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Both the current production of Jesus Christ Superstar and the new How To Make Gravy movie are instructive about the changing place of Christianity in Australian society.

“And David danced whirling round before with all his might.” (2 Samuel 6:14-15) (NJB)

I am always pleased when popular culture embraces religious themes, although I am often sadly disappointed.

Thankfully all is not lost. Christian musicians such as New Orleans’ Lauren Daigle and Australia’s own For King & Country have enjoyed sold-out Australian tours this year. Most recently New Zealand’s Brooke Fraser performed a beautiful show with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on the Sydney Opera House steps. For King & Country’s lovely movie Unsung Hero is also now streaming online.

But these are unapologetically Christian artists seeking primarily, at least, to cater for a Christian audience. What is happening in popular culture? Christians, like Conservatives, Liberals, Republicans, Democrats and other groups can seek their news and their entertainment from within their bubble. There is comfort but also danger in that — if only loosing track of what the rest of society is thinking and, in particular, thinking of Christ and his followers.

This article will look at the current version of Jesus Christ Superstar playing at the Capitol Theatre and it will be followed by a piece on the new Australian Christmas movie, How To Make Gravy.

Jesus Christ Superstar: A Reminder of the Place of Christianity in Contemporary Australia

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Superstar was originally released in September 1970 as an album. Superstar is based on the weeks leading up to the crucifixion of Christ.

While admittedly a popular musical is probably not the best place to seek to grapple with complex theological questions, the real motivation of Judas and his relationship with Christ is worthy of deep reflection. Pondering these questions since watching this latest rendition of Superstar has led me to recognise the fact that, while the fallen archangel Satan might win the occasional battle, he can never ultimately triumph over the omnipotent and all-knowing God.

So Satan tempted Adam and Eve into the Original Sin (Genesis 3: 1-7) and entered into Judas (John 13:27); but without the necessary sin of the “happy fault” of Original Sin (The Exsultet: The Proclamation of Easter) and without the Judas kiss, there would be no resurrection. There would then not be nearly 2.4 billion Christians today.

Similarly, the complex emotions that must have arisen for those who followed Jesus — including women — warrant deep reflection. In covering both of these aspects, Superstar does raise some interesting questions which, no doubt, followers and enemies of Christ alike have considered for centuries.

Superstar has been performed many times in Australia since its first performance here in 1972. Past renditions have featured such Australian pop and rock royalty as Marcia Hines, John Farnham, Angry Anderson, Jon English, Stevie Wright, Kate Ceberano and Doug Parkinson.

The latest iteration does not feature such big names — I knew of only Mahalia Barnes and the infamous Reuben Kaye — and so the producers must have formed the view that the musical has sufficient attractive power on its own.

First the good news. Rice and Lloyd Webber’s music has aged remarkably well and there are some very powerful musical performances in this version. For me, Mahalia Barnes is the strongest performer. In particular, her version of I Don’t Know How to Love Him is tender, passionate and very moving.

Mahalia plays the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet. She is called Mary here, which suggests that she is intended to be Mary of Magdala. It is most unlikely that Mary of Magdala is the unnamed woman who anointed Christ’s feet. When the Gospel writers mean to refer to Mary of Magdala they do so (see, for example, John 20:1). Sadly for Peter, James and John (who could not stay awake as requested at Gethsemane), Peter (in particular for his three denials of Christ) and for (doubting) Thomas, the Gospel writers were not in the habit of protecting the identity of those whose behaviour was found wanting. Javon King as Judas also has a strong voice and performance.

Sadly for the success of the show, in my view, Michael Paynter, who plays Christ, is not the strongest singer or performer. I am very sad to say that his reciting of the words of Christ on the cross did not move me and the serious problems with this show do not end there.

In 1972, almost 90 per cent of Australians identified in the census as Christians; less than 44 per cent do today. This might make it sensible to try to attract a broad audience but surely not to actively repel a Christian audience. The “Last Supper Cocktails” on sale on first arrival at the theatre showed how much the producers were focusing on making a Christian audience feel comfortable. They should at least have had some regard for the likely lack of knowledge of the story in a contemporary Australian audience.

However, this production is difficult even for believing Christians to follow. It is at least as over-indulgent as the constant singing in Joker: Folie à Deux. Here the indulgence is in the over-abundance of dancing, the costumes, the staging and in the performance of Reuben Kaye. This story just does not need all of the distractions.

In Bart Millard’s 1999 song, I Can Only Imagine, which was a huge hit for his band MercyMe, Millard speculates on how he might behave in heaven in the presence of the Lord (“Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still?”). The Old Testament described David dancing and whirling round before the Lord, so perhaps dancing might be appropriate in the presence of Christ at times.

In this version of Superstar, however, dancing is omnipresent, everywhere and usually involves a large number of dancers. It really is just way too much.

