 "Photo: Ben Shulman/The Penn")
The walls of Fisher auditorium were filled with heavenly sounds on Wednesday night, as the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar made a stop at IUP.
The show was presented by On Stage Arts and Entertainment and filled all 1,460 seats of the auditorium.
Jesus Christ Superstar takes place over the last seven days of the life of Jesus.
It begins with Jesus' entry into Jerusalem with a group of his followers and spans over his arrest, trial at the hands of Pontius Pilate, the last supper and his crucifixion.
The rock opera also shows the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, one of his followers, and the guilt with which Judas is left with after he turns Jesus in to Caiaphas and Annas, two high-ranked Jewish priests who want Jesus dead.
Ted Neeley, whose voice is an amalgam of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, and Willie Nelson, has been portraying Jesus in various versions of Jesus Christ Superstar since 1973.
The 65 year old was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1974 in the Best Motion Picture Actor in a Musical or Comedy category for his performance in the screen version of the musical.
Though Neeley has certainly had experience with his part, he was not, ironically, the superstar of the show. His calm and collected portrayal of Jesus remained even on parts of the show where Jesus was supposed to fear for his life and question God's judgment.
His voice is truly an original one, but at times his falsetto was shaky and his words slurred together. His take on the death of Jesus was a bit too dramatic and drawn out, which made the scene more irritating than memorably haunting.
The true star of the show was James Delisco, who played Judas. His voice was smooth and filled with emotion, in contrast to the constant coldness within the voice of Neeley.
He played angry, tortured and guilt-filled perfectly, while staying perfectly in key. He gave a breathtaking performance in a scene where he blamed God for his demise, before hanging himself.
The supporting cast was filled with talent, including the lovely yet attention-demanding voice of Cristina Sass (Mary Magdalene) and resounding bass sound of Darrel R. Whitney (Caiaphas.) The instrumental parts of the show sounded like something off of an ABBA's greatest hits album (with some added electric guitar,) while the mixture of the ensemble's voices created a sound worthy of a Broadway stage.
Also with memorable parts in the show were Caleb Shaw (Annas), Craig Sculli (Pontius Pilate), Mark Baratelli (King Herod), Adam Campbell (Peter) and Matthew G. Myers (Simon.)
The show was impressive, professional and amusing, evoking cheers and laughs from the sold out crowd. The musical numbers were both well choreographed and well executed, giving the audience a sow well worth their money.
Perhaps the most moving part of the musical, however, was when Jesus came out for a bow, and received a standing ovation. Amen.
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