Jewish ‘Superstar’ director

It begs the question: What’s a nice Jewish boy doing directing “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which opens The Muny’s 99^th season June 12?

If you happen to be Gordon Greenberg, who in fact will be directing The Muny opener, the answer is a little more complex than just a few sentences. But it also comes down to the fact that when Muny artistic director and executive producer Mike Isaacson calls, theater professionals from all over the country respond positively (more on that a little later).

“When Mike asked me to direct the show I said yes because I have always loved it. It was actually the first show I ever directed (in the early 2000s),” says Greenberg, 49, who lives in New York City and with “Jesus Christ Superstar,” will be directing his fourth musical at The Muny. “I love its power and broad themes. In a theater as large as the Muny it helps to have ideas of this scope and music and emotions that can clearly fill 12,000 seats. This show is thrilling from any vantage point.”

For the unfamiliar, “Jesus Christ Superstar” is a 1970 rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It highlights political and interpersonal struggles between Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 Apostles, and Jesus that are not present in the Bible narratives. 

Greenberg says what also contributed to his decision to direct the play was a recent trip to Israel. He brought along Reza Aslan’s book “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” which is a historical reconstruction, to the best of the author’s ability, of the life of Jesus and analyzes the various religious perspectives on Jesus as well as the creation of Christianity.

“It’s interesting because the trip for me was more a trip about Roman history, Christianity and Islam than it was Judaism and the interaction that converge among those religions,” says Greenberg. “The entire story of the life of Jesus was new to me — really most of what I knew of it came from musical and plays. Not unlike my Judaism, which was largely secular. . .

“But to me the story to tell is the human and relatable one at the center of this, which is to say the relationship between Jesus, Judas and Mary (Magdalene, a prostitute). That triangle becomes the beating heart of this story.”

Through reading Aslan’s book, says Greenberg, he learned that Jesus’ mission was to preach a new way of being Jewish. “At the time it was necessary to pay for worship and that involved making a sacrifice in which Jewish high priests charged a high amount and turned away anyone ailing or infirm,” says Greenberg. “Jesus said, ‘This is wrong. Prayers should be free to all no matter what afflictions.’ These were important disruptions at the time. 

“(Jesus) was a combination of Bernie Sanders and Martin Luther King Jr. and people were threatened by him in very much the same way they are threatened by those men.”

As Greenberg and I chatted, he mentioned that he first “broke into the biz” as an actor, being cast “in Herb Gardner and Neil Simon plays, ones that were very Jewish in nature.”

His love of theater began at a young age; he begged his parents to send him to a theater camp he had found in the back of The New York Times, but they said it would have to wait until after his bar mitzvah. Once he was able to go, he made lifelong friends including Jeanine Tesori, the composer of “Fun Home”; Mark Saks, casting director of TV’s “The Good Wife,” and Josh Charles, one of the show’s stars.

“We all stayed with it and were very passionate,” says Greenberg. “Camp encouraged me and made me believe I could go the distance professionally. In fact, the next year I was cast in my first Broadway show, and that was the beginning of my acting career.”

Greenberg’s resume includes directing the Broadway adaptation of Irving Berlin’s film “Holiday Inn,” a London West End revival of “Guys And Dolls,” which received critical praiseand was nominated for six Olivier Awards (the British Tonys), and more recently, a stage adaptation of “Tangled” for Disney. Currently, he is working on several projects, including co-writing and directing a musical theater adaptation of “The Secret of My Success,” which featured Michael J. Fox in the film version. In fact, the composer-lyricist team features Alan Schmuckler, who you might recall played in The Muny’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” last year and whom I wrote about at the time.

“With a name like Schmuckler, you never forget,” says Greenberg, describing him as a “wildly creative, bright guy. 

“I couldn’t stop laughing when I first heard the name.”

Which brings us back to Greenberg’s admiration of Isaacson and The Muny in general.

“Mike is a friend and colleague; he and I are working on other projects outside of this one. It’s always a joy to work with him,” says Greenberg. “As far as The Muny goes, I am a theater camp kid. It was probably the best time of my young life and (The Muny) is as close an approximation as I can imagine. To rehearse outside on a platform with people who love what they are doing and to have that tremendous audience and their appreciation — it’s really a lovely couple of weeks.”

For tickets and more information, call 855- 881-8645 or go to themuny.org.

Go Gabe!

Kudos to the Light’s teen page (Ohr Chadash) staff writer Gabe Fleisher for a lengthy piece about him and his daily newsletter, “Wake Up to Politics,” which was featured on the cover of The New York Times Style section Sunday. The Times described the free newsletter, which Gabe, 15, has been writing in some form since he was 8, as “a surprisingly sophisticated, well-researched summary of the day’s political news.”

Gabe is the son of Central Reform Congregation Rabbi Randy Fleisher and his wife, Amy, and attends John Burroughs School. Gabe told the Times, “I feel a sense of responsibility. Not everyone reads it every day, and it’s obviously not the only thing people read. But some people tell me that it is. And that’s a responsibility that I take seriously.”

Not surprising, Gabe’s followers grew to 28,000 from 2,000 after the article ran.

Part of the loop

Michael Staenberg may well be a household name in the St. Louis Jewish community — now he’s on his way to become one in the Denver area Jewish community.

The Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center (JCC Denver) just announced its new name, Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center. The new name continues to include Bob Loup’s name to honor all he did to support the Denver JCC, and also includes Staenberg’s name, as a way of giving credit for all he has done for the JCC over the past few years. 

The Denver JCC is finalizing renovations to the interior and exterior of the building and in the parking lots to ensure safety. According to a new release, Staenberg took the lead during a time of transition. His contribution to the Denver facility includes thousands of hours of support and millions of dollars donated. 

Asked Tuesday, “Why Denver?” Staenberg explained: “I do considerable business there and just got involved. Once I was involved I wanted to stick with it and felt I could help make a difference.

“When I can make a difference in a Jewish community locally it also helps nationally and internationally.” 

Welcoming  Kranzberg

Welcome Nancy Kranzberg, one of St. Louis’ busiest people, who has agreed to write a monthly arts and entertainment column for the Jewish Light (thank you Nancy!). Few in St. Louis rival Nancy (and her husband Ken Kranzberg’s) support of the arts either philanthropically or in attendance. You can find this month’s column on Page 17.