Dance and symbolism important part of Jesus Christ Superstar at Renaissance Center

Release Date: 3/7/2005. Expired: 3/20/2005

Dance and symbolism are integrated into the well-known music of Jesus Christ Superstar in the Renaissance Players production opening March 11 at The Renaissance Center in Dickson.

Director Hal Partlow is incorporating a variety of dance styles to complement the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice rock opera depicting the last week of Christ’s life based on the gospels.

The Renaissance Players present Jesus Christ Superstar at 7 p.m. March 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26 and 2 p.m. March 13 and 20. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7 for children under 13.

Amy Scott, managing director of the Renaissance Players, and Pacer Harp, managing director of the Gaslight Dinner Theatre, are choreographers for the production. Scott has choreographed several productions at the center, most recently designing all the dance routines for the successful regional debut of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Harp choreographed the center’s 2001 production of Godspell and most recently directed and choreographed the dinner theatre productions of 8 Track - The Sounds of the ‘70s and A Christmas Survival Guide.

“We are very fortunate to have two such talented choreographers as Pacer and Amy on staff here at The Renaissance Center,” said Partlow. “Their unique talents are greatly featured in a show like Jesus Christ Superstar, which is open to a number of dance styles in different scenes.”

The dance routines for the Renaissance Players production range from 1920s flappers to modern interpretive dance, from contemporary hip-hop to choreographed fight sequences.

“The music itself incorporates a variety of styles even though it flows continuously through the play,” Partlow said. “Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music sets the mood for each scene and our choreography is designed to enhance that feeling while complementing the action of the story.”

Through its various incarnations over the years, Jesus Christ Superstar has been staged to reflect the mood of the times. The original 1971 Broadway production and Norman Jewison’s 1973 film version took on a “hippie” feel of the times while the latest revival of the 1990s went for a “grunge” atmosphere. In between, the show has been presented in a mixture of styles, from Biblical periods to fascist military themes.

“While staying true to the lyrics and music, our interpretation provides unique visual presentations through our set, costumes, choreography, staging and symbolism,” Partlow said. “Different groups and individual actors on stage will represent everything from innocence, represented mostly by children, to the world’s growing sins, represented in a totally different style.

“Our fight sequences and even our choreography can carry a symbolic message that goes along with the music. In something as simple as the crowd lifting Christ over their heads, you see the people’s hands carrying him to his death but also reaching out to touch him, a symbol of the people’s confusion in wanting to believe this man was their savior but also so afraid of the oppression they lived with under Roman rule that they would turn him over to be judged.”

The Renaissance Players present Jesus Christ Superstar with a six-piece band that will be playing in the auditorium and conducted by Elaine Sherrill, senior director of music at The Renaissance Center.

“Elaine has put together a wonderful band and we’ve placed it, as well as pit singers, in the house instead of our audio studio as we’ve done with recent productions,” Partlow said. “Because the music is such an important part of this production, having the band in the hall helps blend the musicians and the cast into one unit for the overall performance.”

Jesus Christ Superstar is showing for three weekends, but there is no matinee on the final weekend, which is Easter Sunday.

“This play celebrates a period that is critical to the basic faith of Christianity and we offer it as part of the Lenten season celebration leading up to Easter,” Partlow said.

For more information on the Renaissance Players production of Jesus Christ Superstar, call (615)740-5600. To purchase tickets for a performance, call (615) 740-5570.

The Renaissance Center is an arts and technology education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.

Visit the Theatre page for more about community and professional theatre.

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