Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by 1970 , it highlights the political and interpersonal struggles of Judas Iscariot and Jesus . The action largely follows the canonical gospels’ accounts of the last weeks of Jesus’ life, beginning with Jesus and his followers arriving in Jerusalem and ending with the Crucifixion. attitude and sensibilities as well as contemporary slang pervade the lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the political depiction of the events. Stage and film productions accordingly feature many intentional anachronisms.
A large part of the plot focuses on the character of Judas who is depicted as a conflicted, tragic figure who is not satisfied with what he views as Jesus’s lack of planning, and alarmed by his relatively recent claims of his divinity.
Plot and songs Act I
After a short overture the play ! begins with a musical monologue from apostle Judas Iscariot, who expresses concern over Jesus’ ever rising popularity as a “king” and the negative repercussions that it will have (“Heaven on Their Minds”). While Judas still loves Jesus, he believes that Jesus is just a man and that the movement is getting too large and will eventually be seen as a threat to the higher order. And, so Judas believes, once this comes to pass, not only will Jesus receive the consequences, but so will all of his followers. Unlike Jesus, Judas views the movement as a secular quest to end poverty and aid the poor.
However, Judas’ warning falls on deaf ears, as Jesus’ followers have their minds set on going to Jerusalem with Jesus. As they question Jesus as to when they will be arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus tells them to stop worrying about the future since whatever will happen is already predetermined by fate (“What’s the Buzz?”).
Recognizing that Jesus is irritated by the badgering from ! his followers, Mary Magdalene helps Jesus relax by massaging him with ointment. However, Judas expresses concern over the fact that Jesus is associating himself with Mary. Judas says that by associating with her, he (Jesus) is contradicting everything that he says and this, in turn, will be used against him and his followers (“Strange Thing Mystifying”). Jesus gets angry and tells Judas that unless he is without sin himself, he should not be judging the character of others. Jesus then reproaches his apostles of being “shallow, thick and slow,” and exclaims that not a single man among them cares about him.
Mary Magdalene tries to assure Jesus that everything will be all right and attempts to relax him with more ointment (“Everything’s All Right”). In response, Judas angrily insists that the money used to obtain the ointment should have been used for more to help the poor. Jesus sadly explains that he and his followers do not ha! ve the resources to help every poor person.
Act II Music Instrumentation From album to Broadway Early community productions On Broadway Controversy Other 1970s productions 2000s Other international productions Other recordings and broadcasts Films Awards 1972 Tony Award nominations 1972 Theatre World Award 1972 Drama Desk Awards 2000 Tony Award nomination
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