Aaron LaVigne – Courtesy of Broadway in Indianapolis. Used with Permission.
Aaron LaVigne, who plays Jesus in the traveling production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” coming to Clowes Memorial Hall January 18-23, said he first discovered the revered sung-through rock musical when he played Judas in his high school’s production of the mega-hit, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The show is presented by Broadway in Indianapolis as part of its 2021-2022 season.
Featuring lyrics and music by Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony-winners Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, the North American tour of this iconic musical is directed by Timothy Sheader and choreographed by Drew McOnie.
The story of “Jesus Christ Superstar” takes place during the final weeks in the life of Jesus Christ, as seen through the eyes of Judas. Reflecting the rock roots that defined a generation, the legendary score includes “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “Gethsemane,” and “Superstar.” A musical phenomenon, JCS has earned a world-wide fan base, as evidenced by NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” that attracted over 9.6 million viewers in 2021.
What makes this version different than the countless other productions that have been presented since the epic musical first debuted half a century ago? To find out, I reached out to LaVigne, who has been performing with the tour since it began in 2019, in a recent Zoom call. Below is an edited transcript of our video chat.
Where are you?
I am in a little Airbnb in Boston, Massachusetts, near Boston Common.
How long have you been on the tour?
Originally, the tour started in October of 2019. Seven months into it, COVID hit, and we got shut down. Eighteen months later, we restarted with rehearsals in August and opened in late September. In this newest leg, we have been in in five cities, thus far. Before Boston, we played San Francisco, Toronto, Milwaukee, Portland and Seattle.
Where did you spend the lockdown?
I renovated a house for about two and a half years in my hometown in Cincinnati leading up to the pandemic. I wasn’t even in New York when I got the call to do the tour. So, I had the house. It was finished. I closed the permit. So, I went on tour and we ended up in Cleveland, Ohio before we got shut down and then I returned to my house in Cincinnati. I love Cincinnati. I grew up there. Went to college there. I have also been living in New York since the mid-2000s. I go there and it’s lovely. It really is. It is good to experience the temperature of the Midwest and still have a cool city to hang out in. It is kind of a fun combo.
Ever play Indy?
I was in a production of “Rent” that toured there about 12 years ago. I was there recently too. I was a big punk rock fan in high school. A bunch of friends and myself went to see a show two or three years ago. It was a lot of fun.
The company of the North American Tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar” – Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman. Used with permission.
When did you first see “Jesus Christ Superstar?”
I discovered the show when I was 18. I got the theatre bug in high school, during the last few months of my senior year. I discovered “Rent,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and “Miss Saigon.” That was like my first exposure to theatre. I saw “Rent” on tour, but “JCS,” we did a version of it at our school. I went to Catholic school and I played Judas. We were auditioning. I took a theatre class and caught the bug and my teacher said, “We are going to do JCS? You should audition for Judas.” I said OK. So, I ended up playing Judas and honestly, it was amazing. It was transformative. The music alone was insane, right? That is why it has this staying power for 50 years. The story is also insane. It is very powerful. The emotional connection is really something. I also did “Jesus” two years later in a summer program called Cincinnati Young People’s Theatre. We put on “JCS” there and it was great. I played Jesus and that is when I started taking theatre seriously and asked myself, “Am I going to do this for a career and I am going to study theatre?” Then I saw Ted Neeley do it. My friend was in that cast, which was on tour in 2007. I got cast in that production a year later. I ended up not doing it. I had another opportunity. I eventually did another professional production of it and now I am doing this production, which is wildly different than any other version I have ever done.
How is it wildly different?
