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Tag Archives: NBC

JC Superstar or: Dixon Does It

05 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by TGBII in Life as We Know It, Music Review

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Tags

Alice Cooper, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Barry Dennen, Ben Daniels, Bob Bingham, Brandon Victor Dixon, Brian Keith, Carl Anderson, Erik Grönwall, Ian Gillan, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jin Ha, John Gustafson, John Legend, Josh Mostel, Kurt Yaghjian, Larry Marshall, Mike d'Abo, Murray Head, NBC, Norm Lewis, Sara Bareilles, Ted Neeley, Tim Rice, UNCSA, Victor Brox, Wicked, Yvonne Elliman

Salutations™!!

This past Sunday was Easter and NBC presented a live version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice masterpiece, Jesus Christ Superstar. And, I must say that I thought it was brilliant. In many ways, at least to me, it was superior to other versions. Not in all but there were several ways.

norm-lewis-jesus-christ-superstar

Norm Lewis as Caiaphas (©NBC)

 

John Legend has a great voice and I think he did a fine job singing. His acting was suspect, but he’s never been known as an actor. Some questioned casting him. Not me, I think it was an admirable job. Now, it is totally my belief that this story, despite its name, isn’t about Jesus. I think it’s about Judas. In all the versions I have heard and/or seen, Judas always outdoes Jesus. But, back to Jesus, John Legend did great but he comes in third in my rating behind Ted Neeley and Ian Gillan in that order, although Ted and Ian can alternate depending on my mood.

Like I said, the true star of this show was Judas and in such, Brandon Victor Dixon played a fantastic Judas. His voice was powerful and his range wide. There was a time toward the end that he was seemingly struggling to hit some notes but he still hit them. I’ve only seen the film and heard the Original UK Recording so those folk had time between performances. This was all in one. Dixon killed. He had emotion, passion (pun!), discourse, regret and power in the part. I’m rating him tied for first with both Carl Anderson and Murray Head. Judas is my favorite character and I have really loved each performance, each for different reasons.

Another of my favorite characters in the story is Caiaphas, played by Norm Lewis in this production. I think Lewis had the best voice of the three (Victor Brox in the UK and Bob Bingham in the film). He kept the low growly parts rough and the higher baritone parts smooth. And, dang! I want those cloaks the Pharisees/Sanhedrin wore. Those looked cool as heck. Lewis’ hairstyle was soooo the part, too. He made the part cool, for sure. Again, he wins as best.

Another star of this show that didn’t get enough respect in the reviews that I read was Jin Ha who played Annas another of the Sanhedrin. His register was spot on and he really captured the spirit of the part. I think his voice is better than both Brian Keith (UK) and Kurt Yaghjian (film). He, too, looked cool in the Sanhedrin cloak.

I don’t think the performances of John Gustafson (UK) and Larry Marshall (film) were all in your face, but the portrayal of Simon Zealotes by Erik Grönwall is quite memorable. It could be the half-shaved head with the geometric tattoos or the over-the-top performance or that strong high-pitched voice. Who knows, but Grönwall knocks it out of the park. Grönwall won the 2009 Swedish Idol contest. He’s also in a hard rock band over in Sweden. Interesting dude and a great high voice.

Ben Daniels’ Pontius Pilate was a cool character. His costume was top-notch and his performance went along with that. I don’t know if it was just out of his range or he was just playing the part but at the end of his trial (and the 39 lashes) his voice gets disheveled, shaky and “weak.” I would like to think that the character’s urgent circumstance led to the frazzled sounds coming from his mouth. Both the UK and film versions were played by Barry Dennen. I think Daniels was the best of the two, although I do dig his version of “Pilate and Christ.”

King Herod and “King Herod’s Song” are one of my favorite character/song combos in this story. The incomparable Alice Cooper played Herod in this production. Former lead singer of Manfred Mann, Mike d’Abo played the part in the UK version and Josh Mostel (son of famous Broadway/film actor, Zero Mostel) is in the film. I loved Alice’s performance, but he takes the passenger seat compared to Mostel’s. His floaty/flighty performance in the film was so much fun.

