!Hero

When The Last Supper breaks out into a raucous house party, you know this version of the Gospel isn't meant for grandma. But that's the intent of the creators of !Hero The Rock Opera -to get young people talking about Jesus by reaching them through a language they understand; modern rock and hip-hop music. Does !Hero succeed?

The rock opera came to Green Bay, WI on November 15th. The show was part of the Power of One Festival, sponsored by Life Promotions. The premise of !Hero seems simple enough - what if we lived in a world where Jesus doesn't arrive until today? This assumes that those in the audience have an understanding of the Gospel stories; of Jesus' life, work, death and resurrection. And if you don't, you're going to get lost, especially in the first act.

The first act introduces us to Jesus and who he is; someone who reaches out to the downtrodden and forgotten, who offers hope in a world that at best, is gloomy. There are many nice modern touches in the first act; the wedding feast breaks out into a gospel choir, Jesus heals a blind and disabled war vet (instead of a leper), feeding the multitudes by shooting bread out of an air canon, etc. The standout song in the first act is "Secrets of the Heart," sung by Rebecca St. James as Maggie (Mary Magdeline). God knows us better than we do. This song should be a radio single.

Some additional narrative bridges would help the first act. For example, I know Jesus is on a mission, but why does he go to New York? If you aren't familiar with the music, you also need to pay close attention to the songs, obviously the lyrics are everything to the story. The multimedia screens were a huge help in following and enhancing the narrative.

The second act is extremely powerful. The strongest song is "I Am," sung by Michael Tait as Jesus. It comes across as a call-to-arms to everyone in the audience. Palm Sunday features a nice touch as Jesus enters "Yankee Stadium" via an aisle in the show venue and walks through the audience shaking hands. Jesus' last night in Central Park was extraordinary as he deals with his human inner turmoil, depicted in !Hero as nightmarish in nature as represented by the spider-like dancers wearing gas-masks. This was actually creepy. You could hear a pin drop after the traitor Jude's suicide (played by Quinlan) in the darkened Resch Center followed immediately by the revelation of Jesus sacrificed on a street sign. Powerful stuff. While some youth complained that the show was too long and hard to follow, my 15-year old daughter cried more than once in Act Two. And so did I.

The resurrection was handled in a surprisingly pleasant, low-key manner. Without giving too much away, the theme of Jesus as a humble servant is appropriately, symbolically reinforced.

All the talent are wonderful. T-Bone stands out, as do the backing musicians, members of Tait (the band). They were superb at handling a variety of modern musical styles, from rap to arena rock. To those who have a problem with an African-American playing Jesus, get over it! We still have so much to overcome.

Should you go? If you have the opportunity, yes! There hasn't been anything like this in Christian music for a long time, and while there are some flaws, overall it is a wonderful show. I would, however suggest that you read the graphic novel version or at least become familiar with the songs.

If I had one huge quibble, as much as I would have loved to get one, I'm sorry but I'm not spending $25 on a tour t-shirt.