Theatre Under The Stars 2008: Jesus Christ Superstar & Annie Get Your Gun

Musical theatre is certainly nothing new to Stanley Park. After officially opening in 1940, Theatre Under the Stars fast became a staple of the Vancouver summer. Watching Broadway adaptations in the open-air Malkin bowl is now one of our city's longest running artistic traditions and both of this year's productions, Jesus Christ Superstar and Annie Get Your Gun, have already been given the TUTS treatment before. After taking a year off in 2006, last year's season was met with glowing reviews and expectations were running high for my first outdoor theatre experience in Vancouver (yes, I must make it to Bard on the Beach eventually).

Being the resident theatre critic here at Beyond Robson, I was the natural choice to cover this year's Under the Stars offerings. But, I'll be perfectly honest: I'm not usually a huge fan of the musicals. I've reserved my musical-theatre experiences for situations that seem to demand it (i.e. seeing "Rent" in New York and "Cabaret" while visiting London with my sister, the actress -- both of which I ultimately enjoyed). Soon after donning the theatre hat for BR, I had the chance to take in the amazing Black Rider, and reviewed the Arts Club's wonderful rendition of The Producers. After seeing how well one Vancouver company managed to pull that show off, I was actually kind of excited to check out two more homegrown Broadway adaptations. Would this year's TUTS complete my conversion into a full fledged fan of the song-and-dance storytelling?

Jesus Christ Superstar
Full disclosure: before catching the opening night performance at the Malkin bowl, I hadn't even seen the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar. My experience with the jivin' 70s Jesus had been limited to Simpsons parodies and the random YouTube clip. For those equally uninitiated, the musical originated as a rock opera album by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, released in 1970 and quickly adapted for the stage. It tells the story of last days of Jesus' life, right up to the crucifixion; in that typically, over the top, rhymin' while hip-swingin' Broadway fashion.

Despite winning five Tonys, the original run was met with some harsh criticism for being an empty and overhyped cash-grab, even by Lloyd Weber himself. I figured I knew what kind of silliness I'd be getting into, but the levels of kitsch this musical is able to reach are almost profound at times; the chorus of "JC JC , you're alright by me" being only one spire on a Gaudian castle of crackpot canonical comedy. I think just about anyone has the potential to enjoy the hell out of it, when taken as an absurd cultural artifact (Rocky Horror style), and I love the fact that we still get the chance to see it performed for such large audiences... but people who genuinely love this musical as a good work of art will forever leave me aesthetically depressed.

But enough about the musical in general... how did the TUTS troupe handle the over-emotive jivin' Jesus? Unfortunately, while a nice evening was probably had by most in attendance (the clouds had been parted, the Malkin Bowl is always a beautiful place to visit, and everyone seemed well stocked with food, beverage and significant others), last Wednesday's opening night performance can only be described as mediocre at its best. From the opening number "Heaven on Their Minds," the evening's glaring problems were well on display: some major sound problems, a lack of vocal talent, and a performance that, in the end, felt all too 'amateur' for the size of our city and the solid history behind Theatre Under the Stars.

For the first several songs, the production was marred by serious sound problems (the lefthand speakers wouldn't work, for starters) that were a huge distraction during a piece of theatre that relies completely on its music. While the speakers were eventually fixed, sketchy sound levels, cracking mikes and a poor-sounding orchestra held most of the songs back from ever really wowing. That's not to mention the uneven singing abilities of a young cast, who were left a tad over their heads when trying to hit some of those improbably sharp rock opera high notes that 'Superstar' basically sets the stereotype for.

Mat Baker was consistently strong as Jesus and Tamara Vishniakoff only slightly less charming as Mary, but their characters don't quite require the emotive singing that Judas' does, and TUTS newbie Adam Charles (whose character plays a bit like an emo fan with a permanent wedgie) just couldn't vocally handle it. Most of the remaining cast is similarly young, and similarly spotty. Andrew Byerlay was a brilliant exception in his production-stealing scene as King Herod, but his sheer vocal prowess (he says he hopes to be the next Pavarotti) really only brought greater attention to what was lacking in the rest of the cast. Like I said before, the musical began as a recording-only rock opera, and most of the stupid songs require some truly amazing vocal delivery to lend them any weight. I doubt that Jesus Christ Superstar could every be truly successful without rock stars in the lead roles.

