Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Good morning crew,
Last Saturday my brother Nino and his wife Marianne took me and my wife downtown to see a live production of Jesus Christ Superstar. It was quite a show.
In case you've never heard of it, which would be surprising, Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. That's the guy who wrote; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, Cats, and Phantom of the Opera, just to name a few of his more popular efforts.
J.C. Superstar debuted in 1971 and has been in production on and off, in one form or another, ever since. This includes an album, a ton of musical theater including several runs on Broadway, radio and television specials, and a couple film adaptations.
People have heard of this show.
While I have heard much of the music I have never seen the whole thing. So I was looking forward to quite a spectacle, and I wasn't disappointed.
The Lyric Opera is an impressive venue and the production boasts 48 performers and 37 musicians. I don't have to describe the music for you because you've probably already heard a lot of it, like I had, and if you haven't you can find most of it online. But seeing those exuberant dancers and singers bringing all of that moving music to life was captivating to say the least.
I particularly liked the 'Everything's Alright' scene and the 'Simon and the Zealotes' scene.
And who doesn't know the story?
If fact, that was really the only thing that made me a bit uncomfortable about the whole production.
After the show, as 3,500 patrons were jamming themselves bodily into the exits, my sister-in-law asked me how I liked the performance.
"Stunning," I told her, "Really impressive. a little blasphemous, but the music was very moving all the same."
"Blasphemous?" she retorted, "What was blasphemous about it?"
"Well, be honest," I said, "didn't you think it was a tad irreverent to see Jesus crucified and then have everybody sing and dance?
"It was even more uncomfortable when the entire audience got up and applauded afterward."
Laugh it up,
Joe
joe@gophercentral.com
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"At this weekend's London marathon, a man proposed to his girlfriend while dressed as a T. rex, which backfired when his arms were too short to open the ring box." -Jimmy Fallon
***
"A new exhibit shows eight of the alternate endings Ernest Hemingway considered using for his classic novel 'A Farewell to Arms.' In my opinion the worst is the one that ends with 'see ya later, arms!'" -Conan O'Brien
***
"Apparently, the library at the University of Utah has installed what they're calling a 'Cry Closet.' This is exactly what it sounds like. It's a closet where stressed-out students can go to cry. Because there's nothing more comforting than being trapped in a tiny dark box." -James Corden
***
A supposedly true story out of San Francisco (but who knows):
A man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the branch & wrote "this iz a stikkup. Put all your muny in this bag." While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller's window. So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to Wells Fargo.
After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and surmising from his spelling errors that he wasn't the brightest light in the harbor, told him that she could not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America.
Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, "OK" and left. He was arrested a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at Bank of America.
*-------------- Guaranteed to Roll Your Eyes --------------*
A young man applied for a job at a new factory being built in a nearby town. He entered the main office, where the receptionist directed him down the hall to an office where he was to be interviewed by the Personnel Officer.
After several minutes of describing and explaining all about the new factory, the Personnel Officer told the young man, "We need individuals who are totally responsible."
The young man grinned and responded: "Well, I sure qualify. Everywhere I've worked, when something went wrong, I was always responsible!"