Who Are You, What Have You Sacrificed

It's been hard getting this text started. Sometimes you're just so overwhelmed. You know, when you look forward to something for a year, are really excited, then finally get the thing and notice that it's not only as good as you imagined, but even better?

Such is the case with, as you may have guessed based on my previous two entries, Åbo Svenska Teater's Jesus Christ Superstar.

I saw the preview showing or, technically, the last dress rehearsal – so, technically, I'm still reviewing work in progress here. But given the quality of said work... If the premiere was half as good as what I saw on Wednesday, it was still a great show, so I think I can share my two cents about this!

First things first. Out of everything impressive in this production, I personally found the orchestrations by Jussi Vahvaselkä the most exciting thing (apart from the lead actor maybe, but we'll return to him...). I've never been this pumped about orchestrations, actually! There were so many exciting details I've never heard on any cast recording before, the music sounded unique and fresh and overall just so very good. Had the show just been the band playing instrumental versions of the songs for two hours, I would still have left the theatre feeling happy... I'll be eternally bitter that there won't be a cast recording of this.

The music had a fantastic flow. And Juha Hemánus's direction flowed just as beautifully. It's one of those (at least to me, surprisingly rare) musicals where the illusion works perfectly and naturally, where you honestly forget that people don't usually express their emotions through song and dance – the feelings and actions were so real. The Overture was amazing already, how the whole situation was introduced to the audience without anyone saying a word. And from there until the very end... I hardly had time to breathe, the flow of events was so intense all the way through. In the best way.

And then to the star of the night, Alexander Lycke.

Oh man. Oh man.

In ÅST's Les Misérables, Lycke was a great Jean Valjean already. I knew to expect something good. But his Jesus... It's as if the role was made for his voice, really. I truely and honestly feel like crying when I sit here just thinking about his Gethsemane. I'm getting chills. I've been getting chills for two days every time I've really thought about the song. I'm afraid I cannot talk about Lycke's performance in further detail right now. I'm still too amazed, way too amazed to actually process and analyze it yet.

I can, however, say a couple of words about some other performances... Chris Killik as Judas was a great opposing force to Lycke's Jesus, both vocally and acting-wise. The two performances had a good balance. It really felt like Jesus is the rock star here, and Judas the voice of reason – until the song Superstar, when tables are turned, Judas gets his moment (and what a moment!) in the shining spotlights and Jesus can't but watch and brace himself for what is about to happen.

Anna-Maria Hallgarn made a lovely Mary Magdalene. I Don't Know How to Love Him still doesn't rank among my favourite songs, but all her little moments with Jesus and her passive-aggressive attitude towards Judas... In the musical, we don't really get to know how Jesus feels about Mary – but as far as I'm concerned after seeing this performance, he has every reason to fall in love with her...

Waltteri Torikka as Pilate was rather great too. His take was really arrogant, all about showing off and letting everyone know who is the boss around here, and I quite liked that. Maybe I would've wished that he'd shown just a tiny bit more compassion towards Jesus, that there had been a slightly stronger sense of inner conflict within the character... But it was a solid, enjoyable performance already. And such a voice!

Somehow – though this sounds odd to mention, the thought kept returning to me all the way through the scene, so I feel I should discuss it – I wish this production would've cast a woman as King Herod. I have listened to one cast recording with a female Herod and I've been fascinated by the idea ever since. While it sure works to have Herod surrounded by stripper girls, and Dick Holmström's performance in the role was pretty delicious, King Herod's Song was still the most tired scene of the show. I think giving it a twist, like Lady Herod surrounded by her toyboys would've been, would've improved the scene. It's not bad as it is, not at all – just a tad less fresh, in my opinion, than the rest of the production.

It surprised me how strongly the story held my attention. At times, I nearly forgot I was watching the story of Jesus. For the most part, I was watching a tale about events that get horribly out of hand, a story of people who get trapped in a scary situation. A human story about human errors, not a divine story about a religious figure. And then, by the end and with the visual of the crucifixion, I was reminded that sometimes something a lot bigger can grow from situations and stories like that.

Overall, Jesus Christ Superstar is the closest I've ever gotten to having a true theatrical catharsis experience. Both the concert I saw some years ago and this production left me shaking by the end. It's so different from my other favourites. There are many musicals where a dark ending is turned into a vaguely happy one by finishing with an uplifting song, shows like Les Mis, Next to Normal, Doctor Zhivago... It's good to have a favourite that doesn't go there, a favourite that's actually not so easy to watch. The biblical version of the story ends well, of course, but here... To me, the ending is amazingly effective. I feel even having music played during the applause is somehow distracting. The events we've just witnessed have been so horrifying and the whole experience so huge, I still need time to process it.

It's a gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous production. If you want to see one musical in Finland, make it this one.

Photos by Pette Rissanen.