"Jesus Christ Superstar," Now Playing at the Attic Theatre & Film Center in Los Angeles, CA

Last weekend I caught the Attic Theatre Ensemble's production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" as directed by Derek Charles Livingston. While there were enjoyable parts of the production, overall I was left unsatisfied. As a fan of the musical, I expected to see a rock opera, not an opera opera.

First off, the theatre is tiny. When musicals are staged in small theaters, the show inevitably gets scaled down. Dancing, singing, and live music need room. Without this, the performance can only go so far. And no, this is not the fault of the company but it doesn't exactly help their cause. Having said that however, I still enjoyed the music. The accompaniment of a violin and guitar during the show's intro was a highlight.

The staging of this production was a modern day take on Jerusalem and the story of Jesus. Livingston's version of the 1971 Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical is made relevant to our current state of political affairs through various elements: news headlines are reported through the JNN network via television, money is exchanged through briefcases, and Judas' s cell phone is never far from her ear. Oh yes, this Judas is female but I will get back to that later. I thought the modern setting was an innovative and interesting take on "Jesus Christ Superstar." So they definitely get a B+ for effort there.

I found the performances on the whole to be adequate with the actors playing Pilate and Mary Magdelene being the stand outs. Having said that, my biggest issue with this production was that I could not get past the experimental casting of Judas. This greatly affected my entire experience in the theatre. Blanche Ramirez (Judas) is in fact a "classically trained soprano" as her bio so notes but I found this to be detrimental to her portrayal as well as to the entire production. In my opinion "Jesus Christ Superstar" is a showcase for the character of Judas even more so than Jesus. Casting a soprano in the role of Judas just doesn't work; her voice only depletes the energy and strength of the character so vital to the story's action.

If you are a fan of "Jesus Christ Superstar," you might be interested in checking out a performance at the Attic Theatre & Film Center, now playing through April 27th.