First off, I should say that the filming itself of this production is well done. Good camera angles although the editing never lets them breathe enough. Still a well filmed live production I would say. I've given this a 6 largely in part due to the production value.
The production itself however is strange. They have really modernized it (nearly post-modernized it), which actually makes it feel more dated times. The dystopian hierarchy is a very cool change that I liked, but other changes like turning the temple into a night club just didn't work and ruined the integrity of the original scene.
They also auto tune a lot (if not all) of the voices, plus apply many other vocal effects, and it's really really noticeable.
Jesus also just was miscast. He can hit the high notes, but doesn't have much strength or power to them. Range isn't everything. His voice is far to smooth and soft for material that requires full voice screaming. Sounds like a Bee Gee instead of hard rock screaming. I must point out that sings the wrong vowel sounds quite regularly too, which really should have been caught by the music director.
Tim Minchin really does steal the show as he appears to be just about the only person on stage who really understands and is dedicated to the material. He gives it his all, and it's a real travesty that they auto tuned and smoothed out the grit in his voice as the role of Judas is not supposed to sound nearly as smooth at they made it.
Overall it's an interesting adaptation. If you're a fan of the musical in general, you might enjoy it just as a different take, but the vocal effects alone will ruin it for many classic theatre fans.
The production itself however is strange. They have really modernized it (nearly post-modernized it), which actually makes it feel more dated times. The dystopian hierarchy is a very cool change that I liked, but other changes like turning the temple into a night club just didn't work and ruined the integrity of the original scene.
They also auto tune a lot (if not all) of the voices, plus apply many other vocal effects, and it's really really noticeable.
Jesus also just was miscast. He can hit the high notes, but doesn't have much strength or power to them. Range isn't everything. His voice is far to smooth and soft for material that requires full voice screaming. Sounds like a Bee Gee instead of hard rock screaming. I must point out that sings the wrong vowel sounds quite regularly too, which really should have been caught by the music director.
Tim Minchin really does steal the show as he appears to be just about the only person on stage who really understands and is dedicated to the material. He gives it his all, and it's a real travesty that they auto tuned and smoothed out the grit in his voice as the role of Judas is not supposed to sound nearly as smooth at they made it.
Overall it's an interesting adaptation. If you're a fan of the musical in general, you might enjoy it just as a different take, but the vocal effects alone will ruin it for many classic theatre fans.