“Somewhere on the road to Damascus, Jesus Christ Superstar met The Life of Brian and that particular one-night-stand gave birth to Christ Almighty. “
Kate Stratford
3.5 Stars
Venue: Flight Path Theatre
Marrickville, Sydney
Dates: Until 21st June
Somewhere on the road to Damascus, Jesus Christ Superstar met The Life of Brian and that particular one-night-stand gave birth to Christ Almighty: A Comedy of Biblical Proportions.
This delightful musical began life at the Sydney Fringe in 2023 where presumably, in order to comply with Festival requirements, it was a 90 minute run. Playwright and lyricist Tommy James Green has teamed up with emerging composers Gianna Cheung and Jeremy Kindl to push it out to a two-act show which meant (I am supposing) new numbers and scenes. This sort of re-shaping of a piece is always challenging for a writer as the dramatic arc has already been set in their mind and to tease it out, to find more which fits into the existing framework can be an unholy effort. But there is plenty of testimonial material to draw on here.
Assuming we all know the story, this twist has Jesus as a millennial still living at home who meets his biological, deadbeat dad for the first time. No spoilers here – the absent father is God who sets Jesus on a predestined path to bring enlightenment to the masses. God, it seems, regrets his vengeful, violent approach of the past millennia or two and wants to try a kinder, more inclusive message. Jesus, being the chill, cool dude he is, heads off to Jerusalem with his new minor superpowers to spread the good word; accruing disciples and enemies along the way. All without the benefit of social media.
At the preview, the cast joyously tackled the new version. There were some glitches with props and set, all handled with aplomb (“you always were a lousy carpenter”) but moments where forgotten lines or uncertainty impacted pace and energy could be felt. Unevenness in comic timing; entrance/exits and transitions affected the synergy and several very clever lines were lost. (Was mine the only laugh?) As the show settles in, it should tighten up the sense of holding and letting go and so recover those witticisms and better land the boom-tish moments. And tech might be a bit more in sync.
Truly an ensemble effort, Guiseppe Rotondella holds the centre as a very authentic human Jesus Christ in a troupe of dedicated multi-role actors. Particular vignettes grabbed attention – Emma Flynn‘s glistening-eyed, zealous Mary Magdalene; Babette Shaw‘s entitled Pontia Pilates; a gormless Judas (Tori Bullard) and careless God by Brenton Amies. This takes nothing from the cast of twelve (I see what you did there, there, Mr Green!), all who managed to differentiate their multiple roles so well there was a solid impression of more on the floor. The bring the house down number had to be the opening of Act 2, with three Roman soldiers giving in-the-hood vibes rap.
Some lovely moments. Who hasn’t felt annoyed when group dining the table wants to evenly split the bill but you’ve had the least and most inexpensive item on the menu? Ever taken parental disinterest to heart or conversely, been annoyed by offsprings’ lack of appreciation? It is all very PG by the way – perfectly safe.
Setting aside religion, there is much to be lauded about the messages of teachers like Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, Socrates, Sage Vyasa and the like. All of them brought messages of love and selflessness; or in the words of Doctor Who, “always try to be nice, never fail to be kind”. One cannot mock them, only the grifters who manipulate the message for their own gain and who also have a tendency to kill the messenger.
I reiterate this was a preview. It would interesting to see where the show is at in a week’s time.
Lotsa fun. Grab your wine (or water) and prepare to have your daily woes healed for a few hours.
Kate Stratford, Theatre Now