The inconsistent cast isn't really helped by some questionable choices (first and foremost being the decision not to shift the songs into something that the cast could handle...) by Gillian Barber and the rest of the crew. While decidedly bare-bones, the two-tiered set certainly worked well in keeping the action dynamic and the scene changes seamless, but the costumes and setting itself weren't quite as effective. I'm pretty sure the production has always featured a mishmash of anachronistic wardrobe to match the lyrical absurdity, but TUTS' approach just didn't work for me. Set in what I believe was the Middle East of today, the combination of Hawaiian flower-print dresses, traditional bible-style cottons, and camo-clad uzi-toting guards was all far too ill-defined and must have left a lot of the younger audience members totally confused.

Despite my criticisms, I still had a great time at the show. The laid back atmosphere inside the Malkin bowl, with the mishmash (but universally upbeat) crowd, felt like a bit of an oasis in our city's slightly stuffy theatre scene. And for anyone able to take in a large-scale production of Jesus Christ Superstar -- especially first-timers like myself -- the sheer surreality of seeing the disco dancing duo of Jesus & Judas joined in crucifixion-based showtunes is worth the moderate price of admission alone.

Annie Get Your Gun
For the sake of objectivity (as twenty-four year old indie-music addled aspiring poets probably aren't TUTS's target audience), and 'cause the majority of the BR readership probably doesn't have ultra-in-depth musical analysis on the top of their to-read list, I figured I'd send a good friend; a bona-fide musical-theatre aficionado, to get another perspective.

While she may have already been a full-on fan of Annie Get Your Gun, after seeing the often amateurish performance of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' I realized that my musical loving friend would probably prove even harder to impress because of her familiarity with the show. However, if her extremely positive post-show reaction was any indication (along with the echoes from a less theatrically-inclined date), it's pretty clear which of this season's TUTS shows is the stronger offering.

The classic Broadway musical by Irving Berlin, which debuted in 1946, follows a fictionalized version of the life of real life Wild West sharpshooter Annie Oakley and her relationship with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. It's a long show, and one high on the Broadway bells-and-whistles. 'Annie' is about as close as you can get to a prototypical American musical, and from everything I've heard (including a rave review in the Sun) the TUTS crew does a great job of preserving the extravagance, even with a pared down runtime and obviously smaller budget.

With a production featuring costumes and design that were usually a compelling re-creation of the Broadway experience, my friend's one complaint were the zig-zag-cut rag + headband + feather "Indian" get-ups. As she put it herself, it "looked like they borrowed them from my elementary school production of Pocahontas." Surprising, considering that the musical was revised back in '99 with special attention payed to cleaning up the racial stereotypes, not to mention the fact this is a BC production...

Annie is known for its huge ensemble and it would be near impossible to fashion a full cast of flawless performers, but there's not much to complain about amongst the main players, who all deliver the material with conviction. Collectively, they've got a lot more experience than their 'Jesus Christ' counterparts (TUTS and otherwise), and it really shows through. Her only reservation was the chorus, whose uneven dancing chops were a tad distracting throughout the evening. It's always a bit hard to pay attention when you're focused on the lagging legs of Indian #3...

The standout performance of the night has to go to Meghan Anderssen as Annie, who apparently has 'the makings of a major star'. She's now in her fourth season at TUTS and from what I've heard can only expect a great career to lie ahead. Lets hope she sticks around Vancity for awhile, and her performance this year for TUTS is one that most seem to agree you should check out before the summer ends.

The sound problems from the JC show were still a problem the next night, but they weren't nearly as noticeable. I imagine they'll have things ironed out pretty fast, but two nights in a row of sketchy sound is just another item to add to the 'amateur' list. For a company in its 62nd season, I was honestly expecting just a tad more professionalism all around...

So while this year's Theatre Under the Stars is far from perfect, it's still an experience I feel compelled to recommend wholeheartedly. Like I said before: it's a beautiful way to spend a night (though where were the stars at?? False advertising!), it's moderately priced, and accessible to pretty much everyone. Not to mention you've got the choice of seeing either an extra-kitschy Jesus Christ Superstar or a blissfully OTT Annie Get Your Gun. You can't really go wrong, so long as you check those pretensions at the door.

Showtimes and tickets for the two shows, which run alternating nights until August 16, are available through the Theatre Under the Stars website.

photos by Tim Matheson