Jesus had with these who people who followed him for all those years. Certainly, they were friends. At least they walked together in deep relationship for at least three years. Thinking about the characters from that perspective has been really interesting and even seeing Judas as maybe not this really evil dude, but a guy who was part of God’s plan too,” Wilson said.
Jesus Christ Superstar is not just for Christians or people familiar with the Bible.
“It’s for anyone who has a friend. It’s about a friendship, and how far a friendship can be pushed,” King said. “What does it take to betray someone you love?”
Learn more: https://www.watertowertheatre.org/
