THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 16, 1995 TAG: 9505160047
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E9 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Interview
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
``I GOT INTO this because I could hit the high notes,'' Jesus was saying.
Speaking on the telephone from Knoxville, Tenn., he had a folksy, shy voice. Somehow, one expects more of a resonant roar.
But he's not THE Jesus. He's ``Jesus Christ Superstar,'' a role that Ted Neeley has played, off and on, for 20 years. He's at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk for eight performances tonight through Sunday.
Neeley became famous 20 years ago with the movie version of ``Jesus Christ Superstar,'' directed by Norman Jewison. He had already played the role on the road and in New York and Los Angeles before that. Still, he doesn't see his career, as musician, composer and record producer, as being just this one show.
``I haven't been playing the part for all the past 20 years,'' he said, laughing. ``People sometimes think this is all I've been doing. I've been doing other things. For 2 1/2 years, though, I've been back on the road with it. It happened as a kind of tribute to the 20th anniversary of the movie. Then it just wouldn't go away. We posted closing notices for the tour 13 times, but people kept packing into the theaters. Literally, it was something that I couldn't walk away from''
In January, he returned to New York for the revival.
``I thought no one would come,'' he said. ``New Yorkers are so jaded with seeing so much. They poured out. At the end of the first act, a quiet moment, I wondered if anyone was out there, and then there was a roar of applause.''
``Jesus Christ Superstar,'' with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, began as a rock opera in 1970. The recording quickly sold 2 1/2 million copies.
The local booking is something of a homecoming - the first time ``Superstar'' was performed in concert in America was at the Hampton Coliseum. For that performance, the composers flew over from London.
Neeley appeared on Broadway in ``Hair,'' then entered ``Superstar'' with the Broadway production in 1971, as the understudy to the lead.
Jewison, the director of the movie, attended a performance in London to see Neeley, but he was out that day. Dismayed, Neeley found the director's hotel room and asked to talk to him.
``He agreed to screen test me for the part,'' Neeley recalled. ``I got the movie part as a duo with Carl Anderson as Judas. We were cast as a pair, because of the way we reacted together.''
Anderson is also still with the production.
``We filmed in Israel under the threat of tanks and guns,'' Neeley said. ``That's why, in the movie, you see tanks at the first. They were real. The idea was that we were a traveling company, performing the play. We used the modern tanks to frame the movie.''
Neeley, now 51, started playing rock music at age 8. He grew up in a small Texas town, not far from the town where the movie ``The Last Picture Show'' was filmed.
``It's the Bible Belt,'' he said. ``I, at one time, considered being a minister, but there was a lot said about my band playing in beer halls on Saturday night before I sang in church on Sunday. In a way, I was thrown out of the church because of rock 'n' roll.''
Now married and the father of two children, he admits that he never really wanted to be a movie star, even though he got two Golden Globe nominations for ``Jesus Christ Superstar'' (one for best actor and one for best newcomer).
``I never had expertise in acting,'' he said. ``I leave that to other fellas. I'm a singer and composer.''
Currently, he's completing his own rock opera ``Pandemonium,'' which he plans to produce on record and on the Broadway stage.
``It's about homeless children,'' he said. ``I like the subject, because I think it needs to be discussed, and I like the music, because it's the best way to be heard.''
For Neeley, the current engagement marks a return to Chrysler Hall. In August 1973, he had the title role there in The Who's rock opera ``Tommy.''
Being 5 feet 6 inches, he says fans still comment that he's too short to play Jesus.
``I play him as a human, as a man who is torn by his commitment,'' Neeley said. ``The most difficult scene, I think, is the opening of the second act, when he realizes that he could walk away from it all. `Why must I die?' he asks. It's a scene that never gets old. In fact, every night is new. I've played it for well over 1,500 performances now, and it never gets old. The most appealing thing is that young kids like it - small children and teenagers. They come back and they say it speaks to them - that's it's really cool. It's a language they need.'' ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD FELDMAN
Ted Neeley has the title role in ``Jesus Christ Superstar'' tonight
through Sunday at Chrysler Hall.
THEATER FACTS
What: ``Jesus Christ Superstar''
Where: Chrysler Hall
When: 8 p.m. tonight through Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and
7:30 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $27 to $35 at the box office and Ticketmaster outlets.
Charge by phone at 671-8100.
by CNB