WWJCSSD?

>> Jesus Christ Superstar’s longtime lead,
Ted Neeley, and newly cast Judas, Corey Glover,
on temptation, Tedheads and walking in the
sandals of the Bible’s boy wonder

AMEN TO THAT: Jesus Christ Superstar

by RAFAEL KATIGBAK

What would Jesus do? It’s a question that has inspired Christian keeners and ironic shirt makers for the last two decades. But the truth is, nobody really knows. Jesus is dead and he’s not coming back until at least 2012. So why not ask the guy who’s been playing Jesus longer than the actual Jesus was on Earth?

Texas-born Ted Neeley is the glass-shattering, leper-healing, market-destroying main character from the original psychedelic rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar. This Sunday, he comes to Montreal to reprise the role that he’s been rocking since 1971. The Mirror decided to call and ask him what it’s like being the saviour.

Following that was a chat with Corey Glover, the frontman of black rock fusioneers Living Color and Judas to Neeley’s Jesus in the current run of JCSS.

Mirror: Do you feel a need to act a certain way in public because you’re Jesus? It must be pretty frustrating. For example, you probably couldn’t go out and get really drunk and kick the crap out of someone.

Ted Neely: (laughs) I promise you, it’s not a frustration at all. It’s a very positive thing for me. I’m proud to say I’ve tried to be a good guy most of my life. I don’t have leanings towards getting crazy anyway, it’s just not part of my personal make-up. I come from a small, dry Texas county where you’d have to drive 50 miles to find a beer.

M: So you never got buck wild? Even in the ’70s? There must have been a lot of parties going on. You never gave in to temptation?

TN: (laughs) Define for me, if you will, temptation.

M: C’mon, just watching the JCSS movie, it’s so psychedelic. I imagine there had to be drugs, booze and so on. I’m just wondering, was that ever part of your life?

TN: Have I had the temptation? It has been surrounding me since I left Texas. It’s always there. It’s always there for all of us. Yet something was embedded so deeply in my psyche, from that little town, that made me have the ability to rise above it. I had, and have, no problem walking into a party atmosphere, and not passing judgment on what people are doing, and enjoying people for whatever they’re doing. I tried to stay away from anything that would cause problems with people’s perception of Jesus. When this comes to the end of the road, eventually, I may freak out!

M: You might go on a crazy acid-and-hooker binge…

TN: Who knows! But for now, no matter where we go, because of the nature of what we do as entertainers, we’re invited along to the places where temptation happens. And 90 per cent of the time, I don’t go because I’m concerned with the guilt by association. I know that the people who respect this piece, who come see it again and again and again, have a certain expectation. I’m not going to step on that.

Surrogate Son of God

M: Do fans ever believe that you are Jesus?

TN: Yes! Now, keep in mind, Rafael, I have no problem whatsoever. I know I’m a rock ’n’ roll drummer from Texas who got really, really lucky to get cast in this wonderful piece. But I will not step on anybody’s beliefs. My feeling is that if I can be a channel for a connection somehow, a touchstone, for anybody to find some sort of peace in their own spirituality, then I am truly blessed to have that opportunity. I have watched that happen, all these years, people who come to me and thank me for giving them the opportunity to find their spirituality.

M: What about groupies? Do you let them down easy or are you all, “Yes, I’m Jesus, let me use my healing hands on you…”

TN: Well, I’ll say again, define groupies.

M: Groupies, you know, girls who meet up with the band after shows backstage, to try and get with them, you know, in a Biblical sense.

TN: (laughs) Well, I have to say, just as in bands, it’s across the board in any aspect of the entertainment world.

M: Did you indulge in the beginning, and now you’ve slowed down a bit?

TN: No, I pride myself on the fact that all I’ve been able to experience in my life has been positive. To me, it’s an opportunity to communicate with anybody who wants to do that. I’m open to communicating with anyone! For example, the show generally goes on around 8, and it’ll come down around 10 p.m. Well, sometimes I don’t leave the building until 2 in the morning, I’m with people the whole time. Some who’ve come from as far away as Japan or Australia or China or England—if someone’s travelled that far, I always make myself available to talk about what we’ve just experienced. The key word there is talk.

BETRAYER PLAYER: Neeley as Jesus, Glover as Judas

Judas on Jesus

M: I asked Ted Neeley if he was concerned about how he has to act in public because of who he is in the show. Basically, he can’t be a badass anywhere, because people will call him out. But you, being Judas, you can do whatever the hell you want. That must be nice.

Corey Glover: (laughs) I’m allowed to be a dickhead. Exactly. But nah, I don’t need no trouble. I have enough trouble as it is.

M: You were in Living Color—did you guys party harder than the JCSS crew?

CG: No, we didn’t really party. Besides, these theatre folks, when they break, they break hard. The thing is, you’re on the road, and you’re running around doing this show every night, and you get a day off. So what are you gonna do? They go. And they’re theatrical, so it’s gotta be dramatic.

M: Ted tried to pass himself off as a guy who’s totally innocent, never partied, never did anything like that…

CG: He doesn’t anymore.

M: You’ve never seen him party? You’ve never seen him get crunked and wild out?

CG: Nah, but I’ve heard, and he’s kind of alluded to stuff he did back in the day. I personally haven’t seen him do that, not since I’ve been out here with him.

M: Really? You realize this is your chance to be the Judas to his Jesus.

CG: I can try and tell you what I know, but basically what I know now is that he ain’t doin’ shit. He’s being a very good boy right now.

M: What about the groupies? You’ve never witnessed any Mary Magdalene situations?

CG: We actually call those superfans Tedheads. I hate to be so cheesy, but Ted’s got a cult of personality.

M: I was hoping you were gonna say that.

CG: He’s got a bunch of folks, all of them know his whole life story, and they have files of his career, on his movie and beyond his movie. They know Ted. And there’s some folks that just think that—I dunno, they might think that Ted’s Jesus.

M: He’s told me that.

CG: It’s bizarre. He has people coming and wanting him to bless their babies. It’s intense, and it’s for real. People come from all over the world, not just in the States—they come to watch Ted, to come see Ted, to talk to Ted.

M: So do the same people who think Ted is Jesus look at you and go, “Fuck you, you betrayed him”?

CG: (laughs) I don’t get static, but they don’t want to talk to me. They want to talk to Teddy, they don’t want to talk to me.

At Place des Arts on Sunday,
Feb. 17, 7 p.m., $45–$65