Jesus Christ Superstar 50th Anniversary Tour, November 10th, 2021

Well, last night, my wife and I did something we hadn't done in 4 years; we went to see a live musical. Saw a 50th anniversary live touring production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" (one of my favorite musicals) at a nice venue, the Segerstrom Performing Arts Center in Orange (about 45 minutes from us).

Normally, I wouldn't dream of attending a live performance in the age of COVID, but my wife had free tickets from a work colleague who couldn't attend, and there was a strict mask mandate with proof of vaccination required, so that eased my discomfort a little. However, once we got inside the auditorium, it quickly filled up, and I had a mild bout of anxiety (nothing externally visible, more heart-beating faster, breathing-harder kind of reaction). I forced myself to calm down (Jules helped--she's my anchor) and enjoy the show.

The performance was great; a modern updating with more contemporary costumes and sets, but everything else was very faithful to the original show. The costumes were 21st century casual, loosely-fitted and styled to vaguely suggest period desert garb; very clever. Very talented cast (extra kudos to a very strong Judas), and gorgeous lighting. Easily on a par with a show you'd see in Los Angeles (can't make that claim with a Broadway show).

To be honest, I wouldn't go through this for a movie (I have good enough movie-watching technology at home), but I love live theater (even dabbled in community theater in my early 20s), and these tickets practically fell onto our laps, so we went. Despite my anxiety, it was worth it.