Jesus Christ Superstar: Ames, IA (11/09/04)
Jesus Christ Superstar: Ames, IA (11/09/04)
U.S. Tour 2004
Jesus – Eric Kunze
Judas – Todd Fournier (u/s)
Mary – Natalie Toro
Caiaphas – Lawson Skala
Annas – Jeffrey Polk
Pontius Pilate – Raymond Patterson
Herod – Daniel Guzman
Simon – Brent Schindele (u/s)
Peter – Johnny Hawkins
Still thinking about this show, it was that good, but I knew it would be. It was so good when it was in Des Moines and there has only been a couple cast changes, and my all time favorite Lawson Skala was still in the cast, so I knew it’d be good right there. So the changes to the cast since I saw it last are Herod and Pilate, with tonight having understudies for Judas and Simon (because Todd who normally plays Simon was on as Judas, so consequently there needed to be an u/s for Simon). I’m not so good at reviews, so here goes.
Jesus – Eric Kunze – This guy is good. He has soft voice which is crystal clear and sweet sounding, then his louder voice where he just rocks it out (and not in the horribly shitty Sebastian Back way). My wife and I both thought he was better even than when we saw him in Des Moines. His acting is spot on, very good emotion and control of his body. He sings a lot through his teeth, which is interesting, but not necessarily bad. His screams, when called for, are so damn good, and surprisingly enough, he doesn’t lose and of his voice. Such a sweet guy at the stage door too, very good looking individual!
Judas – Todd Fournier (u/s) – I was very excited when I saw the cast board and saw that there was an understudy for Lawrence Clayton, because I saw him in Des Moines and he was good, just not what I wanted in a Judas. Well, Todd was more of what I wanted. He grew on me, I guess you could say, though he grew on me from within “Heaven on Their Minds” because it started out good, but not so strong and a little weird voice, but it got better. He does have a weird voice, but it’s just so high and like it comes out of the bottom of his stomach and it’s pretty cool. It’s not belting in his high high notes, but he hits them strongly enough and I just started liking him a lot. He makes very good acting choices as well, very torn up, very confused. He didn’t disappoint at all, I liked his voice very much, just kind of hard to describe, either that, or I’m not good at describing what I know in my head…probably both.
Mary – Natalie Toro – Boy, she is just good. Was in Des Moines, was last night too. Just a powerhouse voice. She makes Mary into a very likeable character, but at the same time I’m always confused by the Mary/Jesus relationship, but that has nothing to do with the musical. She’s just good, I don’t really have much more to say for her, it’s not that horribly big of a part, even though it is, does that make sense? Very good, very big boobs, yup.
Caiaphas – Lawson Skala – Aaaaaahhhhhh, one of the greatest actors and singers I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. I’m sorry, maybe I’m blind, but I can’t find one wrong thing with this man. His deep fuckin’ bass voice is INCREDIBLE. Caiaphas’ higher range notes are effortless, seamless changes, he’s the best Caiaphas I’ve ever seen, and, though I don’t know for sure, I’m going out on a limb here to say will probably be the best Caiaphas I ever WILL see. His acting, flawless. He gets his character, he gets what Caiaphas is getting at, what his job is, what he has to do. He’s one badass mofo. His bald head and goatee and his makeup that makes his face look even slimmer and more hollow is excellent (and he does his own makeup by the way). He keeps his Caiaphas straight as an arrow, it’s like there’s a board extending from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, it’s amazing, just makes him look all the more menacing. On stage, especially next to Jeffrey, he looks about 6’8”, but at the stage door I met him twice now and he’s only 6’2”-6’4” because I’m 6’4” and he’s no taller than me. The costume helps too, of course. His facial expressions are spot on, his body movements are precise and his interaction with the other characters, perfect. Sweet, sweet guy at the stage door. Very gratifying that we enjoyed it so much and that we came to the Des Moines one as well. Couldn’t have been a nicer guy. From interviews I’ve read of him too, just a super guy with great work ethic and love for his cast members. He’s been with his partner for 25 years now, that’s an amazing relationship! He said he always finds a local gym to work out at, he spends his off time giving some of his cast members vocal lessons, he loves to teach. Funny, at the stage door this time, besides being so gracious, he gave my sister a peck on the cheek, then said “oh, well I have to give you on too” to my wife then I was all “eh?” and pointed to my cheek, haha, and he chuckled and gave me a peck too! It was funny…
Annas – Jeffrey Polk – He is just adorable, first and foremost! He’s 5’2” and FULL of spunk. He’s a bad ass on stage too. Such a good performer, he pokes out those high notes, which I like to see Annas blow those notes out of the water, but he does it great too. Oh he made me chuckled numerous times and how much of a dick he was to Judas during the blood money, etc scenes. He and Lawson interact so well together. Like Lawson his acting skills are toned to perfection and his facial expressions are to a T also. Love this guy too.
