Jesus Christ Superstar

Fulfilling one-fifth of this reviewer's childhood dream to see the Spice Girls live on stage, Mel C, aka Sporty Spice, gave a powerful performance as Mary Magdalene in the arena spectacular Jesus Christ Superstar.

This latest adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic is very 'now', with clever references to the Occupy movement and social media. It is the story of Judas' betrayal of Jesus told in a very modern way, complete with a game show, riot clashes between police officers and chain-smoking, dreadlocked apostles, with Jesus recruiting his followers over YouTube and Twitter with 'Follow #TheTwelve' stamped on his HQ.

The show stars musical genius Tim Minchin as Judas Iscariot, a tormented apostle that has lost faith in his leader, Melanie Chisholm as Mary Magdalene, a prostitute who falls in love with Jesus and the incredibly talented Ben Forster as Jesus Christ, who gave a powerful and emotional performance of the torment Jesus must have felt, knowing that his fate was to be betrayed by those closest to him and ultimately sacrificed on the cross.

Jon Stevens (who played Judas in the 1992 stage adaptation) stars as Pontius Pilate for the Australian tour, and there's a surprisingly hilarious cameo by Deal or No Deal's Andrew O'Keefe as King Herod. O'Keefe's singing and dancing was better than expected with his King Herod scene played out on a reality TV show set, with viewers encouraged to text in as to whether Jesus is a “Lord or a fraud”. This was complete with dancers bearing a striking resemblance to the gold clad Deal or No Deal girls.

Although the show took a very modern twist, the music stayed true to Lloyd Webber's classic compositions, which were just as spectacular as when John Farnham (Jesus Christ), Kate Ceberano (Mary Magdalene) and Jon Stevens (Judas Iscariot) were the stars of the musical 21 years ago. And the former Spice Girl's voice was both strong and soothing, and oh so familiar to every '90s female in the audience, with her take on the hit I Don't Know How to Love Him being the stand out hit of the first act (although the cross tattoo on her arm seemed a little awkward and out of place, as if she knew what was coming to Jesus).

As a whole, director Laurence Connor has done remarkably well bringing this arena spectacular to the 21st century performed by an odd, but excellent cast of very talented musicians. Definitely a must see.

Sydney Entertainment Centre, season finished