STAGE REVIEW : ‘Glory of Easter’ Reaches New Heights

Eat your heart out, “Phantom of the Opera.�

For sheer spectacle, the long-awaited pop opera, soon to play the Ahmanson, may find it difficult to top “The Glory of Easter� at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove.

“Easter� would certainly win first place in the angel category. Two angels waft over the audience, announcing the incipient Resurrection. Then four more fly in for the finale. Because the angels are so high (the ceiling is 12 stories above us) and the lighting (by Perry Halford and Terry Larson) so adroit, we can barely make out the wires. Peter Foy of Flying by Foy and Toni Elevi get the flying effects credit.

It’s such a breathtaking sight that you wish someone would sing “Angels, we have heard on high�--until it occurs to you that those words are from a Christmas carol, not an Easter song. Which leads to the question: Why such an elaborate angelic display for the Easter story, most accounts of which have the angels simply appearing as strangers at the tomb?

Because too much is never enough at “The Glory of Easter.� Besides, the angels make a similar appearance at the Cathedral’s “The Glory of Christmas.� Why tamper with success?

Most of the other elements of the spectacle are appropriate to the story, with one exception: green lasers that zip across the hall and land on the tomb, in order to help roll away the stone at the tomb entrance. The lasers are out of “Star Wars� or “Sunday in the Park With George� or a rock concert instead of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.

The thunder and lightning that climaxes the crucifixion, accompanied by the rumble of what sounds like an earthquake, is more scripturally based. The lightning is more painful to watch than real lightning, probably because most of the audience is seated so that we look straight at the flashes of light--but then a peaceful crucifixion scene just wouldn’t do the job.

Still, the most gruesome aspect of that scene--the nailing to the cross--is done in darkness, while the light focuses on Mary (Kim Criswell, formerly Grizabella in “Cats�) as she laments her son’s fate.

The animals are much easier to watch. The Romans ride real horses, the townspeople ride real donkeys and herd real goats through the marketplace. Some of these creatures are so charismatic that they distract attention from the conversation that’s being conducted. This is especially true of Pontius Pilate’s pet tiger.

It’s not that the conversation makes for difficult listening. Paul David Dunn’s script is in plain, modern English: “The tribune and I are friends--he owes me a favor,� says one of the officials who’s worried about Jesus. Maybe it’s a bit too plain; the lyricism here is in the scenery, not in the text--or the score or the performances, for that matter.

That score, presumably assembled by musical director Johnnie Carl and partially written by Carl, is a stew of grandiose imitations of Miklos Rozsa (the taped orchestral selections) and sub-Broadway banality (the individually sung solos). With the vast resources of Christian sacred music at their disposal, Carl and producer/director Dunn should dispense with the original selections and rely on the masters--or on gospel music, or classic hymns, or anything other than what he’s got.

The program lists one spiritual, “Were You There?,� as part of the score, but it’s background music, hardly noticeable. The finale, which uses the hymn “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,� is the high point of the score.

The individual performances are of little consequence, which is perhaps just as well. In Criswell’s big solo, the one moment when a performer really grabs the stage, she’s a Broadway baby almost as much as Mary, mother of Jesus. Jonathan Fuller’s Jesus is well-spoken, but not one moment of his performance catches anyone by surprise. He’s a three-dimensional version of the most conventional paintings of Jesus found in any Protestant church.

At Chapman Avenue and Lewis Street, Garden Grove, nightly at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., through March 26. Tickets: $14-$25; (714) 544-5679 or (213) 480-3232.