This version really focuses on the music. Our director and choreographer are incredibly creative. They are very avant-garde. They are very, “Let us simplify everything…to the point where…the music is what we are celebrating. What is relevant about a 50th anniversary and what is relevant is this brown album that came out a few years ago and won a Grammy?” It was like the “Hamilton” of its time. It’s my job to fulfill, but for them, their creative outlook was to honor this music. “So, let us start there…what version do you want to do?” So, they created a version where Jesus is a singer-songwriter and leader of a band, and their music is the gospel and this whole thing has this gig feel to it. It has all these aspects of a concert. I sing into a handheld mic the entire show, so it is a whole different ballgame. I am literally singing into a microphone and trying to somewhat perform, but also trying to be very natural about what is happening on stage and have a conversation. The choreography is incredible…. it’s a mob…it’s a beehive…they follow Jesus…this smooth mob and then all of a sudden, they just turn on the guy and that is their mission from then on. It is a wild production, but really thoughtful though. I really enjoy it. We had to take a moment. I had to figure out what the style of it was. It is different than any other version I have ever seen. I play Jesus, but I am not walking around healing people, being the father and being a teacher. It is more about being the man, being in the group and being the person who has the microphone in his hand. And that is our storytelling. Who has the microphone? Who has something to say? This is how we pass it back and forth with the communication on stage.
How is the score treated?
It is not verbatim. It is like taking a needle and starting a record, dropping the needle on the brown album and pressing play and going for 90 minutes straight. It is the same show. It is very true to the brown album. There are a few things that are slightly different. I play guitar in the show, acoustic guitar in Gethsemane, but otherwise, it is exactly the same. We have a very simple set. I guess the best way to describe it…it is like an abandoned area or perhaps something was there at some point. There’s a cross laying down on the stage and everything is tall and vertical. The band is on the platform on top. Everything takes place on this metal cross. There are a couple of layers also, but very simple. Everything about the show is simplified and getting back to the music. The costumes are very neutral.
Aaron LaVigne, Jenna Rubaii and company of the North American Tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar”. Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman. Used with permission.
How many in the cast?
With the swings, with COVID, there are a lot of variations, but with the swings, it’s about 27 maybe. On stage, it is about 24 or 25. We shut down for a week in Toronto. Our final week, we ran out of people. I got COVID in early December. I am OK. It hit me pretty good. A little fatigue. Still feeling that. Still have little bit of a headache. I still have a heavy chest. I can still sing and everything, but it takes a little extra steam.
Were you fully vaccinated?
Oh yes, we are a fully vaccinated company. It is mandated. What is funny is that everybody was in the process of getting their boosters too along the way and it is this Omicron variant that did not care about our vaccines. For the most part, everyone who’s gotten it, it has been pretty mild because we are vaccinated, I think, and the vaccines have kept us from getting sick. It is something the whole world has to deal with in a different capacity. If we are going to gather, we are going to have to start dealing with it and our company is really doing a good job with it. We have been planning this for a long time. Our union, our company, we are continually active, and the thing is…we are shifting. Things are shifting. We follow the CDC guidelines and those are shifting too, so we are looking at this as the new normal. At the same time, we are taking just, I would say, extreme measures, but we are extremely cautious and careful.
How have the houses been? Are people showing up?
Oh yes! Amazing. It is a little more. It is not sparse. Right now, COVID is coming through and nobody wants to get COVID. So, with Toronto, we had 50 percent capacity, but we were sold out for most of the run. We had a five-week run there. Incredible run there. All these cities, we have gone to have been really fantastic. Even when we opened in Portland, we were lucky. Our first two months on the west coast were in Washington, California. They were very careful about COVID stuff, but people are still practical. People are still craving theatre…creating connection.
What kind of feedback are you getting at the stage door after your shows?
The stage door is technically closed now. It is kind of a bummer because it is really a good way to interact with people and hear people’s stories. People have so many connections with this show. I am not big on social media, but I would say the one thing I do is my Instagram. I get a lot of messages. This show has a wide-ranging impact on people. People tell me they saw Ted Neeley do it. They saw the original company on Broadway, London, the movie, this, that, they did a local production somewhere. Everybody has a really special connection to this show, either because of the music or their faith and they come and see the show…usually. It’s not for everybody, but the messages I get are overwhelmingly kind and this is why we go to the theatre. This is why art moves us. So, when you go there, and someone can floor you in a performance and give you pause…it’s funny…I’ll open a show and then I’ll get a message the next day or later. People are processing this show and what it meant to them in the moment, and they take it with them to their job the next day or with their family and they’ll write and say, “Hey, I saw your show a couple of days ago and thought it was incredible” or whatever they write. It’s nice to get that interaction. It would be nice to have that at the state door too, but hopefully we can get back to that.
