Curtain call time at the musical Jesus Christ Superstar , and I am wishing that the production starts all over again.

For some two hours, it was as though I was among the disciples, walking with the crowd following the life of this man Jesus, going through the inner turmoil we can imagine Judas went through, being as confused as Mary Magdalene may have been.

Like Peter and James and John in last weekend's Gospel reading, I wanted the experience to continue. Perhaps what I like most about Superstar is the large dose of humour in the lyrics of some songs. While some people have interpreted this in a negative light, for many others it makes the story so true to life.

In the Last Supper lyrics, the apostles sing: " Always thought that I'd be an apostle/Knew that I would make it if I tried/Then when we retire we can write the gospels/So they'll still talk about us when we've died. "

In an interview that originally appeared as the March 18t-25, 1987 cover story of the magazine The Christian Century , Andrew Lloyd Webber composer/writer of Jesus Christ Superstar said in answer to a question about the movie: "All it ever did was to declare itself to be a version of the last seven days of Jesus Christ . it is a wonderful story, and we wanted to deal primarily with the story's dramatic rather than its theological side."

In experiencing this stage production and remembering the movie and the music, Webber's statement was initially true for me. I enjoyed the dramatic effect of the dialogue between Jesus and Herod.

The latter says: Jesus, I am overjoyed to meet you face to face/You've been getting quite a name all around the place/Healing cripples raising from the dead/Now I understand you're God/At least that's what you've said. Equally captivating was the meeting between Judas and Annas and Caiphas as they matched wits with each other.

In following these dramatic events in this production, the set, simple as it was (a high platform to the left of an otherwise nearly bare stage) seemed unimportant.

Effective use was made of it and of the side wings and corridors of the Queen's Hall. The lighting it was that made all the difference, thanks to lighting designer, Benny Gomes.

With a large cast and scenes in which large groups of people were sometimes on stage together, the costuming helped to direct attention to the central character on stage. The crowd was there, we heard them and we saw them but after a time, they faded into the background.

Being told from his point of view, Judas played by Marlon de Bique on opening night was able to get the audience to empathise with him, and even to think "well perhaps he was not a bad person after all."

Mary Magdalene sung by Vanessa Bushe a well-known member of the Marionette's Chorale had the advantage of performing two of the best known songs from this musical I Don't Know How to Love Him and Everything's Alright. And what of Jesus? Devin Harry Paul singer in a rock band played the role of Jesus. He had the disadvantage of singing a role that each of us has our own image of.

Within that role he was required at times to have a superstar image then that of a broken man? Sometimes he knew what his mission in life was at other times he was still working it out? It was difficult at times for Devin to get the mood right.

Following this version of those last days in Jesus' life, pondering on what those events mean for us today, speculating on how different our world-view may have been if we understood those events in another way, took precedence for me, over how well this stage production was.

In this Entertainment Factory/Baggasse Company production, of the "wonderful story" local rock band Orange Sky provides the musical accompaniment and the many members of the cast are members of choirs or other music groups.

The energy of this predominantly young cast was infectious. They seemed to be really absorbed in what they were doing and loving it. The inclusion of the Jab Jabs in the whipping of Jesus was a creative Trinidadian touch.

I wondered whether a steel pan strain would have been included but did not one. I enjoyed the music played by Orange Sky thoroughly, although not a fan of rock music and although they were in the orchestra pit and I was unable to see them.

Helmer Hilwig and Christine Johnston directed this stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar. This musical began as a song Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice and released as a single in November 1969.

Its success led to an album in 1970 with additional songs, which won awards and became the best-selling album in the US for 1971. It became a Broadway show in 1972 and a movie in 1973. On December 14, 1999, the Vatican officially endorsed Jesus Christ Superstar . It was approved by the Vatican to be included in the year 2000 Jubilee, held every 25 years.