I’ve saved Mary Magdalene for last. As much as I loved what Yvonne Elliman did in both the UK and film versions, Sara Bareilles tore them up. I think she looked the part, played the part and sounded the part, each by 1000. Mary isn’t one of my favorite characters in the story but she plays the “innocent resignation” quite well. “Everything’s Alright” has been stuck in my head since Sunday. Bareilles’s version in particular. It was great.

The chorus and extras were all where they needed to be and the story was updated for 2018 as opposed to 33 CE/AD/etc. It was more street and less ancient. The orchestra was great. The young guitarist that started the show was quite awesome. The costumes and some of the set design/work was done in part by UNCSA alumni. It was visually stunning.

Now, not everything was great. I loved that they had the audience but the audience was a bit overly enthusiastic. Every time someone would sing, they’d go crazy. It was great but every breath didn’t need to be applauded. The sound mixing was a bit off, at least in the beginning. You could hear a lot of the music but not so much of the singing; it was spotty and patchy. Later in the show that straightened itself out.

I did like the “during the commercial” spycam of backstage and even front of the house while the commercial breaks happened. That was good.

All in all, I loved this version. I have watched it twice. I have recently watched the film again and I’ve listened to the film soundtrack no less than four times since Sunday (including once today). I think this set the standard for the live musicals if NBC is going to continue to do it. They teased Wicked which is my favorite Musical Theatre show during this, I wonder if that’s next? We’ll see. I think most of the reviews were positive and I definitely give this a 4.5 out of 5 on it. I hope they do more of it. I miss going to Charlotte for the Broadway Lights series. Great stuff. Now, where’s the remote? I have another watch in me.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“So, you are the Christ, you’re the great Jesus Christ? Prove to me that you’re divine; change my water into wine. That’s all you need do, then I’ll know it’s all true. Come on, King of the Jews.” – “King Herod’s Song (Try It and See)” (Webber/Rice)

Bleak Forecast or: Rain, Rain Go Away

15 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by TGBII in Life as We Know It, Video

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Tags

CBS, Fox, Full Moon Festival, GoPro, NBC, Omega Sports, Rain, RayLen Vineyards, The Man Who Walked the Town, Vagabond Saints Society

Salutations™!!

I’m looking at the weather forecast, or should I say forecasts, and notice that they’re not all on the same page. Because I’m looking forward to what the weather is for tomorrow, I looked to see what the local NBC, CBS and Fox stations said the weather was predicted to be. I’m not liking it. Even if they’re not on the same page, none of it looks good. It looks like there will be scattered thunderstorms all over the place tomorrow from about 9pm tonight on through. In fact, the whole week has some sort of chance of rain. But, why am I annoyed by this?

Well, it’s two things. I’ve gotten used to doing my Saturday walks and I was thinking that I may attempt some filming to get the web series going on The Man Who Walked the Town. We

7DAY

©WFMY2

haven’t chosen the neighborhood yet, but I’m sure it’s someplace that I’ve already been so we can use it as practice. I hate being wet, so, if it’s raining, I’m probably not going to go out in it, willingly. The GoPro (thank you Omega Sports) is in a waterproof case, so I’m not worried about that, but I don’t like being wet; I worry about that!

The other thing that I hope it doesn’t rain for is the second of the Vagabond Saints Society’s Best of Talking Heads summer tour. It will be at RayLen Vineyards in Mocksville/Advance/Bermuda Run (it sits right on a bit of the Bermuda Run Triangle) and it’s outside. There’s a shed but, really, if it’s raining who’s going to go to that? I don’t know that anyone will. I don’t know that I want to if it’s raining. Especially with thunderstorms. If it were just rain, maybe. I don’t know. So, if it’s not raining, come on out to RayLen, it’s their “Full Moon Festival” that day. You can find directions by visiting their website HERE.