Do people get fixated on you as your character, Jesus?
The Jesus jokes never end. They are always around. Whether it is a joke or real. It is endearing because look at this job I get to do. This is this 50th anniversary of this Andrew Lloyd Webber show. This thing that exploded and won a Grammy in the early seventies and people love this show. I love this show. We talk about it at work. We get to show up and do a show. It feels good to do the material. We are performers. We do a lot of different shows. Sometimes, it is hard to show up every day because the material may be flawed, or the script may be bad, or we don’t like the idea of doing a show that capitalizes on a movie ten years ago. This is very different.
How long is the tour?
This tour is slated to run until mid-August.
Does the show impact non-believers?
That is the beauty of this. There is room for everybody. There’s room for people of faith. People come solely because of their faith. We go to areas where there are lots of versions of Christianity and people can get on board with this show and it moves them. And for people who are more secular, they want to come out and see the story of these two men and this ensemble of people and have this human connection and this human story. The show is timeless. When you look at it…and I don’t try to overanalyze it…I’ve seen this version of it before and it’s a crazy version to watch because you would really have to watch it a couple of times to see some of small nuances of things and how the story is actually being told, which is really neat because there is something for everyone, if you are a performer, a fan of dance, a fan of singers, rock singers…this is it. If you’re a fan of amazing avant-garde choreography and storytelling, this is it, the band, the orchestra is sick. So good.
Aaron LaVigne, Tommy Sherlock and the company of the North American Tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar” – Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman. Used with permission.
How many are in the show’s orchestra?
I might have this wrong but there are twelve. But we also do cities where we might have a string quartet play with us that sits in with us or extra horns.
What is after this in your career?
I do not have a clue. I have some ideas I am trying to work out. For now, after COVID, we are all in a place where …I am certainly ambitious, but I am just grateful to have this job right now and this job takes up a lot of my energy. And a lot of my emotional currency. So, it something where I am just trying to enjoy in this moment.
Are you open to doing any kind of material?
Yes, of course. I studied musical theatre and acting and music. So, that is my background, but when you get to New York and you are in the midst of everyone else you are competing with, the casting people like to put you in …you are in a zone. You look a certain way. You sound a certain way. You can do this kind of comedy. You can sing this way. After a few auditions, (they say) oh, he’s the rock guy.
How do you like touring?
I enjoy it. I like it because I know a lot of people from my time in New York and people spread out all over the country, so I am very fortunate. I have a great community of people who live throughout the country who see the show. I am a big outdoors person. So, when we were up in Portland or California, I get to see The Redwoods and go to the Columbia River Gorge or go to the national parks. I am really into that. The cities too. I am into the culture of every city and like to put my finger on the pulse of every city I go to. Some of my favorites are the smaller towns where there are some quality people and quality things happening.
Do you like to try restaurants in the cities you visit?
For sure. I must be careful. I have to maintain a diet and make sure I am physically healthy to do the show. Otherwise, I would be out all the time.
Do you work out?
I do. I have a few issues. The show is incredibly physical, so I have some injuries I deal with that have prohibited me from doing things sometimes, but for the most part, my pre-shows are an hour and half every day, plus my workout.
Are you a dancer?
I am not a dancer. I could not do what they do out there.
Do you tun into fans in every city when you are out and about?
Oh yes. In San Francisco, for instance, someone on the street yelled out, “Jesus, I love you!” There’s a lot of that or you’ll see someone at the coffee shop who will say, “I saw your show and you did an amazing job.” People want to gather. People want to be moved. It is a really cool thing to do something that is really timeless.
Are you feeling the love more?I find it overwhelming at times. At the end of shows, people just leap to their feet. I was in the curtain call and was on the bow and I just started clapping for the audience thinking, “I am clapping for you because you are here. You are the ones showing up during this.” There is a whole new sentiment since the pandemic. People have died. The lyrics, “Why should I die?” hold much more meaning now.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” tickets are on sale now and available at Broadwayinindianapolis.com and Ticketmaster.com. The performance schedule is Tuesday-Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday matinee at 2:00 p.m., Sunday matinee at 1:00 p.m., and Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m.
