New 'Jesus Christ Superstar' cast treats Bible characters as humans

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MANILA, Philippines — The Gospel passages depicting Jesus' last week on Earth are among the most revered stories in the world.

But in "Jesus Christ Superstar," the musical follows an approach looking at the humanity of Biblical figures, including the titular character.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice first envisioned the project as a concept album before becoming a full-fledged production in 1971, leading to decades of performances all over the world.

Among these newer iterations is by the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London, a tour version of which is running at the Theatre at Solaire this May.

During a media call for the show's gala performance last May 5, Joshua Bess, who plays Jesus, was asked how he manages to add personal flair to a character that is both a historical figure and an iconic role.

Bess' portrayal is inspired by his first encounter with the rock opera when he was in high school. It was the arena tour version that starred Ben Forster as Jesus opposite Tim Minchin's Judas Iscariot.

For Bess, Jesus was an "untouchable role" that is "impossible and so hard to reach," even after he had the opportunity to first cover the character, citing a lack of confidence.

"Something I love about this production in particular is that you go into it not even thinking about the show's history or what the character means to so many people," Bess explained.

The actor added that he tried not thinking of Jesus as a religious figure but as a person, which in turn keeps him grounded.

Another thing Bess commended about this version is how it allows one to be different and approach the music differently, citing the instruments used in Jesus' solo number, "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)," as an example.

"We're kind of celebrated to find our own version, and therefore help adding on to the great list of people that have done it in the past," he added about putting his own spin.

Bess' sentiment is on top of their production paying homage to past Jesus actors like the previously mentioned Forster, Ted Neeley's take in the 1973 film adaptation, and most especially actors who were part of this particular iteration of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

'Lead with love'

Javon King later discussed how his character, Judas, is often misunderstood by those who read the Bible and watched the musical.

His rationale is to "having to lead with love," because not doing so "makes it easy for audiences to come in and not like him," given their preconceived notions of Judas.

"He wasn't just a human being, he was doing what he thought was best for his friend and his people," King said about his character.

The actor tries to make viewers think harder about who they think Judas was. The pay-off to that, he shared, is getting comments from people saying they liked his performance despite coming in not liking who he is portraying.

"It weighs a bit heavier when people say things like that because — yes he did something bad, ultimately took his life, and someone else died and came back to life — but he was a human being at the end of the day thinking he was doing what was right for him," King reiterated.

RELATED: Gab Pangilinan breaks down Mary Magdalene role in 'Jesus Christ Superstar'