The historic Goodspeed Opera House is rocking with the theater’s opening production of the 2026 season. It’s venturing into the rock opera genre with its production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice‘s Jesus Christ Superstar which runs through Sunday, June 7.
If you can’t guess from the title, it’s a retelling of the Holy Week story leading to the crucifixion of Jesus. Like Webber and Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technical Color Dreamcoat, it is an early work by the pair and features not just rock but a pastiche of song genres. The show, like Joseph began as a concept album in 1970 (Joseph was 1968). It opened on Broadway in 1971.
As expected, this is a very good production of the show; Justin Matthew Sargent, the lead, has played the role before, including as a stand-in for John Legend during rehearsals of the television live television production. His experience shows not only in the vocals, but also in the interpretation of the role. His Jesus is gentle, determined, but also scared.
One warning: if you are buying tickets for the show, avoid the first two or three rows in the orchestra. Why? The stage is covered with a fine sand – think of a Caribbean beach – in the first act. It’s several inches deep and the actors dance on it, pick it up and let it dribble from their hands. Those in the first few rows find that they too feel like they are at a beach on a windy day I’m not sure how all that sand plays in the vision of director Tatiana Pandiani though I can think of multiple interpretations. It just seems she made extra work for the stagehands who sweep it during intermission, and then obviously put it all back for the next performance.
Superstar has an enormous number of fans. That’s demonstrated by the many community theater and local theater productions, as well as multiple revivals and tours. The night I saw the show many devoted fans of the musical were in the audience, and you could see them silently clapping along or popping their heads, some even mouthed lyrics.
Sargent is backed up by strong performances, especially from Austin Lesch as Judas and Stephanie Zaharis as Mary Magdelene. Lesch conjures a true rock star voice but also imbues the character with emotional depth. He is jealous, angry, and overwhelmed with remorse and guilt.
Zaharis’ Mary is sweet; she has the best-known song from the show, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.” Some may feel that in this staging, sexual tension between her and Jesus is overdone. Another standout is Deven Kolluri as the conflicted Pontius Pilate. He delivers a strong and nuanced performance.
I’ve always felt that “King Herod’s Song” – a sort of Las Vegas number – is out of place in this show. It seems left over from Joseph. Yet Nicolette Antonia Shin delivers a strong over-the-top performance.
As usual, good Goodspeed has done an excellent job of casting and in production values. Pandiani and choreographer Amy Campbell emphasize the ‘70s roots of the show; music director Adam Souza has shaken up the orchestra, adding typical 70s instruments. For this show, and perhaps because of the sand, the band has been relocated from the pit at the front of the stage to an off-stage location. A shout out to sound designer Jay Hilton; he stays true to the show’s rock style but also keeps the sound from deafening you or obscuring the lyrics.
Elements of this production puzzled me – Campbell’ choreography seemed which draws heavily from modern dance traditions – did not seem meaningful. In this production, dance plays a larger role, but I was often unsure what way being conveyed. The costumes – which varied from period costumes to modern streetwear also seemed more confused than meaningful.
Fans of the show will definitely enjoy the production; those who simply like it will also find much to like.
Tickets are available at Goodspeed.org
This content is courtesy of Shore Publications and Zip06.com