Barry Dennen is still the best Pontius Pilate

I just watched the NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar Live Performance of Easter April 1st 2018.  I enjoyed it, it was very good.

Ben Daniels as Pilate was solid, but Barry Dennen is still the best.

My parents had the original LP of Jesus Christ Superstar back in the day, and we'd rented the movie a few times.  So this Musical was a big part of my childhood.  Me and my brother used to sort of act it all out as we listened to the Album.

There was a phase in my time as an Evangelical Fundamentalist that I came to share the same hostility many of my fellow Fundamentalists have for it.  One disparaging reference to it exists on my Prophecy Blog.  But while I still consider myself a Fundamentalist I've mellowed on things like that.  Yes some Biblical Inaccuracies in it make me a little uncomfortable then others, mainly the "heal yourselves" part.  And Andrew Loyd Webber probably doesn't share my theology, but the Author is Dead and so there is plenty of value someone who does think Jesus was God Incarnate can take from this musical.  Because we also Believe Jesus was Human and sometimes we downplay that out of fear of disrespecting His Divinity.

So before the start of this year I hadn't watched or listened to it for quite awhile actually.  Then it so happened that a month or so ago we obtained the 73 movie on DVD and watched it.  And then I started looking for related YouTube videos of various kinds.  If anyone actually follows my Twitter you may have noticed my Tweeting about it a bit, like saying I'd like to see productions that get creative with the genders of the characters since Mary as the only Woman is a dated aspect of the Play that could use some updating.  And I've said plenty on my Blogs that can justify even having Jesus be played by a Woman.

If there is one area where I feel Jesus Christ Superstar is more Biblically accurate then most dramatizations of The Passion you see now days, it's in the characterization of Pontius Pilate.

The Gospels paint a relatively sympathetic picture of Pilate.  Many feel the Gospels inherently contradict what Josephus had to say about Pilate, but I feel that ignore the context of the picture Josephus paints.  And Josephus was not an eyewitness to Pilate's Governorship anyway.

Hollywood has a tendency, especially in the Old Epics, to have Rome=Fascism. Since Mussolini was a wannabe Caesar anyway he and Hitler both borrowed a lot of Roman Imagery, so it happens to come naturally for Roman imagery to evoke Fascism.  And since Pilate kind of represents Rome in The Passion narrative, plenty of film depictions have him be like Conrad Veidt in Casablanca wearing a Toga.

And then Mel Gibson's attempt to capture the Gospel's more sympathetic characterization kind of made him come off as...... I don't wanna say "weak" but as not someone you'd expect be a military Governor.

This Musical manages to find the right balance for how to depict Pilate.  And much of the credit for that goes to Barry Dennen playing the role in the original LP, the original Broadway run and the 73 film.  And so when I say he's the best Pontius Pilate performance, I don't just mean in productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, I mean period.

It's interesting even to compare the different performances Dennen gave.  He seems kind of like he was cast for his acting more then singing, though he had been in other Musicals.  So on the original Concept Album his performance isn't quite as polished yet.  You need to see the 73 film to really see him shine.

He has that particular kind of Accent that I see Actors use only when they're playing Patrician Romans, and that Nerds of my kind always love listening too.  I'm not an expect on counting Meter, but I think some of the Trial Before Pilate is in Iambic Pentameter.  But I also like the more subtle things that he was only able to do in the Movie.  Like how he uses his Hands during the flogging scene.

However I feel the key place where other Pilates fail in comparison is in those last few Lines he has at the very end.  Which Barry Dennen delivered very intensely and loudly, what some might call "overacting" but he sells it perfectly.  And it's those final lines that make me as a fan of Anime Dubs kind of want to hear the role portrayed by Crispan Freeman (something else I already mentioned on Twitter), maybe he's the one person who could compete at delivering those lines.