Pontius Pilate – Raymond Patterson – Well, he was interesting. I was super disappointed that Stephen B. wasn’t in the role, because he just took my breath away with his acting when I saw it in Des Moines and I was very excited to see him last night from the front row. Super excited…it was him and Lawson I was really looking forward too, so I was really sad to see it wasn’t him anymore. But I moved on, excited to see a new performer tackle the odd role of Pontius Pilate. That being said, I was not impressed with him in “Pilate’s Dream.” His vibrato was rather odd and it just didn’t do it for me. He had some emotions and some acting too it, but it just wasn’t special. Coming back on in the second act though he totally redeemed himself. His acting was stronger, he had a lot more script and raw emotion to work with obviously, and he had some better stronger notes to work with, but it was just tons better. Very strong acting and a very good strong voice in the second act. If you can’t tell I’m hedging the titles of the songs because I can’t remember what they’re called and I’m at work so I don’t have my program with me. He didn’t show the torture that Stephen showed when faced with Jesus for a second time and having to make a decision, which I know it’s not fair to make comparisons, oh well, but it was still very well played. Overall I like it quite a bit in the second half, which is the bulk of Pilate anyhow.
Herod – Daniel Guzman – Love him, love him, love him. He was fantastic. Such a performer. He milked every one of those laughs he was suppose to get, excellent comic timing, yet he could be serious when he needed to be and pissed off at Jesus and, he was just damn good. A great voice. So bummed we didn’t get to meet him at the stage door. Only has that one scene, so there’s not too much to say, but it was so good, sorry to compare but it was much better than Barry Dennen.
Simon – Brent Schindele (u/s) – He was not so good. He had an ok voice, not strong at all. He was beyond spazy and I just didn’t like him at all. He was way to pumped and spazy in his movements and acting to be a Simon. Ok voice by all means, but not spectacular and blah.
Peter – Johnny Hawkins – Eh, not very good either. Didn’t have a strong voice in the lower range OR in the upper range. He was just ok.
Overall, I loved it a lot! Everything was very good, a way above par show and they all loved what they were doing. The rest of the high priests their voices weren’t all that spectacular, the disciples voices were pretty good. But the leads shown through and that’s how it should be I guess. I’m sure there is a lot more I could say, and if anyone has questions, than by all means, but I’ll just wrap it up here.
U.S. Tour 2004
Jesus – Eric Kunze
Judas – Todd Fournier (u/s)
Mary – Natalie Toro
Caiaphas – Lawson Skala
Annas – Jeffrey Polk
Pontius Pilate – Raymond Patterson
Herod – Daniel Guzman
Simon – Brent Schindele (u/s)
Peter – Johnny Hawkins
Still thinking about this show, it was that good, but I knew it would be. It was so good when it was in Des Moines and there has only been a couple cast changes, and my all time favorite Lawson Skala was still in the cast, so I knew it’d be good right there. So the changes to the cast since I saw it last are Herod and Pilate, with tonight having understudies for Judas and Simon (because Todd who normally plays Simon was on as Judas, so consequently there needed to be an u/s for Simon). I’m not so good at reviews, so here goes.
Jesus – Eric Kunze – This guy is good. He has soft voice which is crystal clear and sweet sounding, then his louder voice where he just rocks it out (and not in the horribly shitty Sebastian Back way). My wife and I both thought he was better even than when we saw him in Des Moines. His acting is spot on, very good emotion and control of his body. He sings a lot through his teeth, which is interesting, but not necessarily bad. His screams, when called for, are so damn good, and surprisingly enough, he doesn’t lose and of his voice. Such a sweet guy at the stage door too, very good looking individual!
Judas – Todd Fournier (u/s) – I was very excited when I saw the cast board and saw that there was an understudy for Lawrence Clayton, because I saw him in Des Moines and he was good, just not what I wanted in a Judas. Well, Todd was more of what I wanted. He grew on me, I guess you could say, though he grew on me from within “Heaven on Their Minds” because it started out good, but not so strong and a little weird voice, but it got better. He does have a weird voice, but it’s just so high and like it comes out of the bottom of his stomach and it’s pretty cool. It’s not belting in his high high notes, but he hits them strongly enough and I just started liking him a lot. He makes very good acting choices as well, very torn up, very confused. He didn’t disappoint at all, I liked his voice very much, just kind of hard to describe, either that, or I’m not good at describing what I know in my head…probably both.
Mary – Natalie Toro – Boy, she is just good. Was in Des Moines, was last night too. Just a powerhouse voice. She makes Mary into a very likeable character, but at the same time I’m always confused by the Mary/Jesus relationship, but that has nothing to do with the musical. She’s just good, I don’t really have much more to say for her, it’s not that horribly big of a part, even though it is, does that make sense? Very good, very big boobs, yup.
