It may sound unlikely, but Jesus Christ Superstar – the 1970 rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and his lyrical soulmate Tim Rice – is really an Australian success story. First conceived as a concept album (call it the Hamilton of its day), Jesus Christ Superstar was brought to Broadway after a spate of unauthorised stagings by fans of the record, but to mixed reviews. Its creators were unhappy with this first official staging – which often sets the blueprint for how creatives later approach and remember the work – and looked abroad to post-Broadway stagings that were doing something new.
They found inspiration in Australia. Now-legendary director Jim Sharman, who had just made his mark with the first Australian production of Hair in 1969, teamed up again with designer Brian Thomson on an oratorio-style staging that morphed into a full production in 1972. (Not much later, the two men would create the look, feel and direction of Rocky Horror). Their staging of Jesus Christ Superstar was emotionally honest and dedicated to using all the hallmarks of then-contemporary Australian rock: impossibly raw-but-soaring vocals, driving beats, screaming guitars. This became Rice and Lloyd Webber’s blueprint; Sharman and Thomson would direct and design the first, record-breaking West End production.
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