‘Superstar’ Rises Again : After 20 Years, Musical Back at Universal With Original Leads

How do you celebrate an anniversary? With a quiet get-together at that secluded spot where you first met? Maybe a re-creation of your first big date?

If one of the ingredients is a Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber hit musical and the other is the venue that changed its shape, form and character for a landmark production of that musical, it might seem impossible 20 years later to get the two together.

But everything has fallen into place for Tuesday’s opening of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” with its original leads, just in time for the Universal Amphitheatre’s birthday.

A little more than a score of years ago, the Amphitheatre was open to the elements as the location of the Western stunt show that came at the end of the Universal Studio Tour. As the story goes, someone wondered why they didn’t put on a show. As a test, they ran some old movies, Marx Brothers and so forth, passed out free popcorn and peanuts, and discovered that even without the tour, people would come, park and watch a show.

It was safe to bring in the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar.” People would show up.

“Superstar” was originally booked for four weeks in 1972, says Larry Vallon, executive vice-president of MCA Concerts, which runs the Amphitheatre. It was sort of an in-house deal. MCA owned “Jesus Christ Superstar” with the Stigwood Organization.

Ted Neeley was set to play the leading role of Jesus, and Carl Anderson would co-star as Judas. The show was a sold-out hit and ran for 12 weeks instead of four. Neeley and Anderson were screen-tested for the film version of “Superstar” and were soon on their way to Israel to film the movie.

The production that led to the film made the careers of Neeley and Anderson take off, and the 1973 movie has become a cult classic.

The Amphitheatre found a new identity, booked the Grateful Dead, and became a favorite concert location for the area. It also has been the site of several Comic Relief television specials, the Country Music and MTV awards.

But Vallon and Marc Bension, MCA Concert’s president, wanted something different to highlight the anniversary. The solution was headed their way in a highly popular tour of the show that started it all. The production premiered in Baltimore in December, produced by Landmark Entertainment Group, Magic Promotions and TAP Productions. With Neeley and Anderson re-creating their original roles and Styx lead singer Dennis DeYoung as Pontius Pilate, it seemed the perfect solution.

Neeley says: “Carl and I were both available for this tour, and we thought, ‘Let’s see what happens.’ We thought we’d go out and play for a little bit. The response has been amazing. People seem to be as excited about it now as they were when we did it originally. It’s had 20 years of press, 20 years of release as a film, and God knows how many tours have gone out. People certainly know about it, and it kind of carries its own reputation.”

Framing a biblical story with rock music was controversial in the early ‘70s. “Today, it’s family theater,” Neeley says.

Neeley’s approach to the role of Jesus is different today. “I’ve gotten 20 years of life experience. That certainly lends a lot to what I’m doing. Plus, Carl and I have a lifelong friendship now that makes the two of us relate to each other differently. We certainly bring that with us on stage,” he says.

Anderson also feels the changes the years have brought to his conception of the character of Judas. He keeps finding parallels in real life. “The Rodney King thing,” he says is part of it. “We’ve had a public upheaval. The common good is being subverted by the fear of violence, the fear of what’s going to happen.”

Twenty years ago, Anderson says, he didn’t like the role. “My Southern Baptist background, I suppose,” he says. At the film’s premiere in his hometown of Lynchburg, Va., he says with a laugh, his mother turned to him and asked, “Why didn’t you play Jesus?”

“Twenty years have given me an appreciation of the role. I think it’s one of the best roles ever written for an actor/singer. I didn’t always know that. Judas had a few integrity gaps, but so do we all. Maturity has served to make me aware of that,” Anderson says.

For both actors, a return to the scene of the original production that started it is something special. “It’s really exciting,” Anderson says. “Ted and I have actually been having a sort of nice anxiety, because they really built up that facility to house this show. The afterthought was, ‘Let’s keep this here and put stuff in it.’ So we feel somewhat responsible for the Amphitheatre being there in the first place.”

Neeley says: “Everyone figured if we got a couple of months out of this tour, we’d be doing well. When Carl and I heard there was a chance to come to Los Angeles, we said, ‘Hey, guys, if we’re going to Los Angeles, let’s pursue the Amphitheatre, puh- leeze . That’s where it all began for us. The bottom line is that the Amphitheatre has gone through some tremendous changes since it opened, so they can pick and choose. They don’t need to bring in ‘Superstar.’ When we heard they were interested, I said, ‘Hey, Carl, we’re having fun now .’ If they had said no, it would have been quite disheartening for us.”

They’re also looking forward to working in the enclosed Amphitheatre, which debuted with a roof in 1982. “We used to freeze our buns off,” Neeley says, “with those Santa Anas whipping around. Especially me when I was in that loincloth, hanging up on that huge cross.”

The modest expectations for the current tour of “Superstar” were quickly dispelled by sell-out houses, Neeley says. The tour, which will stop in Bakersfield, Phoenix and St. Louis after leaving Los Angeles, is booked into the summer of 1995.

Do eight performances a week lead to boredom, to stale performances? Neeley says definitely not.

“Every single night it grows,” Neeley says, “and the main focus of that is the cast and its positive energy. It’s a funny situation for me and Carl. We’re surrounded by a group of people who look at us as a bit of an icon. We’re the two guys who did the film. There are several people in the cast who have done the show more than Carl and I put together. They tend to put us in a position of importance that I don’t think we deserve, but it’s wonderful to revel in that every evening. So that gives us newness. I know I sound like a recording of positive energy, but it’s coming straight from the heart.”

Styx veteran Dennis DeYoung, who never even appeared in a high school play, has taken easily to the unfamiliar genre.

“I thought, heck, loud-mouth Italian who thinks he’s in control, but really isn’t. That’s me. If I can’t play this part, I can’t play any part,” DeYoung said. “I figured it this way. I’ve pretended to be a rock star for 20 years. So, if I pretended to be that, I could pretend to be Pontius Pilate for an evening. Basically, you go out there and try to sing on key and not forget your lines.”

Longtime Amphitheatre treasurer Maggie Magennis, who is retiring next year after just over two decades at the facility, will be watching “Jesus Christ Superstar” again this time around. She says her excitement about Amphitheatre openings is selective. Sinatra, Elton John, maybe Prince.

“When ‘Superstar’ first opened here, I’m sure that I saw it at least four or five times a week. The most exciting part was at the end. Teddy was up on the cross. We were open air then, and you could see the lights of the Valley,” she says.

“There was something really awesome about the fact that he represented something so spiritual, and yet the temporal aspect of the lights twinkling down below was there.”

Where and When What: “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Universal Amphitheatre, Universal City. Hours: Opens Tuesday, runs through June 6. 8:15 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2:15 p.m. Saturday and 1:15 and 7:15 p.m. Sundays. Price: $24.50-$34.50. Call: (213) 480-3232.