E.J. Simpson presents Jesus Christ Superstar

What shall rise

Simpson decided to do Jesus Christ Superstar because he and his siblings and parents loved the album. “We listened to it all the time,” said Simpson. "I must have heard it over a hundred times.” He conceived the idea of doing it as a one-man show 18 years ago because he was going through a lot of personal transitions at the time and needed to undertake a project like that. Listening to the album made him happy.

Launching his first performance was not too difficult; he performed it at Dawson Street Pub in Manayunk. At the time, he was already playing music there, and the management liked Simpson’s sound. They agreed to let him perform it on a Sunday afternoon when their pub was less busy. Simpson’s debut performance packed Dawson Street Pub that afternoon. He then played there for a number of years.

One day after playing music at Gloria Dei, he asked the staff if he could do his one-man Superstar performance and they enthusiastically agreed.

Performing this production became a tradition. He usually performs Jesus Christ Superstar around Easter. “The show is Easter themed,” said Simpson. “People asked me, ‘Are you going to do it again this year?’ Sometimes, people told me that they wanted to see it because they missed it last year.”

Performing this show connects Simpson with his parents who are both deceased. They came to many of his shows when he played with bands and his Jesus Christ performances. It also reminds him of the good times that he and his entire family had listening to the album together.

Each year, Simpson tries to make his performance of Jesus Christ different. Some years, he would use certain guitars and basses and move around to different locations on the stage. This year is the first time that he will be using a director: Mariangela Saavedra. Under her direction, he now had to perform a dress rehearsal from start to finish. “I never did that before this year,” said Simpson. Now he can only use certain parts of the stage and the aisles. Before he could wander anywhere he wanted; he said that her restrictions and guidance will make the show much better.

Asked once again how he managed to portray a number of characters, he answered: “Instead of telling you, see the show.”

At top: E.J. Simpson is a local musician and has been solo-performing the Broadway classic for nearly 20 years. (Photo courtesy of E.J. Simpson.)