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Heading out of the theatre during the intermission to the Dublin Fringe Festival’s Peaches Christ Superstar, I overheard two women talking. “What? You’re leaving?” “Yeah. I forgot how much I hated these songs. I thought this would be something different, but it’s just her, singing these songs that I hate.” She should’ve stayed.
Peaches Christ Superstar is the one-woman version of the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Accompanied by a piano, electro-punk musician Peaches sings every part, much more faithfully to the original than her provocative reputation would suggest. The first act is a little weak. Clad in a white jumpsuit with a futuristic padded ruff, Peaches embodies the different roles quite well, clearly differentiating between Annas and Caiaphas (which is challenging, since they always appear together, back and forth) and bringing a visceral rawness to Judas. But the mounting tension of the first act is subtle; it doesn’t lend itself to theatrical fireworks and the stand-out songs are all Judas’. It’s also difficult to embody a large, roiling crowd of Israelite peasants as a single woman on an empty stage.
The second act — specifically during “Gethsemane,” Jesus’ big soul-searching solo — is where Peaches really hits her stride. She emerged in an oversized gold lamé batwing coat and gold metallic leggings, strutting with serious swagger. Her Apostles are self-absorbed underachievers in “The Last Supper,” their sunny tone echoing the chirpiness of her Mary Magdalene. As the only female principal role, Mary Magdalene usually attracts powerful singers who belt out the high points of songs like “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” but Peaches has a timid fragility that drives at a girl-next-door quality. The whole second act is one showstopper after another, with greater physicality and higher stakes. Herod’s song is a giddy interjection, Peaches moonwalking and doing the Charleston as she taunts Jesus.
The finale actually gave me shivers. A glittering company of dancers surrounds Peaches before parting to reveal her atop a hidden platform, seemingly 10 feet tall and lit by a single white light, before she launches into “Superstar.” “Why’d you choose such a backward time in such a strange land?” she demands, as the dancers whirl beneath her.
But yeah — if you don’t like Jesus Christ Superstar, it’s unlikely you’ll enjoy Peaches’ idiosyncratic take on it. I also imagine that people who aren’t familiar with the original will get lost quickly. But it’s more than her just singing the songs, the way I do in the shower. It’s more like a live-action love letter to a musical that has meant a lot to her, a ‘timeless story’ that goes beyond religion, a struggle for certainty in an uncertain world.