The songs and the story have not been modified to be set in contemporary times but the stage has a most industrial feel. It features a horizontal steel cross and steel rigging through which the band is visible throughout. This is the backdrop for the entire show whether the action is in Bethany, Gethsemane, Herod or Pontius Pilate’ palace or Golgotha.

Jesus and his followers wear dull tracksuits with hoodies. Jesus is clean shaven with short hair. Both Jesus and Peter also play guitar. The uninitiated might think that Jesus is a troubadour leading an aerobics dance group. The crucifixion is there — albeit not on a wooden crucifix — but Judas’ death is showered in mystery (he is not shown hanging himself) and non-Christians must be bamboozled by the stylised “flogging” of Christ.

The horrendous and violent treatment of Christ prior to his being nailed to the cross is central to the story. Here rather than Roman guards flogging Christ we see a gyrating woman — perhaps she represents evil — flinging red glitter at Christ. This sort of re-imagining just disguises the brutality of the truth: real people — like us — battered the Christ almost to death.

If Reuben Kaye’s name sounds familiar it is because he was on The Project in March 2023 and delivered a very offensive “joke” about Christ. While the choice of Kaye to play Herod may be explained by the fact that Herod was no friend of Christians, the theatricality of Kaye’s brightly shining costume and antics are just so completely over the top that they really dominate the second half of the show — and overshadow the crucifixion. Should any audience members have forgotten Kaye’s infamy, his “Nailed It!” comment as he exits the stage serves as a stark reminder.

In the past Superstar has been criticised for concluding at the crucifixion and omitting the resurrection. While I think that going on to incorporate the resurrection would make for a better and certainly a more uplifting musical, that criticism could also be levelled at Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ and the original 14 Stations of the Cross (although the resurrection is now added as a 15^th station in many versions today).

Concluding at the death of Christ is one thing, but this edition of Superstar ends with a weird sequela in which Judas and Christ sit together on the metallic horizontal cross and look at each other while saying nothing. While Judas is unscarred from his suicide by hanging, Christ is fresh from the cross, covered in stage blood — this is no glorious resurrected and transfigured body.

The message appears to be a scandalous and bleak one of recognition that the result of both Judas and Christ’s decisions have ended in their sad and meaningless deaths.

So, this is not a great version of the musical. Whether it indicates a trend away from being even considerate of a Christian audience will be explored in the foreshadowed review of How To Make Gravy.

Only One Character is Missing From the New How To Make Gravy Movie: The Baby Jesus (Foxtel Original)

“Honour your father and mother … You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:12, 14) (NJB)

“So then, what God has united, human beings must not divide.” (Matthew 19:6) (NJB)

Christmas movies are abundant these days. Let’s be honest, they tend to be poorly scripted, poorly acted, cheaply made and cheesy — entertaining but really just not very good.

The new Australian Christmas movie, How to Make Gravy, is different. While it has not seen a theatre release and has gone straight to streaming services, this does not mean that it is not a well-made movie. It has high production values, strong and convincing acting (including an excellent performance by Hugo Weaving) and (with the exception of the prison chaplain) believable and realistic dialogue.

It really does effectively evoke the look and feel of two Christmas times for an Australian family in Queensland — the magpies are calling and it is just way too hot but the roast will go on. It is Christmas in Australia but devoid of two simply ubiquitous features of Christmas in Australia — there is no nativity scene in sight and there are no Christmas carols.

The movie is inspired by the 1996 song of the same name, written by one of the nation’s most accomplished songwriters, Paul Kelly. Through his adept storytelling, a very sad tune in which a letter written by a fictitious prison inmate Joe to his brother Dan at Christmas time is set to music. The song has become perhaps an unlikely Australian Christmas staple.

In his letter, Joe (played here by Daniel Henshall) speaks of family members, spouses, children and boyfriends and here all of those characters — Dan, Rita, Angus, Frank, Dolly and Roger — are skilfully brought to life. In his letter Joe also spells out his recipe for Christmas gravy, so that another family member might make the gravy in his absence. In the movie the gravy-making moves into the jail.

In an interview with Louis Rugendyke in the Sun-Herald’s Sunday lift-out, of December 1, 2024, director Nick Waterman (who also wrote the script with his wife, musician Megan Washington) explained their approach with this movie: “We treated the song like it was Shakespeare. Like it was this sacred text in the way that it belongs to Australia. Not in terms of its age, but just how precious it is.”

In many respects they accomplish this objective, but just one of the song’s characters and one characteristic of Joe, the protagonist, is strangely absent. In the song, Joe writes: “I pray to baby Jesus, have a merry Christmas.” In the movie, Joe does not seem to be the prayerful type and the moviemakers have managed to make an Australian Christmas movie with no baby Jesus.

