Jesus Christ Superstar Live: Best And Worst Moments

BEST: REACH OUT AND TOUCH SOMEONE

We can't say it enough: Musicals. Thrive. On. The. Energy. Of. Live. Audiences.

BEST: THE MAN IS NON-STOP

We loved the backstage feed, which clued at-home viewers to what was going on in the hall during commercial breaks.

BEST: WANDERING MINSTRELS

The choice to put all of the musicians on stage and have some of them interact with the cast added another dynamic layer to the proceedings.

BEST: THE WHOLE SHEBANG

On the whole, Jesus Christ Superstar Live held together far better than NBC's previous live musical events. 

BEST: IMPROVEMENT ON THE ORIGINAL

We don't usually advocate for messing with something that works, as-is, but the addition of the Peter-Mary duet "Could We Start Again Please?" — which appears in the 1973 film adaptation of the musical but not Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's original concept album — was a gorgeously sad moment of peace in a hctic Act II.

BEST: DANCE PARTY!

John Legend and the rest of the cast gave the audience the green light to come up on stage and boogie after the bows. Look at the joy on those faces!

BEST: TRIPLE THREATS

Casting vocal powerhouses who also can act (and sometimes dance a little) paid off big time, no?

BEST: HIGH HIGHS

Legend's falsetto didn't disappoint — here's our first taste of it, during "Poor Jerusalem."

WORST: GLITTER BOMBED

The only thing we could focus on in "The Temple" number was that the actors rolling around in the shiny stuff are never going to get all of that glitter off their bodies, are they?

BEST: LET US SPRAY

While we don't condone defacing public spaces, we do appreciate the grand scale (no spray cans here!) Superstar had to employ to make the grafitti visible to the cheap seats at Marcy Armory.

BEST: TAKES A LICKING...

Did we mention the man was tossed across the stage by the high priests — while singing — and didn't miss a beat or a note?

MOST OVERRATED: ENTER THE KING?

Was it just us, or did Alice Cooper's portrayal of King Herod seem more like a karoke lark and less like a performer at his best?

BEST: ENTER THE KING

The lighting! The applause! The overly distressed T-shirt! John Legend's entrance was appropriately grand for someone addressed as "savior."

BEST: REPRISE ME

Brandon Victor Dixon was phenomenal throughout the show, but his broken reprise of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" damn near killed us. How does one fit so much pain into so few bars?

WORST (IN THE BEST WAY): LASH EXTENSIONS

Oh man, if there had been 40 lashes, we probably would have confessed to anything Pilate suggested, if only to make the beating stop. So hard to watch, right?

SWEATIEST (?): UNDER THE LEATHER

Major props to cast members like Ben Daniels (seen here) and Brandon Victor Dixon, who sported leather pants throughout the two-plus-hour broadcast. You just know those things don't breathe.

WORST: IN THE MIX

We're pretty sure Norm Lewis, Jin Ha and the rest of the priests sounded awesome, but sometimes, the audio mix made it hard to hear all of them equally. 

WORST: MISSING THE MARK

Something is off about this shot, no? (Psst, dude on the right, move in!)

WORST: TMZZZZ

The camera work was meant to look tabloid-ish when reporters dogged Jesus, but it just made us a little nauseous. 

BEST: SET IT UP

Production designer Jason Ardizzone-West's sets, which melded classic frescoes with metal scaffolding, were stunning.

BEST: HEY NOW, YOU'RE A SUPERSTAR

"Superstar" — Judas' revival with the Soul Sisters — really lived up to its name.

BEST: HOLY MARY

Sara Bareilles killed as Mary Magdalene, singing "I Don't Know How to Love Him" like it was written for her.