Samuel Morris – Year One On e MT. MT. Context Essay. Essay.
When asked what musicals have been inuenced by social and !olitical events " o#ten look in the direction o# ma$or chan%e in the art #orm which could be subse&uent to an event in history. This is true with shows such as Showboat, Oklahoma and even Rent all all o# which tackle many issues within the themes !resented in the shows themselves. " look at these musicals as re!resentatives re!resentatives o# a clear inuence by the socio'!olitical events o# the time. We see a racially inte%rated cast in Showboat (1927) in a time when the blacks were still se%re%ated in many (S states) Oklahoma (1943) and its debut durin% the Second World War. We see that the latter show tacklin% an issue close to the hearts o# its audience was Rent (1996) which tackled the issue o# *"+S in the ,-/s. When " look at 0esus Christ Su!erstar) " see a musical tacklin% the written %os!el and challen%in% an audience to think o# their Messiah as an ordinary man %iven celebrity status and inca!able to deal with these !owers. Written in ,-1- by *ndrew 2loyd Webber and Tim 3ice the show in its ori%inal #orm was a conce!t album. The show later o!ened in ,-4/ as a #ull scale 5roadway !roduction !roduction and later became a West End show in ,-46. The show does not only #ollow the decayin% !ower o# 0esus but #rom the !ers!ective o# 0udas. This is a musical that has been !ro#oundly inuenced by the socio'!olitical ha!!enin%s o# the 1/7s and 4/7s. 8rom the decade that brou%ht us The 5eatles) (S Civil 3i%ht) 9ietnam and the death o# a !resident) the ,-1/7s were years that chan%ed the #ace o# *merica and the world we know it today. +urin% these ower !ower years we saw a wide ran%e ran%e o# musical discoveries discoveries and the end o# the *merican *merican drea dream m had had been been tar tarnish nished ed by soci socio'! o'!ol olit itic ical al divi divide des s and and the the lust lust #or #or !er#ection was all but over. The im!act brou%ht an almi%hty chan%e to 5roadway 5roadway.. The :olden *%e o# 5roadway 5roadway was over and couldn7t com!are com!are to the rock7n7roll music o# the mid'Sixties and show tune ;lled charts were a thin% o# the !ass – indeed indeed
(OTE. 0esus Christ Su!erstar however chan%ed this) the conce! conce!tt album album relea released sed in ,-4/ ,-4/ to!!ed to!!ed the (.S 5illboar 5illboard d chart chart #or 1 weeks) thus !rovin% that !art o# the musicals instant success was due to its instant availability to the masses. "t is interestin% to see how a rock o!era would be born out o# the sixties. " think o# the inuence brou%ht on 2loyd Webber Webber by The 5eatles and The The Who. " see that the show as a rock concert was We must also look at the title – Su!erstar ' why did the writin% duo decide to %ive the son o# %od this celebrity status. What was &uestioned in this is whether the world and the Christian #aith also saw 0esus as a celebrity. Throu%hout Throu%hout the show we see Christ stru%%le with his new !ublic ima%e and he is evidently comin% to terms with his status as a role model and a role model #or his #ollowers. "t makes us an audience &uestion our belie#s
on Christ and !uts us in an uncom#ortable situation and state o# mind. Tim 3ice in an interview stated ?Christ is not seen as %od but sim!ly as a man...@ ATime) Bovember -) ,-4/. This is a !ro#ound statement to be make and one that is very interestin% when lookin% at how Christ is !ortrayed. We see many scenes in the show where this is ha!!enin% i# we look at the diseased !eo!le) ?
