THEATER REVIEW : A ‘Superstar’ Through O.J. Simpson Media Lens

“Jesus Christ Superstar” with echoes of the O.J. Simpson trial?

Well, if you like the suggested imagery inserted into Whittier-La Mirada Musical Theatre’s revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice rock opera at La Mirada Theatre, you’ll go a long way with this show.

From our vantage point, though, we were wondering what all those video cameras were doing in Nazareth.

It isn’t as though director David Galligan’s invented concept of Jesus caught in a media blitz (he enters walking down a red carpet past adoring fans and phalanx of TV cameras) constantly intrudes on the action. Nor is it at all contrary to the original Webber-Rice concept of Jesus as a biblical pop star cheered on and then betrayed by the public.

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The problem is much simpler: On stage, Galligan’s images just look silly, and they lack a definite conviction. Either we have none of the O.J. Simpson media circus reference, or we see it played out to the full extent an opera would demand. (Today, it’s the operatic form in which stage directors are letting their imaginations run wild.) Here, the media circus barely has one ring, let alone three. It looks like a pose.

This hurts the rest of the show, but not nearly as much as the theater’s disastrous sound system. The combination of fixed onstage microphones and body microphones did nothing last Sunday to make either John Bisom as Jesus or Gil Pritchett III as Judas very audible during Act I. Songs such as “What’s the Buzz,” “Strange Thing Mystifying” and then, in Act II, “The Last Supper” came in and out of earshot as if someone were persistently fooling with the volume dial. This, combined with some audio feedback, tended to put a crimp in the rock opera’s emotional drive.

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Alas, Galligan’s cast doesn’t pick up the slack. Pritchett III seems to be straining very hard from the top of Judas’ first song, “Heaven on Their Minds,” without communicating Judas’ severe doubts about his spiritual leader’s motives. Bisom’s Jesus has the calm, quiet sex appeal that acolytes go for, but he’s a stick figure until he laments about “Poor Jerusalem.” At his best, Bisom’s voice vividly recalls the soprano of a Don McLean.

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Karen Matranga wastes no time establishing this show’s most dramatic presence as Mary Magdalene, with utterly gorgeous, sonorous versions of “Everything’s Alright,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and “Could We Start Again, Please”--the last sung with the effective Joshua Carr as Peter.

George Champion looks sufficiently evil as Caiaphas, but--endemic to this show--can’t be heard. David Corbin uses his limited singing range to a strong advantage as Pilate, the Roman official torn between justice and mob rule.

Considering the wealth of talent on display (many with multiple Broadway and regional theater credits), this is a disappointingly fizzling “Superstar.” Galligan, a skilled musical comedy director, makes plodding stage pictures and rhythms. The usually reliable set design team of Deborah Raymond and Dorian Vernacchio creates an uncharacteristically chintzy set (featuring a mysterious floating disc made of what looks like aluminum foil). Musical director Jan Ritschel wrongly stresses a brassy sound over a rocking, electric one.

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The real excitement here is David Marques’ smooth, sinewy choreography and light designer Jacqueline Jones Watson’s dynamic use of backlights and spotlights. And, for a few minutes when Marques’ and Watson’s work are in tandem, the old “Superstar” magic is back.

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“Jesus Christ Superstar,” La Mirada Theatre, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada, 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sundays; ends April 16; tickets: $13.50 to $27; (310) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310; running time: 2 hours.