I was a freshman in college in the fall of 1971 when Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice released their first masterpiece - a rock opera entitled "Jesus Christ Superstar". There was a lot of controversy surrounding it in the early 70's - the story of the last week of Jesus' life set to rock music. Within a year, it had been released as a movie with a young "rock star" Jesus performed by Ted Neely. I owned the soundtrack on vinyl (of course) and knew every word of every song.
Today, Ted Neely is 63 years old and on his farewell tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. I've been lucky enough to see him on stage three times through the 1990's and each time leaves me in tears. He carries with him such a state of reverence and peace, despite the turmoil surrounding him on the stage. He has been portraying Jesus on film and stage for 34 years. Bob and I saw him in Chicago in 1992 and I remember us waiting outside the stage door that afternoon - not so much to get an autograph but just to see the actors as they left the theater. He was one of the last to come out and he immediately approached a family with a child in a wheel chair. He knelt and talked to the child in that soft spoken voice. He visited with people, shook hands and a general state of peace seemed to surround him. I can't really explain it, but it was something special.
Recently Ted appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and performed "Gethsemane". The years are showing, but his voice is still powerful and he can still hit those notes!
I haven't given up hope that I'll get the chance to see him perform just one more time in the next year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nPfPUv72Uc
No comments:
Post a Comment