So, again, here’s hoping that the weather goes along with my plans. If not, then we’ll find something else to do, but I hope it doesn’t come to that. I was looking forward to the second accomplishing of my “10k by 10a” and starting the filming process. So, rain, rain go away! Far away!

Until tomorrow (and hoping for a dry-ish one), same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Why don’t we pretend? There you go, Little Man. Cute, cute, why not? Late at night, wake him up?” – “Stay Up Late” (Byrne)

After These Messages or: What We Did for a Scooby Snack

06 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by TGBII in Life as We Know It, Rant

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

ABC, American Bandstand, Batman, Cartoons, CBS, CW, DC, Dungeons and Dragons, Filmation, Hanna-Barbera, He-Man, Herculoids, Hong Kong Phooey, Kenner, Life as It is, Marvel, Mr. T, NBC, Pac-Man, Plastic Man, Rant, Saturday morning, Schoolhouse Rock, Shazam, She-Ra, Shirt Tales, Smurfs, Snorks, Soul Train, Space Ghost, Spider-Man, Super Friends, Tarzan, television, Thundarr the Barbarian, Thundercats, Time for Timer, WCHS, WOAY, WOWK, WSAZ, WVVA

Salutations™!!

So, CW, the last bastion of Saturday morning cartoons, has ceased its showings of anything that resembles animated entertainment.  It wasn’t even that long ago (ok 30+ years) that almost every American kid, aged 4-13 or even older, was getting up at some ridiculous hour on a Saturday to watch our favorite superheroes, mystery machine, little blue people, animals, underwater world or outer space adventure.  This, after complaining that we had to get up early to go to school 5 days a week; we had no problem getting up for these hand drawn nuggets. I’m sure there will be animated commercials but not actual cartoons.  So sad.

Super Friends

Super Friends Over the Years

I remember back to when I was only about 4 or 5, my dad would get up to go to work in the coal mines, but before he did, he’d place a blanket over the seat and back of the couch.  He’d then come get me out of bed, even carrying me, usually, lay me across the blanket and then wrap me like a caterpillar in a cocoon.  He’d then turn the TV on to channel 4, WOAY, for those in WV, because that’s where the Super Friends could be seen.  But before that, on the same channel Bugs Bunny and Yogi Bear would come on.  Afterwards, I would work my way out of the very tight wound pocket I was resting in, have some cereal, I was (and if so inclined am still) a Fruity Pebbles kind of guy.  Then maybe I’d work my way to channel 3 (WSAZ) or 6 (WVVA), both were NBC stations to see Sigmund and the Sea Monsters or, my grandfather’s fave, The Pink Panther.  Maybe, I’d switch to Channel 8, WCHS (Now ABC, Channel 13, WOWK, eventually took over) for what CBS had: some Josie and the Pussycats or Speed Buggy or whatever.  It started with ABC.

ShazamIsis1

Shazam!/Isis Power Hour

As I got older, my watching habits didn’t change, just what I watched, or at what time.  I wasn’t wrapped like a birthday present anymore, but Dad still made sure I was up, or my mom may have been at that time.  Super Friends moved to later time slots, but I still watched Bugs, Buggy, and Hong Kong Phooey.  Even though it wasn’t animated, Land of the Lost was big at the time. Oh! and Shazam! I LOVED Shazam! and when Isis was addded, it was extra cool.  Things like The Ghost Busters (with Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker, not the ’80s movie) and Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle and The New Adventures of Batman really turned my key. The latter was part of either Tarzan… or Batman and the Super 7.  Even Plastic Man was so popular at this time, he had a 90 minute show! Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!? was brought back from the ’60s, as well. I’m longing for all that now, the more I write this.

