What Would Ted Neeley Do?
Ted Neeley returns to the title role in the touring production of 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' which arrives at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford Tuesday for a one-week run.
Neeley played the part in the 1971 Broadway musical, in the 1973 Norman Jewison film and in subsequent tours. Turning 65 in September, Neeley is nearly twice as old as Jesus Christ was when he died. In a phone interview while on a tour stop in Paducah, Ky., Neeley shared his thoughts on an aging Christ, spirituality and those pearly gates.
Were you disappointed when Carly Smithson got voted off ' American Idol' when she sang the title song to 'Jesus Christ Superstar?'
I heard that she did, but we don't get a chance to watch the show because we're on stage when the show is on. I did see the first episode, when they all got up and sang, and I thought she and David Cook were going to be the two winners. I guess I was not up to date with the general population, though.
So much for the gift of prophecy. Since you played the role of Jesus Christ for such a long time, can you talk about how audiences have responded to the show over the decades?
It has been growing continually since we first began. I see audiences right now who come and bring their entire families, sometimes as many as four generations of the same family. And they love this as much, if not more, as the people who saw it back in the '70s.
Do people ever tell you that in times of moral struggle, they ask themselves, 'What would Ted Neeley do?'
That's a lovely way of saying that. My goodness, there have been so many people who have told me over the years that I, in essence, am their Jesus. And I am very quick to respond that I'm a very lucky rock 'n' roll drummer from Texas who hits high notes. I know how fortunate I am to be able to do this because so many wanted it, and I got the call.
Do you feel because you are so identified with the role that you can't rock out, get a tattoo, lunch at Hooters or be cast in a tacky reality series that has a hot tub?
I'm not the kind of person who, as they say, does those sorts of things to start with. Not that I'm some stiff leg here who doesn't do anything at all. I have this desire to maintain, if you will, that which people expect because I know they need to nurture that spiritual connection, and I want to help them do that.
Do people in the cast and crew treat you differently because of the character you play?
It always seems when we first rehearse a piece with a new cast, there is ultimate respect, almost toward intimidation, but once they find out that I am that rock 'n' roll drummer, then everything is OK.
And then you start hanging out with Judas?
Oh, yeah. We are definitely a faction, as they say.
Is there any kind of superstition about playing the role of Jesus Christ?'
It certainly has not bothered me at all. It has given me a reason to be. It has given me a career. It has given me an opportunity to continue working over these years, and I'm honored that I'm remembered for something.
You were also in 'Hair,' playing Claude in 1969 in L.A. and N.Y.C.
I was in 'Hair' for three years prior to doing 'Superstar,' and that's how I got to be in 'Superstar,' because the magnificent director, Tom O'Horgan, who created that piece with [James] Rado and [Gerome] Ragni and [Galt] MacDermot, was directing 'Superstar.'
Do you see connections between Claude and Jesus?
The essence of 'Hair' was the relationship among Claude and Sheila and Berger in Haight Ashbury, and the same with Jesus, Judas and Mary. They were three people who were doing things that they believed were right at the time, and they were outspoken and rebels, so there is a parallel between the three characters of the Bible and Haight Ashbury.
On Broadway, you were the Christ understudy. Is it a really bad sin to wish the leading actor would be sick so you could go on?
It's kind of goes with the territory, with the role of the understudy, that you hope to have the opportunity. When I was doing the show on tour a while back, my understudy was told that he would no doubt have the opportunity to go on from time to time 'because Ted's not 22 anymore,' and in a couple of months, you can probably take over the role. Didn't happen. It's not a sin for an understudy to wish it - but rather a desire for upward mobility.
People think you've been playing this role since the show began in the '70s, but you really didn't return to the role until the '90s.
Whether I'm on stage or not, because of the film, it's assumed that I've always been associated with it. Everything that I've done, whether successful or not, I've been able to do because I was in 'Jesus Christ Star Superstar.'
How many times have you been crucified over the years, not counting some of the reviews?
I honestly don't know the number. Just from the '92-'97 tour, there were over 2,000 performances.
This is not a '
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