Actors Jay Poff and Michael Ray Fisher join Cara Lieurance ahead of the Barn Theatre's season-closing production of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” opening Thursday, Aug 20 for a two-week run. Poff plays Jesus and Fisher plays Judas, and both are returning equity actors with long histories at the Augusta summer-stock house.
Poff first appeared at the Barn in 2005, when he played Herod in the same show before later taking on Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Show.” He recommended his longtime friend Fisher to the Barn soon after. The two have stayed close, which they say only sharpens the show's central betrayal. "Makes the betrayal that much more real,” Poff jokes, and Fisher agrees it makes the moment "even sweeter."
Fisher, fresh off playing a bass role in Hair, says the shift to Judas's higher, more exposed writing requires an early-morning steaming and warm-up routine before rehearsals. He notes that the very first song is a showstopper: "it's a lot on your shoulders to make sure you're giving everything you need to give to it in the very beginning."
Both actors know that even with past interpretations on record and film, "You have to sing it in your voice and not theirs," Fisher says, noting how easy it is to unconsciously imitate famous recordings. Pof, says he leans on his real friendship with Fisher to find truth in Jesus and Judas's relationship: "if it's real to me, it's gonna be real to the audience."
Jesus Christ Superstar runs Thursday Aug 20 - Sunday Aug 30. Tickets and showtimes are available at BarnTheatreSchool.org.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