The child might easily have been seen by driving past a local nativity scene — we have one next to our town hall and in the park in the suburb adjacent — or including one in the prison chapel, as surely would be the case — or even by hearing a Christmas carol or song in the soundtrack.

The movie includes an obvious vehicle for a mention of the infant Jesus in a Christmas performance by the prison choir held first in the prison chapel. But instead a Megan Washington original is sung.

Christian viewers’ disappointment with the absence of the Christ child is likely to be magnified by the inclusion of a character not mentioned in Kelly’s song but central to Dan’s success in delivering the concluding culinary hit — the prison chaplain.

The chaplain is clearly nervous among the prisoners. He is unsuccessful in attracting more than a few to his service (which may be intended to be a Catholic Mass). The chaplain’s poor choices of content cannot help with attendance — rather than speaking of the nativity of St John the Baptist or the coming feast of Christmas, this chaplain delivers a sermon (or is it a homily) on John 4:14 (the “living water” discourse) on December 23.

Although at one point the chaplain uses a formulation of prayer which would be unusual for a Catholic priest (“In Jesus’ name we pray”), the prison chapel appears to feature the Stations of the Cross, wine is clearly an integral feature of his services, and he wears what appear to be Catholic vestments (albeit oddly wearing green in Advent).

Perhaps a young and nervous priest in an otherwise dry prison may sneak a gulp of altar wine in the sacristy. Perhaps to ingratiate himself with the inmates, such a priest may be prepared to sneak some of that altar wine into the prisoners’ Christmas gravy, but it is just not realistic — and scandalous — for the scriptwriters to have the chaplain say “blood of Christ” as he pours altar wine into the broth.

So, what is going on here? Despite reference to Him in the song on which the script is based, omitting the baby Jesus from the movie is one thing, but why would the script veer into the blasphemous like this?

In an interview with Benjamin Law, published in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Weekend, on December 7, 2024, Washington was asked about her religious faith. She said that she “grew up not Catholic but Cathol-ish” and that, following her confirmation, after attending a Christian rock concert, she became a born-again Christian.

While she was clearly committed to her faith at the time, undertaking missionary trips to Vanuatu and Borneo, when she went to university she felt that she no longer needed organised religion. She said that she now believes “in the teachings of Ryan Holiday. And in taking each day as an opportunity to have a small, quiet, meaningful life.” She describes her (I find very impoverished and sad) personal vision of heaven being a “sparkling beach with my family”.

Washington may no longer be a person of faith, but surely commercial imperatives would militate against unnecessarily antagonising Christians in a mainstream Christmas movie? Perhaps not. Seven prominent Australians were asked about their Christmas traditions in the Sun-Herald’s Sunday lift-out on December 8, 2024 — none mentioned celebrating the birth of Christ, singing carols or attending a Church service.

In 2022, McCrindle published the results of a survey in a paper entitled, “The changing faith landscape of Australia”. It is available for download from the McCrindle website. It showed an Australia with very varied attitudes towards Christianity. While 30 per cent of Australians considered themselves Christian, McCrindle found that about the same percentage were cold to Christianity, with 6 per cent passionately opposed to it, 13 per cent having strong reservation or no interest in Christianity and 9 per cent having some issues with Christianity which “isn’t for them”.

So, in a mainstream theatrical performance or movie, producers might feel that they are far from alone — and not risking commercial failure — by adopting the approaches that they do.

While Christianity’s place as the dominant tradition in Australian society is clearly under threat, aspects of Christian morality survive in popular culture perhaps sometimes unobserved by the producers. This is true of How to Make Gravy.

When Joe’s brother Dan moves into the family home — he says to help Rita, Joe’s wife, look after the three children alone — his motives seem clouded by his obvious attraction to her. While Rita is very happy to dance with Dan, she seems not to share his confusion over the nature of their relationship. She remains faithful to her husband despite his absence in jail — which is protracted by his failures to achieve early release through good behaviour.

Similarly, Joe and Dan’s sister Stella sticks with her (sometimes very annoying husband) Roger. Joe’s son Angus is clearly devoted to him and honours him as the commandments require — he may need to work on his relationship with his mum, though.

The movie really does have deeply Christian themes of the importance of family, love and forgiveness. With some more thought I am sure that How to Make Gravy could have avoided unnecessary and gratuitous antagonism of a Christian audience while remaining attractive to those cold on that faith tradition. I could then have recommended the movie instead of recommending against it.

Both the current production of Jesus Christ Superstar and the new How To Make Gravy movie are demonstrations of the changing place of Christianity in Australian society. Both works have many good things about them but both include content that seems to be there to deliberately antagonise believing Christians. I would recommend against seeing them.

Jesus Christ Superstar is playing at the Capitol Theatre, Haymarket, until January 26, 2025.

How to Make Gravy is streaming now.

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Republished with thanks to News Weekly.