Space Ghost

Space Ghost

When 1977 came along and Star Wars happened, every other commercial was about the action figures, play sets, breakfast cereals, clothing lines or anything else related to the brand.  And that was OK.  I never minded commercials during Saturday morning cartoons because it was stuff that always interested me.  Speaking of space, NBC brought back the 60s hits Space Ghost and Herculoids to capitalize on the outer space phenomenon that was happening.

There was an educational element while Saturday morning cartoons were happening.  ABC played the now-famous Schoolhouse Rock which I was barely old enough to use them for what they were meant for.  The idea was to help students remember multiplication tables, and moved into American history, science and grammar.  I was just going on 3 when they started and didn’t need all that education, but the other thing SR was supposed to do was entertain because that’s how many of us learned, heck, most of us, even.  But, later, when reruns started back, I got through my 9th grade American Studies project of reciting the Preamble of the Constitution by singing it in my head.  But, that wasn’t all.  CBS had 30 Minutes and The CBS Saturday Film Festival.  And Time for Timer!? Who didn’t love Time for Timer?  And Chopper?  I didn’t even know what Peoria was, but I knew I should do pushups if I did know.  Hmmm… We learned and we didn’t mind it.

Thundarr

Thundarr the Barbarian

Even later in my cartoon watching career there was Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Thundarr the Barbarian, The Smurfs, Shirt Tales, Mr. T (he even had a cereal), Pac-Man (also a cereal), Snorks, and Laff-a-Lympics.  I had plenty of Saturdays that my friends had spent the night before and we watched cartoons together, or when we went out to play, we’d talk about how Samurai saved Superman and Apache Chief by shouting the famous “Kaze no Yō ni Hayaku” a time or two and how Darkseid was thwarted because of it.

shirt tales

Shirt Tales

But, with all this, there was one thing for sure: American Bandstand meant it was time to go outside and play.  We still did that.  We went out and played.  Not that I didn’t like American Bandstand.  The first time I heard “Turn Me Loose” from Loverboy was on American Bandstand.  I always thought it was weird that I had never heard any of the songs that Dick was polling the crowd about.  And Soul Train, I liked watching the dancing.  Still, usually, American Bandstand meant, OK! Saturday morning is over; let’s move on.  And we did.

he man

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

I can remember when things started to fall apart.  It was still mid-’80s.  When He-Man, She-Ra and their respective “universes”, or Dungeons and Dragons, Thundercats and, basically, all those first-run syndication cartoons started playing during weekday afternoons and they brought back the Saturday morning toons for syndication all during the week, many parents stopped letting the kids sit in the house and watch cartoons on Saturdays.  They could watch cartoons all the time at this point.  I loved and hated that.  I loved that I could watch cartoons all the time (and I still watch the old ones when I get the chance) and hated that I could see it was the end of Saturday morning fun.

So back to the original thought here.  Those were the “good ol’ days.”  My son will never know the joys of WANTING to get up on a Saturday to watch cartoons.  He’ll never know the elation of talking about those cartoons with his friends.  Sitting under a blanket, in his Underoos or Superhero pajamas, eating cereal with feelings of suspense to see if Batman is going to escape the Riddler this time… won’t ever happen.  I’m so thankful to my dad, mom, friends, Filmation, Hanna-Barbera, Kenner, Post, Kelloggs, DC, Marvel, ABC, CBS, NBC and many more for making my childhood the fantastic time that it was.  I’m sad that time has passed, but like everything, all good things must come to an end.  There’s still cartoons, yes, and some of them are really good, but NONE can compare with what we had on Saturday mornings.

What are your thoughts/memories of Saturday mornings, dear reader? I’d love to hear your stories.  Comment, if you will.

Until next time, same blog channel at SOME blog time…
Scorp out!!

“Gathered together from the cosmic reaches of the universe – here in this great hall of justice – are the most powerful forces of good ever assembled.”  – Ted Knight, Narrator, Super Friends

timefortimer

Time for Timer

“When my ten gallon hat is feeling five gallons flat, I hanker for a hunk of cheese!” – Time for Timer

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