A most cynical friend of mine calls "Jesus Christ Superstar" the "No, No Nanette" of the counter culture.  It is certainly a long cry from "The Robe"

Even with the Son of Man as its subject it would take a miracle to make an LP record into a long-playing Broadway hit.  Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the lyrics and music for "Jesus Christ Superstar" which started as a record and wound up an institution, apparently have done it.  Pre-opening ticket sales assure this new musical at the Mark Hellenger Theater a healthy run so I can speak my little piece without worrying about putting actors out of work.

"Jesus Christ Superstar", which tells of the last seven days in the life of jesus of Nazareth in rock language, is sheer Follies Bergere with operatic overtones.  It is Radio City;  Pop Culture gone crazy;  A sincere idea and concept overblown to a theatrical distortion.  It is vulgar, slightly ridiculous and will probably run for years.

I have no doubt about the sincerity of Mr. Rice and Mr. Webber who created the original idea and music for "Jesus Christ Superstar", which sought to tell the story of the Savior through modern rock music and the young idiom. Simplicity seemed part of this to me.  There is none of this on the stage of the Mark Hellenger Theater with Jesus swathed in two miles of gold lame and sequins.

Tom O'Horgan, who directed and conceived this production, is most certainly a showman of ingenuity and imagination.  It is everywhere on the big stage of the Hellenger.  Whole platforms stand up almost at a 90 degree angle;  characters in the play seem to come out of the sky.  The Metropolitan Opera rarely has complex or stunning stage effects.  And all of this adds to the distortion of the fine music and sincere message of the original creators.

Mr. O'Horgan has literally taken a wonderful record album and animated it with gimmicks.  Perhaps this is why this musical seems so completely false, so commercially crass and so inept, even in the current pseudo Jesus Freak Syndrome as popular as it is.  His musical never quite reaches comic book proportions and perhaps things would be better if it did.

One production number, a la Follies Bergere, follows another.  The Last Supper scene particularly awful.  Mr. O'Horgan used many of his old tricks and old props we've all seen before.  The "lollipop" faces, huge moon-like visages on poles, the enveloping blanket-like veils covering the stage and its characters, the demon figures are all redundantly there.  It is an occasion for absolute overindulgence as well as vulgarity.

Jeff Fenholt makes a pale Jesus Christ (despite all his sequins) and has a thin, reedy voice to go with his caricature.  His acting ability is nil.

Ben Vereen is far more successful as Judas Iscariot.  He manages to employ much more acting ability and is very effective.  Yvonne Elliman, as Mary Magdalene, displays the best vocal abilities.  Harry (sic) Dennen turned in the best performance as Pontius Pilate.

Mr. O'Horgan manages to keep his spectacle constantly moving.  Considering a concert hoked up, this is a monumental task.  (Someday I'd really like Mr. O'Horgan to do Aida at the Met.  My, what a demented show that would be!)  The show is never dull  and occasionally can be exciting.

Robin Wagner's settings and Randy Barcolo's costumes are simply incredible.  What they couldn't do with the show called "Buck Rogers Superstar."

And so the Jesus Bandwagon moves on.  Good luck to it but I'm afraid I was hardly inspired last night.  And when the Divine Superstar started to say: "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do..." I giggled nervously.

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