The first staged production of the musical didn’t occur until after the British songwriting duo released the controversial 2-disc concept LP in the U.K. in 1970. While Rice and Webber struggled to obtain financing to launch their own theatrical production of the last days of Christ, unlicensed versions of the musical started popping up in the United States, where the album was wildly received. The first live performance took place in June 1971, staged by high school students in Southold, New York. But this performance, like hundreds of others to follow, was unauthorized, and the play’s writers filed lawsuits to shut them all down. So, Pittsburgh had the honor of hosting the very first sanctioned version of the rock opera. A crowd of 13,000 people turned out to see the play at the city’s domed, space-age Civic Arena, the world’s first major sports/entertainment venue to feature a retractable roof (it was demolished in 2012).

The now-legendary opera finally opened on Broadway on October 12, 1971, to mixed reviews and closed on June 30, 1973, after 711 performances. The musical then got the Hollywood treatment in 1973, when it was adapted into a movie directed by Norman Jewison and starring Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson. After having listened to the original British recording hundreds of times, bowled over by the singing of Ian Gillan (former lead singer of Deep Purple) as Jesus and Murray Head as Judas, I never warmed to the vocal performances of the film’s stars or of subsequent stage actors. (Listen to this clip of Ian Gillan’s voice, and compare it to the vocal in the video below.)  All said, the music and lyrics are phenomenal, no matter who wears the robe.

While we’re on the subject of superstars – celestial and otherwise – here are a few interesting casting facts. It’s been said that Rice and Webber had John Lennon in mind as they wrote their musical. In 1969 John was offered the role of Jesus, but turned it down. Was it because the authors wouldn’t grant John’s supposed request to cast Yoko as Mary Magdalene, or because he was still recovering from the backlash over his “Beatles are bigger than Christ” remark in 1966? No one knows for sure. When producers began casting the film version, Mick Jagger, Mr. “Sympathy for the Devil” himself, was the top choice to play Jesus, but also declined. Next on the list was TV teen idol David Cassidy, who would have made a very pretty, but vocally weak Jesus. Personally, I’d like to have seen what David Bowie would have done with the role!

In the end, however, the film part went to Ted Neeley, who was Jeff Fenholt’s understudy during the first Broadway run. Ted’s very wired performance elicited some interesting reviews. Newsweek‘s Paul D. Zimmerman said Neeley’s “Jesus often recalls Charles Manson.” Bruce Williamson of Playboy said that Neeley’s “portrayal of Christ ought to fix him permanently in public memory as the Screamin’ Jesus.”

Director Norman Jewison could be partly to blame for Neeley’s theatrics. Talk about “screamin’ Jesus!” Here, a screamin’ Jewison gushes about his very beautiful film in a very beautiful interview in Playboy magazine:

“We made it into a spiritual experience and it’s beautiful, and Jesus is beautiful, the kids are beautiful, it’s going to be a beautiful film. People are going to see it in drive-ins and neighborhood ‘nowhere’ theaters and they’re going to be moved by it. People who were never moved by this story before. People who always thought that Jesus Christ was some kind of schmuck. They’re going to see something beautiful and they’re going to cry. They won’t be able to help themselves. When you really come to think of it, we’re doing Him a favor.”

Ah, don’t ya just love Hollywood?

Here’s a scene from the JC Superstar movie:

© Dana Spiardi, Feb 20, 2014

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Marriott, born January 30, 1947, was a singer, songwriter and musician who fronted two influential groups: the definitive 1960s “mod rock” band Small Faces and the harder-rocking Humble Pie (which featured a young Peter Frampton on guitar). He began his performing career at age 13, when he portrayed the Artful Dodger in “Oliver!” at the New Theatre (now called the Noël Coward Theatre) in London’s West End. He spent a year with the production, appearing in various child roles, and was chosen to sing several Dodger songs – “Consider Yourself,” “Be Back Soon,” and “I’d Do Anything” – for the official LP of the stage show. Tragically, Steve died in a house fire on April 19, 1991, at age 44. He possessed one of the most powerful, soulful voices in all of rock, and is one of my favorite artists.

Phil Collins also began his career as an Artful Dodger. This highly successful singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and former singer/drummer for art-rock band Genesis was a child actor and model. Like Marriott, he also played the Dodger at age 13 in a West End production of the musical. Interestingly, young Phil appeared as an extra in the Beatles’ first film, “A Hard Day’s Night,” as one of hundreds of screaming fans. If you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of his face.

