Meet the cast: Roderick Cotton

Judas Iscariot can be a polarizing figure within Jesus Christ Superstar. The musical doesn’t seek to villainize him but rather portray him as man conflicted by his personal demons and the society in which he lives. Roderick Cotton, who will be playing the iconic role in the Omaha Community Playhouse’s upcoming production, sat down and answered a few questions about the production.

What shows have you performed in at the Omaha Community Playhouse? Any favorite roles?

I've had the pleasure of performing in five Omaha Community Playhouse productions before Jesus Christ Superstar. My first production was Sugar Babies when I was a senior in high school. After that, I played Mitch Mahoney in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a personal favorite role of mine. Following that, I performed in Chicago, The All Night Strut! and Altar Boyz.

Where do you work when you're not performing and/or in rehearsals at the Playhouse?

Well, for several years I worked for a company called American Entertainment Productions where I performed at amusement parks singing and dancing in their shows. Nowadays my daytime job is working at Immanuel Village, a nursing home here in Omaha.

What's your relationship with Jesus Christ Superstar? Have you performed in this show before?

This will be my first time performing in the show. I first came across it when I got involved in musical theatre in high school. My friends would always play the musical in the car and we would sing along with the CD. They would always tell me I would make a great Judas one day, and now I’m thrilled to get to actually take on the challenge.

What’s your take on the modern retelling of this production?

I think the modern take [Director] Kimberly [Faith Hickman] is using on the show is really cool, and it will make it that much more relatable to audiences today. The story itself is timeless and very important and would be effective in any time period. In my opinion, what's most important is the connection to the words and the way the story is told by the actors. I think we have found a great way to do just that.

How have rehearsals been going?

Rehearsals have been great! It's so fun coming in every day and finding new things to connect to with this story despite it's been around forever. The only challenge is keeping yourself physically and vocally healthy with this very demanding piece of theatre. It's that time of year where we all have to fight catching a cold. I got a little under the weather and lost my voice the week our director showed up. Needless to say, belting out the role of Judas wasn't so easy that week.

Do you do anything interesting/unusual outside of theatre?

Wow! This is a question I’ll have to think about so I won't incriminate myself! (laughs) I have a whole entirely different persona that I perform on many nightclub stages, singing and dancing. I think I'll leave it at that and let people’s imaginations wander…

You can see Roderick Cotton in his role as Judas Iscariot in the Omaha Community Playhouse’s Jesus Christ Superstar, running March 6–April 4, 2015 (no performance on Easter, April 5); Wednesday–Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $40 for adults and $25 for students. For groups of 12 or more, tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for students. To purchase tickets, or for more information, call (402) 553-0800 or click here.

Meet the cast: Jason DeLong

Omaha Community Playhouse actors are well-known for having various careers outside of theatre. Due to the structure of Omaha’s theatre landscape, paid industry work is usually few and far between. Often, the time and energy put into rehearsals and performance is strictly volunteer. However, you’d never know it meeting some of OCP’s many volunteer actors. One such performer is Jason DeLong, an administrative coordinator for Envisions, Inc., a company that provides habilitation to adults with developmental disabilities. Jason will be appearing in the ensemble of Jesus Christ Superstar this March.

A staple on the OCP stage, Jason DeLong approaches all of his roles with an unprecedented passion and professionalism. Among his many contributions to the productions in which he’s involved, he assists in vocal and dance warmups and leads the ensemble as dance captain. At OCP, Jason has appeared in Thoroughly Modern Millie, All Shook Up, Guys & Dolls, Chicago, Hairspray, Legally Blonde, The Wizard of Oz, Young Frankenstein, The Drowsy Chaperone and four years of A Christmas Carol.

Jason’s relationship with Jesus Christ Superstar began years ago when he appeared in the Dundee Dinner Theatre’s 2003 production of the musical. What appeals to him is that it “does not glorify Jesus but portrays him like a normal person rallying for the good of mankind, nor does it condemn Judas but rather portrays him as a man concerned with a society of followers that are easily swayed by the thoughts of people higher than themselves.”

When asked about the production’s modern retelling of the story, he says, “I love the direction Kimberly (director) has chosen to take the story. So much of it has no specific timeframe. Our modern approach gives importance and significance to the issues we as a society still face on an everyday basis.” He continues, “I feel Kimberly approaches her version of the show with the thought of returning to the original roots of rebellion and letting the harsh aggression of the text and music shine and ring in a setting of life today.”

