Janus Jesus

I had a really, really good time at my parents' house last weekend, as I almost always do there. If any young people are reading this, please take note that this is what happens when you grow up, probably. There's a good chance your parents will become exponentially more fun once you're out of the house, etc.

As I mentioned in my post from there, we watched both Godspell and Jesus Christ, Superstar because they were kind enough to hold onto them on DVR for a couple weeks. I had seen Godspell as a live show numerous times, including the time I was in it (what?! That's right), but never the movie. I had never seen JCS but knew some of the music because we have the songbook for piano and there was a time when I'd play almost anything for fun. Sidebar: I really look forward to working in churches because I'll pretty much always have access to a piano. Look out, Broadway! Or Rum Runners!

There were many cool things about watching these back to back. First, the movies came out in the same year! 1973. It's like Antz and A Bug's Life, or Armageddon and Deep Impact, or 30Rock and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, or ER and Chicago Hope, which are all eerily similar for things that came out at the same time. These two movies are similar on that level, of course, but very different. JCS focuses a lot on the persecution Jesus faced, Judas is a major character, and you get quite a lot of the minor key. Godspell is like the rainbow-sunshine version of the story. It has serious moments and is thought-provoking at points, but it's mostly just an enjoyable and fun experience.

This is where Janus comes in. Janus is the Roman god of transitions and beginnings, and hence of doorways, gates, doors, endings, and time, according to Wikipedia. He is usually depicted with two faces, facing in opposite directions. I'm reminded of him when I think of Godspell and JCS together, because Jesus does have two sides, and then some. But the cool thing is, as far as I can tell, it's the same face repeated. Janus is not like Jekkyl and Hyde or Twoface, with one good and one bad side. So, the past and the future are both good. Jesus persecuted and Jesus rejoicing are both good. That's what makes him different from all other gods, who usually have one salient characteristic. He's a round character, like the people you know, a collection of traits that form a real man.

Another cool thing: Playing Jesus in Godspell was Victor Garber, whom you'll recognize as one of those actors with a solid body of work and few starring roles. What makes it cool, besides just knowing it and how young he is, is that he played the devil in Damn Yankees.

In other trivia, the guy who played Caiaphas in JCS was in a 1993 film called The Nostril Picker. The actor who played Peter also has a career in pornography. There was a 2000 version, and something is in the works for 2014. Exciting!

Also, I read in the archives for work about a musical called Cotton Patch Gospel, which is Jesus' life set in the south. Joe and Mary are headed to Atlanta for a tax audit and, when there's no room at the motel, they have to give birth in a mobile home in Gainesville, Georgia. "Men don't live by grits alone," he will grow up to say. The music is by Harry Chapin. This sounds promising. Has anyone seen it?