Neeley never tires of living the ‘Superstar’ life

Back in 1971, when Ted Neeley first began performing the role of Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the musical often drew long lines of protesters. People feared that a secular approach to the life of Christ would end up setting blasphemy to music.
It was the first musical penned by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, a team that would go on to create some of the world’s most well-received and lucrative productions. But no one had such later hits as “Cats,” “Phantom of the Opera” and “Evita” to use as reference points. It seemed easier to many folks to pick up a picket sign than to call to reserve tickets.
So Neeley said he would step outside the theaters, walk along the line of protesters and calmly ask they why they opposed the show.
“People were lined up around the block,” Neeley said as he took a brief tour break in Atlanta.
So when he could engage a protester in a conversation, he’d hear him out — and then ask if he’d actually seen the musical. In every instance, the protester hadn’t seen it, so Neeley would invite him to attend as his guest.
A number of times, people took him up on his offer.
“The people who were courageous enough to come always loved it,” he said.
It didn’t take long for “Jesus Christ Superstar” to charm those early critics. But what Neeley couldn’t have anticipated was the power the musical would gain to lure audience members to come see it over and over again over the years, bringing children and then grandchildren with them.
“Now here we are, this many years later, still doing the same songs in the same sequence, and we are considered a spiritual ‘Sesame Street,’ ’’ Neeley said.
“They see an actual human being — that Jesus actually walked the Earth as a man. This particular project took Jesus off the stained-glass window and put him back on the street.”
So much so, in fact, that many of the cast members who’ll perform with Neeley during Tuesday’s performance at John Paul Jones Arena grew up listening to the musical score and watching the 1973 film version, in which Neeley also starred.
“They grew up with this piece being played in their homes,” he said of his cast mates, all but six of whom are on their first tour with the show.
“My life has been so overwhelmingly blessed,” Neeley said. “I’m the luckiest man alive. I’m the most hugged man alive.”
Who’s doing the hugging? It’s the audience members who come backstage after every performance. Town after town, folks wait to talk to Neeley. They show him photographs from the 1970s showing younger versions of themselves standing with Neeley and his cast mates. They introduce him to tall teens who were babies in backstage photos from productions in the 1990s. And they share their personal stories about how specific songs and scenes have affected them, deepened their faith, prompted them to dust off a Bible.
What started for the actor and singer as an effort to persuade reluctant theater lovers to give the show a fair chance turned into a tradition of listening to audience members’ feedback after the show.
“It’s so rewarding to hear the stories people tell me,” he said. “They come back and bring generations of their families. Every single night, there’s someone who shows me photos from the ’70s.”
One cast member, in fact, was a little boy brought backstage to meet Neeley once. The young fan grew up and became an actor who now plays an apostle early in the show and then a guard who whips Jesus.
“That’s what it’s about — the people who come to see it because it’s part of their lives,” Neeley said.
“People come to this show with their own spiritual reality. They are as much a part of this as we are. That’s why I can’t let it go.”
Neeley’s been doing the show “let’s see, eight times a week for 2,000 years,” he said with a laugh, and the idea that there will be a final performance out there somewhere isn’t one he enjoys thinking about.
“I must tell you honestly, it’s really tough for me to think about the possibility,” he said. “We haven’t approached that yet, because they keep adding dates.”
In the meantime, Neeley remains grateful that he’s had the chance to play a rich role that constantly reveals new insights.
“”It’s constant enlightenment. I have epiphanies every night.” he said.
And it sure beats other ways an actor can make a living.
“I’m just so grateful that I didn’t get picked to play Charlie Manson,” he said.