The newest production by the theater group Enchantrix takes place in an empty industrial space in Castroville. It’s a utilitarian slate for a powerful play with a catchy soundtrack.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera based on the Gospels’ accounts of the arrest and crucifixion. But his biblical foil, Judas, takes center stage as a friend who wants to stop Jesus before he provokes the local Roman and Jewish authorities. In other words, the biblical treason of Judas has psychological complexity.
The opera starts with Judas Iscariot (played by Jeff Hinderscheid) calling out the shortcomings of Jesus’ followers (“Heaven on Their Minds”). He questions Jesus (Stephan Sams) as a messiah and suggests his cult went too far and will get everybody involved into trouble. Mary Magdalene (Jona St. John) attempts to soothe the situation in the tender ballad “Everything’s Alright.”
You probably know what comes next. In Enchantrix’s version, there are colorful tents at the back of the stage, signifying a commune, and the paint-covered wood pallets where most of the action takes place. Then – out of nowhere – a puppet scene is on the stage for the frantic “Herod’s Song.”
The play is fraught, human and occasionally funny. Herod and his puppets are hilarious, but the scenes of the arrest, Judas’ self-inflicted death and the eventual crucifixion of Jesus are dark, in a spiritual way.
The costumes are half ancient, half contemporary, with a nod to rock aesthetics. Jesus himself goes around with an electric guitar and his relationship with Mary Magdalene is portrayed as physical. It is also, and will likely always be, acutely present-day, representing the drama of humanity in general: Who are we? Whom should we believe? Is there life after death?
The director and choreographer is Colin St. John, the vocal director is Tara Mann and the set design was done by Sean Aten. The original opera was first performed in 1971, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice.
Enchantrix, a group of local performers, debuted with Man of La Mancha in 2023, followed by A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2024. If you want to see this show, hurry: It runs for just two more weekends. After that, fans will have to wait to see what Enchantrix comes up with next year.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR 7pm Fridays and Saturdays through May 31. 11380 Commercial Parkway, Castroville. $25; $10/students. enchantrix.net/superstar
(2) comments
I saw Friday night’s Jesus Christ Superstar in Castroville and left at intermission—not in outrage, but in quiet disappointment. The cast was strong. Stephen Sams, as Jesus, sang and played with conviction. The venue was gritty and promising. But the choices made throughout the show added up to something that felt less like interpretation and more like erasure.
Right from the start—during Judas’s “Heaven on Their Minds”—the ensemble was shown taking what appeared to be psilocybin mushrooms. They laughed, collapsed, tripped out. Maybe it was meant to symbolize spiritual confusion or cultish fervor, but it felt cheap. A sacred story opened not with awe or tension, but with irony. And that set the tone.
Later, Jesus appeared draped in a Palestinian flag. I understand the impulse to be timely. But Jesus was a first-century Jewish rabbi, not a modern political symbol. Art can challenge, but this flattened the depth of His real identity.
The final moment for me came just before intermission. While Judas prepares to betray Him, Jesus and Mary Magdalene are engaged in simulated sex in the background. It was graphic, and more than that, baseless. There’s no scriptural support for that relationship, and when you insert it, you don’t deepen the story—you rewrite it.
What frustrates me most is this: the original 1970 album by Rice and Webber was controversial too, but it took the Gospel seriously. Rice studied Fulton Sheen’s Life of Christ. The songs came from the tension within the biblical text, not around it. If this production really wanted to go further, it could’ve done what the original never did—end with the Resurrection. That would’ve been brave. That would’ve completed the story.
Instead, what I saw traded substance for spectacle. The voices were strong. But the center—Christ’s mission, His identity, His truth—was missing.
—A listener, a believer, and someone who hoped for more
Hi Bill! Colin St. John here - director of the show. Thanks for coming and seeing it!
As someone who grew up as an altar boy in a private catholic school, I can assure you I've also done much research on the text the play was built on. The play itself takes plenty of liberties, including alluding to Mary being a reformed prostitute despite there being no foundation for that in the Bible, yet people tend to be plenty comfortable with that. I took that a bit further by turning it on its head in the second act, but I won't dive into that since you missed it.
The play itself also excludes so much, like the other men who were crucified next to Jesus, the murderer who was freed instead of Jesus, the stations of the cross, any miracles Jesus performed whatsoever, and clearly the majority of his life where the substance of his mission and his truth were revealed. Instead, the play focuses on some of the last moments of his life, and particularly Judas' betrayal from his perspective. Both the original work and our rendition were never intended to be a retelling of the New Testament or of the life of Jesus.
In modernizing the show, I took certain liberties that intended to challenge the audience's perception of these well known characters and where they would fit in today's world. Including the Palestinian flag was far from an impulse, and a very overanalyzed decision. I feel strongly that if Jesus were here today, and was asked his opinion about the bombing of men, women, and children in Palestine, he would not simply say "I don't get into politics." That is, if he would have had the chance to say anything at all considering he was born in what is now modern day Palestine and could very well have been one of the many infants indiscriminately bombed or intentionally starved to death. The mere act of Jesus having a Palestinian flag is expectedly triggering for some people, though I think all can agree Jesus promoted peace, forgiveness, and love above all else. When he says "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another," I don't think he meant for love to have borders. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" is another basis for this depiction, and also something that I felt was beautifully portrayed during the lashes in the second act.
I'm not sure Jesus and Mary kissing each others necks for a few seconds is necessarily graphically simulated sex, but I get your point. I'm sure you weren't the only one who took issue with that moment. For me, it expanded upon the concept of exploring "Jesus the man" as the author intended, as well as the often speculated relationship between Jesus and Mary. Additionally, it added another layer of depth to the relationship between Jesus, Mary, and Jesus in our rendition, as well as Judas' motivations, though those subtleties may have been overlooked.
It's too bad you left at intermission, because I would've loved to hear your thoughts on the second act. Though you didn't catch our depiction of the crucifixion, I'm not sure if you understand the reasons behind the choice to exclude the resurrection. The director of the movie talks about how this show focuses entirely on the story of Jesus the man rather than Jesus the God. Omitting the resurrection was not an oversight, but an intentional choice, to shine a light on the struggles that the human Jesus experienced, rather than his miracles such as his resurrection which was the platform for christianity. Even if I wanted to include it, I'd have to write new songs for a resurrection, and I'm no Andrew Lloyd Webber. But including the resurrection would be the true rewrite of THIS story, which I didn't have the rights to do, nor frankly was interested in.
I did not expect everyone to like this show with its polarizing and controversial topics, and appreciate hearing your perspective. Let's not forget Jesus was also a controversial and polarizing figure in his time, for whatever that may be worth, so in a way, at least I managed to get a biblically accurate reaction from you :) I am also so appreciative of the many people (religious and non-religious) who were deeply moved by this show and shared their experiences with us.
I do hope you'll continue to check out future Enchantrix productions. This show in particular took a lot of risks, which I see did not pay off for you personally. Good news for you is I do not direct all the Enchantrix shows, and there's lots of talent to appreciate on and off the stage.
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