Ted Neeley recalls pushing through picket lines to reach the theater when “Jesus Christ Superstar” by Andrew Lloyd Webber and TimRice first opened on Broadway. Three decades later, he comes to Wolf Trap in the musical so popular that the current tour is extended to 2009.
“When the show came to New York, many believed that it was blasphemous without having seen it, so I invited the protesters in as my guests, and those who accepted walked away loving it,” Neeley says.
Since receiving Golden Globe Award nominations in 1974 for Best Actor and Most Promising Newcomer in a Motion Picture, he has toured extensively in the role and attracted appreciative audiences that cut across all ages and races.
“One family I met had a grandparent aged 86 and a child of 3,” he says. “The play’s message can help everyone in the audience solidify their beliefs and bring them together with their family for a wonderful evening.
“One special moment for me is standing in the wings and hearing the overture. Another is the song ‘Gethsemane,’ which explains everything that happens to the character. He is challenged there by God and doesn’t want to go because his work on Earth isn’t done, but in the end he makes the choice to go.
” ‘The Crucifixion,’ one of Tim Rice’s most powerful pieces, comes at the end. This is a deliverance for me and is rewarding every night when I get to look into the eyes of children who understand that what they have been taught is happening onstage.”
The talented Neeley, who modestly refers to himself as “just a rock-and-roll drummer from Texas,” first performed on Broadway as Claude in “Hair.” Upon auditioning for “Superstar,” believing that his wide-ranging voice was right for the role of Judas, he was astounded by the director’s decision to cast him as “the other guy.”
For many years, the late Carl Anderson was Judas to his Jesus, but Anderson’s recent death from leukemia caused a major cast change.
“We auditioned wonderful singers who didn’t have Carl’s intensity and wonderful actors who lacked his voice,” Neeley says. “Then we heard Corey Glover [founding member and lead singer of the Grammy-winning band Living Colour]. When he was 9, his grandmother took him to see the film. Carl was the reason he decided to be an entertainer and singer. He’s charismatic and intense. The audience loves him, and every night we sense that Carl is there in spirit.”
Neeley the composer has written and developed two musical works planned for Broadway in the near future. “Rasputin,” based on the Bolshevik mad monk, is about Alexi, the young boy who would have been the Russian czar had his family not been assassinated. “Pandemonium” was inspired by Neeley’s observations in Israel during the filming of the movie version of “Superstar” in 1975.
“Thirty-five years later, people are still fighting there,” he says. “Children are born innocent but learn to hate. My story is about what would happen if a group of orphans grew up learning to love, respect and embrace all theologies. We as a world society are intelligent enough to make this happen if we teach children humanity, patience and communication skills.”
‘Jesus Christ Superstar’
» When: 8 p.m. Friday to Sunday;
2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
» Venue: Wolf Trap Filene Center
» Tickets: $18 to $68 in-house
» Info: 1877-WOLFTRAP, www.wolf-trap.org
