Superstar!: Behind the Scenes of Jesus Christ Superstar

by Ellis Nassour

Almost thirty years after Rock Opera, his first book on Jesus Christ Superstar, Ellis Nassour returns to the world of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to complete the fascinating story of the Broadway musical that rocked the stage and pushed boundaries. Nassour goes behind the scenes to show the evolution of Jesus Christ Superstar from an album to a Broadway musical, exploring not only the breakthroughs, but also the frustrations and pitfalls. With never-before-seen photos and new interviews, Superstar presents a detailed account of the life of the musical from 1969–1973.

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

Published February 29, 2024

Reviews

[Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books starts with backgrounds for Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice before they meet up to become collaborators. The story of Superstar being made into a studio album before it is ever staged is legendary in musical theater history. This book gives lots and lots of details from meetings to castings, protests, unauthorized staging and finally a finished product and eventual movie. It also includes some black and white photos. I did learn some things like the music came before the lyrics and issues then came during staging. Parts of the book seem gossipy and name dropping. Do I need to know about invitations to Barbara Streisand's birthday parties where she doesn't interact with them? Other reviews have commented on incorrect musical terms. I’m a fan of the show and have seen in multiple times in various stagings. Thank you to Globe Pequot, Applause for the temporary ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving an honest review.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really love Jesus Christ Superstar. It's a show my dad and I bonded over when we didn't bond over a lot, and it's one of two musicals he introduced me to instead of the reverse. It's meaningful to me. I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about it, but I wanted more out of this book.

There's a huge focus on the album, which makes sense, but the film is all but skimmed over by comparison, and the original Broadway production is the only one meaningfully covered, even though this is recently published and there have been a ton of noteworthy ones since then. The sources are also surprising; for instance, we almost never get quotes from Ted Neeley and rarely from other cast members.

I can't speak to the terminology, but going off of other reviews, apparently a lot of it is incorrect in reference to music. That's disheartening, as it is the meat of the subject matter of this book. What I can say is that Andrew Lloyd Weber comes off abysmal, which he seems to need no help with, but I noted Nassour using terms like "sneer" to describe his speech more than once - not helping matters any and making his own take fairly clear.

There are also so many pages recounting the plot in miniscule detail. If you are reading this, I'm going to hazard a guess you are already familiar and do not need a song-by-song summary.

I did enjoy learning more about the casts and about the concept behind the Broadway production, which was something else. I also liked learning about the controversy surrounding the album and the show.

I don't regret reading this, but I also don't think it was worth the money spent to purchase it.

[Kim Novak (The Reading Rx) · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a theater fan, I was looking forward to reading a lovely book about JCS and how it came to be the artistic masterpiece that it is. Perhaps I was really wanting this to be a gorgeous fangirl coffee table book. I did enjoy the production pictures and celeb quotes, but I wanted more of that. It was clear that the author has a passion for JCS, but it came off more like your old great uncle sipping on whisky at your third cousin's wedding and rambling incessantly about the good ole days with his accountant cronies. There was just so much name dropping, unnecessary description of people (I really didn't care if they were 5'11" or 6'1" or had a paunch or not), and random celebrity gossip that seemed out of place. Perhaps, I am just not the right audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Globe Pequot, Applause for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

[Maryann · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some typos and a few obvious mistakes, and having read Rice’s and Lloyd-Webber’s autobiographies, I didn’t need quite so much play-by-play of their lives and the women with whom they wanted to sleep.

But I wanted a detail-loaded, in-depth history of the album, the musical, and the movie, and after a slow start, this book delivered.

[Kendra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading about the inception and reception of JCS, a musical I first encountered through the concept album. But this book is so fraught with cringe-worthy incorrect uses of musical terms, inconsistencies and contradictions, and unsupported claims that it's painful to read. The prose is heavy-handed and gushing, the details often foggy, and the emphasis on certain subjects--Tim Rice's apparently endless pursuit of women, for example--is unbalancing and, to be honest, kind of creepy. While author Nassour had considerable and unique access with the creation of the show in a professional capacity, he comes across here like an uncritical fan in awe of Rice and Lloyd Webber. Musicians will be turned off by Nassour's egregious errors in writing about music, while fans will be frustrated with the poor overall writing and attempts to be dramatic, as well as the casual sexism. It's a shame, really, because the musical deserves better work on its history.

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

At the request of the Drama, Choral Music, and Band Director, we are attempting to build up our high school library's dramatic and vocal arts collections. Thank goodness that through #NetGalley we had the opportunity to preview this work. While the title is promising, the incorrect usage of musical terms removed it from our to-be-purchased list. One has to wonder where the book editor was and if they were familiar with the terminology.

[Cat. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving up on this. It's not a bad book, just very detailed and because I read it mostly while at the nursing home, it has left a pretty bad taste in my brain (mix metaphors much?) so I doubt I'll ever go back and finish it.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellis Nassour provides a detailed look at the development of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. However, it is often too detailed, spending too much time on the development of the concept album rather than the musical. By the latter half of the book it is often repetitive as well. While there is interesting information to be found, it is often surrounded by the superfluous.