Jesus Cristo Superstar

Source: Guia UOL

I was lucky enough to see Jesus Cristo Superstar, a Brazilian adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Weber classic. I’ve seen a Spanish language version of Phantom of the Opera in Mexico City before, and both then and now I’m amazed at the ability to adapt the musical into another language and not make it seem like a translated version — in other words, make it seem like it was originally written in the language performed.  I admit I struggled a bit to understand the lyrics — I guess being fluent in real world Portuguese is not the same as being fluent in musical theater Portuguese — but nevertheless I enjoyed the live music and performances. (Nine years of Catholic school also help make the story easy enough to follow.) 

Playing at the Teatro do Complexo Ohtake Cultural in Pinheiros, it features Igor Rickli and his piercing eyes as Jesus, dynamic singer/actress Negra Li as Mary Magdalene and rocker Alírio Netto (the best part of the show, in my opinion) as Judas.