Caiaphas – Lawson Skala – Aaaaaahhhhhh, one of the greatest actors and singers I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. I’m sorry, maybe I’m blind, but I can’t find one wrong thing with this man. His deep fuckin’ bass voice is INCREDIBLE. Caiaphas’ higher range notes are effortless, seamless changes, he’s the best Caiaphas I’ve ever seen, and, though I don’t know for sure, I’m going out on a limb here to say will probably be the best Caiaphas I ever WILL see. His acting, flawless. He gets his character, he gets what Caiaphas is getting at, what his job is, what he has to do. He’s one badass mofo. His bald head and goatee and his makeup that makes his face look even slimmer and more hollow is excellent (and he does his own makeup by the way). He keeps his Caiaphas straight as an arrow, it’s like there’s a board extending from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, it’s amazing, just makes him look all the more menacing. On stage, especially next to Jeffrey, he looks about 6’8”, but at the stage door I met him twice now and he’s only 6’2”-6’4” because I’m 6’4” and he’s no taller than me. The costume helps too, of course. His facial expressions are spot on, his body movements are precise and his interaction with the other characters, perfect. Sweet, sweet guy at the stage door. Very gratifying that we enjoyed it so much and that we came to the Des Moines one as well. Couldn’t have been a nicer guy. From interviews I’ve read of him too, just a super guy with great work ethic and love for his cast members. He’s been with his partner for 25 years now, that’s an amazing relationship! He said he always finds a local gym to work out at, he spends his off time giving some of his cast members vocal lessons, he loves to teach. Funny, at the stage door this time, besides being so gracious, he gave my sister a peck on the cheek, then said “oh, well I have to give you on too” to my wife then I was all “eh?” and pointed to my cheek, haha, and he chuckled and gave me a peck too! It was funny…
Annas – Jeffrey Polk – He is just adorable, first and foremost! He’s 5’2” and FULL of spunk. He’s a bad ass on stage too. Such a good performer, he pokes out those high notes, which I like to see Annas blow those notes out of the water, but he does it great too. Oh he made me chuckled numerous times and how much of a dick he was to Judas during the blood money, etc scenes. He and Lawson interact so well together. Like Lawson his acting skills are toned to perfection and his facial expressions are to a T also. Love this guy too.
Pontius Pilate – Raymond Patterson – Well, he was interesting. I was super disappointed that Stephen B. wasn’t in the role, because he just took my breath away with his acting when I saw it in Des Moines and I was very excited to see him last night from the front row. Super excited…it was him and Lawson I was really looking forward too, so I was really sad to see it wasn’t him anymore. But I moved on, excited to see a new performer tackle the odd role of Pontius Pilate. That being said, I was not impressed with him in “Pilate’s Dream.” His vibrato was rather odd and it just didn’t do it for me. He had some emotions and some acting too it, but it just wasn’t special. Coming back on in the second act though he totally redeemed himself. His acting was stronger, he had a lot more script and raw emotion to work with obviously, and he had some better stronger notes to work with, but it was just tons better. Very strong acting and a very good strong voice in the second act. If you can’t tell I’m hedging the titles of the songs because I can’t remember what they’re called and I’m at work so I don’t have my program with me. He didn’t show the torture that Stephen showed when faced with Jesus for a second time and having to make a decision, which I know it’s not fair to make comparisons, oh well, but it was still very well played. Overall I like it quite a bit in the second half, which is the bulk of Pilate anyhow.
Herod – Daniel Guzman – Love him, love him, love him. He was fantastic. Such a performer. He milked every one of those laughs he was suppose to get, excellent comic timing, yet he could be serious when he needed to be and pissed off at Jesus and, he was just damn good. A great voice. So bummed we didn’t get to meet him at the stage door. Only has that one scene, so there’s not too much to say, but it was so good, sorry to compare but it was much better than Barry Dennen.
Simon – Brent Schindele (u/s) – He was not so good. He had an ok voice, not strong at all. He was beyond spazy and I just didn’t like him at all. He was way to pumped and spazy in his movements and acting to be a Simon. Ok voice by all means, but not spectacular and blah.
Peter – Johnny Hawkins – Eh, not very good either. Didn’t have a strong voice in the lower range OR in the upper range. He was just ok.
Overall, I loved it a lot! Everything was very good, a way above par show and they all loved what they were doing. The rest of the high priests their voices weren’t all that spectacular, the disciples voices were pretty good. But the leads shown through and that’s how it should be I guess. I’m sure there is a lot more I could say, and if anyone has questions, than by all means, but I’ll just wrap it up here.