You can see Jason DeLong in the ensemble of the Omaha Community Playhouse’s Jesus Christ Superstar, running March 6–April 4, 2015 (no performance on Easter, April 5); Wednesday–Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $40 for adults and $25 for students. For groups of 12 or more, tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for students. To purchase tickets, or for more information, call (402) 553-0800 or click here.

Story by Noah Diaz

Jesus Christ Superstar gets a modern makeover

The Omaha Community Playhouse has given Jesus Christ Superstar a makeover. The 1970 musical from Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber will forgo its usual robes and sandals in favor of business suits and Converse. Director and choreographer Kimberly Faith Hickman, known for work on such Tony Award-winning Broadway shows as Clybourne Park (assistant director to Pam McKinnon) and The Assembled Parties (assistant director to Lynne Meadow), answered a few questions about the upcoming production.

What's your relationship with Jesus Christ Superstar? Have you worked on it before?
This is my first time working on Jesus Christ Superstar. I knew many of the songs already, but somehow I have never had the opportunity to work on the show prior to now. 

What aspects of the musical speak to you? 
I really love these characters, particularly Judas and Pilate (I know, I know...the "bad" guys!) I have always been drawn to characters whose life choices aren't always similar to my own. I welcome any opportunity to learn what makes a person tick. I think this musical does a fantastic job of exploring not only Jesus, but also Judas and Pilate. Why did Judas betray Jesus? Why did Pilate ultimately go along with the decision to crucify Christ? I also love that this musical explores the idea of purpose. What are we put here on Earth to do? Will we accomplish it? With Jesus Christ Superstar, we get to explore answers to those questions.   

Costume renderings by Costume Designer Lydia Dawson

What inspired the modern take?
Many theatres are starting to approach this story through a modern lens. It makes the story more accessible for today's audiences. The themes of this story are absolutely timeless: love, hope, forgiveness, betrayal, jealousy and most of all, purpose. All of these characters ask themselves, “How will I be remembered when I am gone?" We all ask ourselves that question at some point in our lives. There are fragments of these characters that can be found within ourselves if we look close enough.

How have rehearsals been? Any interesting stories and/or discoveries with the cast? 
Rehearsals have been a blast. The talent in this show is unbelievable. There are some faces in our show that will be familiar to OCP audience members and there are many new faces as well. What continues to astound me is the age range of our actors. Our youngest cast member is 13. Our oldest cast member is 63. That alone is a testament to the power and popularity of this musical and how it has maintained its relevancy for over 40 years.   

Jesus Christ Superstar set designed by Jim Othuse

What key elements have gone into the new retelling? 
The costume and set design were the key factors to approaching this in a contemporary way. Lydia Dawson (costume designer), Jim Othuse (scenic and lighting designer) and I spent a lot of time looking at photographs that reflected the political landscape of the last 10 years. We combed through images of cities where various rallies took place and these provided a lot of inspiration for our staging of Jesus Christ Superstar. Similar to our politicians of today, King Herod and Pilate are wearing suits. Similar to our activists of today, Jesus is a guy in a t-shirt, jeans and Converse sneakers. We wanted this production to look like the world we are living in now.     

How has the new spin influenced the way you've approached the text and music? 
Though the characters do not look as if they are living in a Biblical time, we haven't changed the lyrics or music in any way. Finding modern day parallels to the stories in the Bible has been quite interesting, and incorporating modern day behavior (use of cell phones and technology for example) has been very exciting. Anyone and everyone can be a celebrity these days. We are living in an age of social media where we "share" everything that we do whether it is through a photo, video or status update. As we have rehearsed with this modern day approach in mind, we discovered that while many things have changed since the time of Christ, many things also remain the same.

How do you think the audience will react to the departure from the classic 1970s-era depiction of JCS? 
I think it may surprise some people. There may be expectations of Jesus having long hair and wearing a white tunic. Instead he has short hair and wears blue jeans. But once they get past the visual surprise, I think they will find that the story, the purity of these characters and this amazing rock score remains fully intact. I can't wait for the work of this amazing cast and production team to be introduced to audiences. 

You can see the Omaha Community Playhouse’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar, running March 6–April 4, 2015 (no performance on Easter, April 5); Wednesday–Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $40 for adults and $25 for students. For groups of 12 or more, tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for students. To purchase tickets, or for more information, call (402) 553-0800 or click here.

Story by Noah Diaz