Matt's busy, there's a new production of Jesus Christ Superstar happening and Jesus is going to be a black woman, so now he's deep in his Gamergate arc
The lead character has superpowers, the immaculate child of a divine being, they come back from the dead once and they're supposed to do it again later in order to save all of humanity and usher in a blessed new era, all of that I can wrap my mind around, but I draw the line at them being a lady.
I get what you’re saying & I agree that it’s silly to get mad about it, but the show is pretty big on presenting Jesus as a struggling human being having a lot of trouble keeping up with his own hype & ultimately being judicially murdered over it w/ the resurrection deliberately omitted in the text
(mind you it’s been *played* with the resurrection attached but it’s not written as such, and the last piece of music is called John 19:41- “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.”)
I was unfamiliar with the musical, only the inspiration, so some of my snark was incorrect.
But: there is absolutely no way in hell that these people are upset because a character who's a human struggling with hype is being played by (and as) a woman. It's all about their God having to be a dude.
oh no fair enough, I was just adding to it. if anything it’s crazy that an almost sixty year old show by andrew lloyd webber of all people still manages to piss people off (though he was a really young guy writing a transgressive prog rock album back then, not the figure he later became)
This show actually doesn’t include any of that — it treats Jesus as just a human guy with a message to spread — which is why Christian groups protested the original production in the seventies.
Always knew that I'm a flaming arsehole/
Couldn't be a bigger sphincter if I tried/
Thought I could retire on the Twitter Files/
But no one gave a shit about me when I lied
Shakespeare's plays had male actors in female roles. Women played Shakespeare's male roles in the 19th century and through current times. Peter Pan was played by Mary Martin!
And to answer his question, there's currently a play on Broadway in which Tituss Burgess plays Mary Todd Lincoln, so Joan of Arc isn't that much of a stretch.
I seriously doubt that he's actually a fan of any version of this show. The entire point of it is that it's not Biblically accurate -- that it's showing the human side of Jesus, and exploring Judas's motivations, and taking the Biblical account as just an outline.
Having a woman play Jesus really isn't too far from anything else that's been done with this show. It's not like they're gender-swapping Sound of Music. It's a show where the whole vibe is experimenting with telling the story in new ways.
Pat Carroll, Ursula in the animated Little Mermaid, played Falstaff
Sarah Bernhardt played Hamlet.
This actress was also in the all women cast of Jesus Christ Superstar, She Has Risen edition.
“Would you cast a man as Joan of Arc?” I dunno, how about Cleopatra? Who does he think played all the female roles in Shakespeare’s plays during his time?
There will be a man playing Mary Todd Lincoln on Broadway in a few weeks. Does he think that non-traditional casting is just throwing darts at a DEI dartboard?
He couldn't have picked a worse historical figure to make that point with than joan of arc lol because yeah you can actually make an interesting story with a male actor lmao
I genuinely love the modernist takes of Jesus Christ Superstar because yanking it out of the period makes things stand out.
(It's also just kind of wild as a musical because it started as a concept album, which undoubtedly made it harder to stage than it might have been.)
And of course that show is meant to be completely respectful and reverent of Jesus, and would never do anything so shockingly crass as intercut between scenes of the crucifixion and Judas having a disco dance party. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJDgUoAQC8Y
The only ballet I've ever attended was the all-male Swan Lake. Though now that I think about it, maybe that's how I was infected with the woke mind virus?
Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for cross-dressing as a man. So yes, a male playing Joan of Arc may be a more accurate depiction of her self-identification.
Poor Matt. Has never seen a Shakespeare play with an all male cast, you know, like way back in the day. Or ANY Monty Python skit. It’s obvious men like him have no imagination, and so little sense of self awareness.
Matt, why do you give a shit over something as dumb as artistic choice for something you aren’t even going to see? What the fuck is wrong with you, you truly useless idiot?
Sure, why not. If it’s going to be an interesting examination of the differences between treatment of a man or woman being in that position. How about someone androgynous where no one knows?
There is a great National Theatre's production of Midsummer Nights Dream with the fairy king played by a woman and the queen by a man. I was halfway through the play before I realized. /1
I saw a production in Maynardville Park in Cape Town (there's an open-air theatre there), in which the roles of Theseus and Hippolyta, and Oberon and Titania were doubled up, so one actor played Theseus and Titania, and one actress played Hippolyta and Oberon.
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But: there is absolutely no way in hell that these people are upset because a character who's a human struggling with hype is being played by (and as) a woman. It's all about their God having to be a dude.
It was a much more "liberal" church back then though, compared to today. American Catholicism 'broke' awhile ago.
"If you are the Christ, oh the Great Jesus Christ.
Prove to me that you're Divine, Turn my water into wine..."
“Tough crowd. They’re booing Shakespeare!” Herschel Krustofski
Always knew that I'm a flaming arsehole/
Couldn't be a bigger sphincter if I tried/
Thought I could retire on the Twitter Files/
But no one gave a shit about me when I lied
Why would they cast a Broadway superstar who just had a huge Hollywood success? I can think of no other reason than to be mean to me, particularly.
What happened to this man???
It's def. been a standby of cranks & charlatans e.g. "Holy Blood, Holy Grail."
If we're to believe that Mary conceived a child without a bio. father, it would only make sense that the baby was a clone of its mother.
Sarah Bernhardt played Hamlet.
This actress was also in the all women cast of Jesus Christ Superstar, She Has Risen edition.
(It's also just kind of wild as a musical because it started as a concept album, which undoubtedly made it harder to stage than it might have been.)
how embarrassing...
*collapses onto fainting couch*
Where do I buy the tickets?
Sure, why not. If it’s going to be an interesting examination of the differences between treatment of a man or woman being in that position. How about someone androgynous where no one knows?
Such an unimaginative 20th Century person he is
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/cynthia-erivo-jesus-christ-superstar-hollywood-bowl-1236311644/
But sure, no Russian money or influence going on there, nothing to see here 😜
I volunteer to hurl the pie if someone gets the horse semen.