{"id":235780,"date":"2026-03-25T12:44:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/235780\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T12:44:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:44:16","slug":"jesus-christ-superstar-at-nocturne-theatre-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/235780\/","title":{"rendered":"JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Nocturne Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ud83c\udfad NEW! Los Angeles Theatre Newsletter<\/p>\n

\n Get all the top news & discounts for Los Angeles & beyond.\n <\/p>\n

While JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is now a classic musical, its beginnings offered no guarantee of success. Andrew Lloyd Webber<\/a> who produced the music and Tim Rice<\/a> who crafted the lyrics couldn\u2019t get financing for the show, so they released it as a concept album. Once that proved a success (hitting #1 on Billboard\u2019s Pop Albums chart with the singles \u201cSuperstar\u201d and \u201cI Don\u2019t Know How to Love Him\u201d eventually becoming Hot 100 hits), it led to a Broadway debut, and the show was on its way to icon status, earning five Tony nods, radio broadcasts, film adaptations, and revivals, and wearing the crown of the longest running West End musical, until it passed the adornment to \u201cCats\u201d in 1989.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfad NEW! Los Angeles Theatre Newsletter<\/p>\n

\n Get all the top news & discounts for Los Angeles & beyond.\n <\/p>\n

\"Review:
\nDiego Huerta-Gutierrez <\/p>\n

Now, the Nocturne Theatre (formerly the Glendale Center Theatre) has given the rock opera an immersive, in-the-round treatment and the results are electrifying. Director Justin Meyer (who plays double duty as a compelling lighting designer) gets incredible performances from his actors. His direction is precise, coordinating a fairly large cast in the space without ever making it feel crowded. He, along with wife, Nocturne co-owner, and choreographer Melissa Meyer, has created a compelling production, a \u201cpsychedelic dystopia that feels both ancient and urgently contemporary,\u201d in his own words.\u00a0The creative choreography \u2014 with touches of Fosse \u2014 is a critical component of that psychedelic dystopia, with the costumes by Tanya Cyr adding immensely. Cyr\u2019s wardrobe is both classic and futuristic, \u201cTron\u201d meets \u201cMad Max\u201d interbred with a ren faire cosplayer via steampunk.<\/p>\n

With the performers both in the round and in the stairs that cut through the audience, the show is both immediate and timeless. It could be the past, the present, or \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale.\u201d With modern flourishes, like crosses set with ring lights, so the characters can take selfies (who doesn\u2019t want a selfie at a crucifixion?), there are also nods to what\u2019s going on in the world now and, possibly, our complicity in it.<\/p>\n

\"Review:
\nThe JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

\nensemble <\/p>\n

With an excellent live band in an elevated alcove led by music director Chris Wade<\/a>, there is electricity in the air throughout, even in the quieter moments. Diego Huerta-Gutierrez\u00a0as Jesus is incandescent \u2014 you believe he would inspire a following \u2014 and his voice is simply elastic. Chess MacElvaine\u00a0as Mary Magdalene delivers a rousing version of \u201cI Don\u2019t Know How to Love Him\u201d and Andrew Diego<\/a>\u00a0as Caiaphas is magnetic. But it\u2019s Andy Meyers<\/a>\u00a0as Judas Iscariot who buoys the show (his rendition of \u201cThe Last Supper\u201d is particularly moving), and Troy Dailey as Pontius Pilate who is such a standout you can\u2019t look away from him. They\u2019re all underscored by an ace ensemble who pull a lot of weight.<\/p>\n

All these elements come together to create a rousing take on the last days of Jesus from one of the most underrated venues in Los Angeles, which is responsible for some of the most thrilling and innovative shows around.<\/p>\n

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is performed at the Nocturne Theatre,\u00a0324 North Orange Street, Glendale, through April 26.\u00a0Tickets are available at TheNocturneTheatre.com\/box-office\/.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Reader Reviews<\/p>\n

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