Timing is everything according to the gospel of the box office.
Consider “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which opened Monday and runs for six performances through Thursday at Savannah Center. Alex Santoriello directs and stars as Judas in the famed musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It has turned into one of the biggest hit productions in the history of The Villages.
The first four performances are virtually sold out, although some tickets remain for two shows on Thursday. That means nearly 5,000 people will see the show at Savannah Center.
Watch video of the show here:
Such is the timing of putting on a spiritual musical during Easter Week and Passover.
“It’s truly a blessing,” said Joan Knapton, producer of the show for KC Productions. “It’s tremendous to have so many people coming to see this show. We talked about doing it at Easter and it’s a perfect time for it.”
Villagers Carol and Doug Mosier enjoyed the show during the holiday week.
“We’re Christians and this is a good way to spend some time during Easter Week,” Carol said. “We’ve seen it before. This musical is entertainment; it’s not meant to be taken literally from the bible.”
“It’s very exciting,” added Doug. “And it’s inspiring.”
Now, in addition to Easter Week, “Superstar” has another angle going for it: Four Mary Magdalenes: Dawn DiNome, Mary Jo Vitale (Tuesday), Sue Schuler (Wednesday) and Kathleen Kane (Thursday).
DiNome played the role on Monday. She is music and choir director at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church.
“A lot of people from the church showed up tonight,” she said, and was nearly moved to tears when the audience stood and cheered for her at the end of the show.
“It’s a special show, and playing Mary means so much to me,” DiNome said.
Villagers Sue and Jack Zaback belong to St. Vincent de Paul.
“Dawn is such a wonderful, inspiring singer,” Sue said. “We had to see her.”
The couple has seen “Superstar” before.
“I’ve always loved the music and the dancing in this show,” Sue said. “The message of Jesus’ love comes through. It’s a blessing to be here tonight.”
Alex Santoriello shares that feeling. He gave an awe-inspiring, emotionally-draining performance as Judas.
“I had so much fun tonight; I could just feel the character of Judas inside me,” he said. “There’s a moment of an actor on stage when everything becomes real, and tonight for me it was real.”
Choreographer Laurie Scheben has been trying to bring “Jesus Christ Superstar” to The Villages for six years. “It finally happened and I’m so happy,” said the director of the wildly creative dance sequences in the musical.
“I’m not surprised so many people are coming to see it,” she added. “It comes straight from the bible – how can you miss.”
She wasn’t alone in her enthusiasm.
“Everybody in the cast was psyched for this,” said Tim Casey who played Pilate. That included Alex Scopino who was battling a bug, but turned in a first rate performance with his bass voice as Caiaphas.
“I’ve always loved this musical,” Scopino said. “It’s such a fantastic story and it brings together so many theatrical elements.”
And then there’s Gary DeLena, who plays Jesus.
He flew in from New York and Sunday attended Mass at St. Timothy Catholic Church here.
“I was sitting in the pew looking at Jesus on the cross and I just felt something special,” DeLena said. “For me, doing this show and coming to The Villages has been an unforgettable experience. I truly feel inspired.”
Such inspiration is part of “Jesus Christ Superstar” any time of year.