But it was Davy Jones, the “cute Monkee,” who had the most success as a Dodger. At the age of 18 he began playing the famous pickpocket, and reprised the role on Broadway, garnering a Tony Award nomination. And how’s this for fate: Davy appeared on the Ed Sullivan show, singing a song from “Oliver!”, on the same night the Beatles made their American TV debut – February 9, 1964. He died of a heart attack at age 66 on February 29, 2012.

So, if there are any youngsters out there reading this blog, take heed: the next time you think of poking fun at the so-called “band nerds” and the boys who perform in the class musical, just remember that they could be future rock stars!

Here’s Davy Jones, with Georgia Brown, performing a scene from “Oliver,” on the Sullivan show.

By Dana Spiardi, Jan 30, 2013

When his School’s Out LP debuted in 1972, I was a gawky 8th grade girl, wasting away my study hall hours reading the latest issues of Mad, Creem and Circus.  The girls were crazy for Cher, but the boys were buzzing about this guy named Alice who employed guillotines and live reptiles on stage.  What a gas that he named his boa constrictor Eva Marie Snake.  (Even at age 13 I was film-savvy enough to appreciate the pun.)

The School’s Out album had the most interesting packaging.  The cover opened up from the bottom like an old-style initial-engraved desk – showing lots of goodies inside – and the vinyl disc was clothed in a pair of girls’ panties!  I swear I never wore the flimsy knickers – those were the days of mother-influenced hygiene mania, after all!

And the album’s songs were great.  I especially loved the West Side Story parody, Gutter Cat Versus The Jets.  Public Animal #9 was another winner – like a wild soundtrack to a 1930s Dead End Kids movie  (”License plates are coming out of my ears / I’d give a month of cigarettes for just a coupla lousy beers.”) But my pick of the monster litter was the orgasmic, late-night gem Blue Turk, with its slinky opening bass line, sexy sax, and trippy electric piano. Oooh, Alice growled!

I seized every opportunity to catch a glimpse of the raccoon-eyed Alice in action. Late-night shows such as ABC’s In Concert, NBC’s Midnight Special and the wonderfully tacky Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert provided me with my only video exposure to rock stars way back in those pre-MTV, pre-YouTube, pre-concert-going days.

So, nearly 40 years after discovering the man who invented and still rules the world of theatrical shock-rock, I had a chance to see him right here in Pittsburgh in an acoustically pleasing outdoor venue!  None of his gimmicks was new. He recycled the Frankenstein and guillotine bits (alas, no reptile or electric chair!) and wowed the crowd with a 2011 update of his famous black widow outfit . But props or no props, the show was perfectly packaged with just the right mix of teen angst anthems and new material.  Alice hasn’t mellowed. The 63-year-old master of macabre still belts out new tunes with names like I’ll Bite Your Face Off.  (Okay ladies, no eye rolling!)

So, how could such a naughty boy – who once allegedly threw a live chicken into the crowd and watched as a group of wheelchair-bound headbangers tore it apart – consider himself a born-again Christian?  Well, he is, after all, the son of a preacher man. And, as a self-professed recovering alcoholic, he probably feels he owes a debt to some sort of higher power. And I’m down with that.

But how could yer blogger possibly embrace an artist who’s known for his conservative leanings? Well, when it comes to music I’m often ideologically blind. I love Alice’s repertoire — always have, always will. So, I will choose to believe his words from a 2010 interview:  “I am extremely non-political…I’m probably the biggest moderate you know. When John Lennon and Harry Nilsson used to argue politics, I was sitting right in the middle of them, and I was the guy who was going ‘I don’t care.’  When my parents would start talking politics, I would go in my room and put The Rolling Stones or The Who on as long as I could to avoid politics. And I still feel that way.”

Thanks, Alice. But if I ever find you endorsing the likes of Rick Santorum, I’ll personally put your head in that guillotine of yours.

ARTICLE UPDATE, April 15, 2018:
I had a chance to meet Alice Cooper at the 3-day Steel City Comic Convention in Monroeville, PA, April 13-15. I brought along my “School’s Out” LP, which he signed “your pal, Alice Cooper.”  Alice asked me if I still have the paper panties that were wrapped around the vinyl record; sadly, NO, I told him. He said his mom kept HER pair! Ah, what a gentle soul he is! Gee, am I still going to be blasting “Public Animal #9” in my car if I live to be 80? Yes, of course! Thanks, Alice, for all the years of merry, macabre entertainment!

Here’s one of my favorite Alice anthems: “Elected.” I saw him perform this song twice in 2016. Here, a few weeks before the Big Sad Election of November 2016, he rips it on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. I watched the original video of this song when it aired on ABC TV’s “In Concert” in 1972. Sadly, all traces of it have been removed from the Internet.

© Dana Spiardi, Aug 14, 2011