We went to see Jesus Christ Superstar today.  I have loved the soundtrack for decades but never have seen it.  I have always wanted to.  I have a personal tradition of blaring the song “Hosanna” every Palm Sunday.  So when I saw that we could see the actual musical, on Palm Sunday of all things, we made the exceptional financial stretch to go. 

Frankly, it was disappointing.  The lead was the same as in the movie, which some might think is cool, but he was simply too old to made it convincing. He’s 65 playing a vigorous character in his early 30’s. It just didn’t work. The whole thing relied on a Jesus you could care about and all you could see was a guy who should have had the grace to pass on the torch long ago.  It seemed like he was just going through the motions for the millionth time.  With it not there, it made one realize all the qualities one expects to see in a Jesus character — holistic sincerity, genuine reverence, deep spirituality, sensitive empathy, stable strength, confident courage, a trustful intensity, a passionate commitment, a healing presence.  What a lot to portray; it should at least be attempted with inspiration.