Last Saturday was a strange day for me. I went to Free Comic Book Day. Then, I went to my sister’s arts and crafts party. Then, I met God in a public restroom.
Okay, I didn’t literally meet God. I met Ted Neeley, the actor who played Jesus in the 1973 movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar. The restroom part is literal.
If you’re not familiar with the musical, Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It tells the story of Jesus during his last seven days before his crucifixion. Catchy 1970’s music tells the tale in way that is very spiritual and very human all at once.
The musical was actually a big part of my childhood. I attended a catholic school for nine years, where the music teacher had all her classes watch Jesus Christ Superstar every year around Easter. By the time we reached middle school, all of us were very familiar with the show. My sisters and I randomly singing spontaneous duets from the show was not terribly uncommon.
So, when my younger sister, Liz, told me that the Hollywood Theater would be running Jesus Christ Superstar on Saturday, and that actor Ted Neeley would be making an appearance, I said, sure, I’ll tag along. My cousin, Amy (who had been around for the arts and crafts party) decided to join us.
We made it to the theater, grabbed some drinks and took some cushy seats in the balcony. Before running the movie, the Hollywood Theater ran a neat little “the making of” documentary, then Ted Neeley came out and told some of his stories. This took close to an hour, so the theater manager announced that they would be having a five-minute intermission before starting the show. Since I had already finished my Coke, Amy and I decided to take a bathroom break before the movie started.
Unfortunately, the movie theater bathroom, which was easily big enough for a typical crowd, was a little small for a special event crowd who only had five minutes to take care of things. So, by the time we left the balcony, roughly twenty people had already lined up ahead of us at the ladies bathroom. Amy and I looked at the line for the ladies room, then eyed the almost non-existent line for the men’s room. We quickly made our choice. Amy asked a guy ahead of us if the bathroom was safe to enter. He told her went the coast was clear and she ducked into a stall. I was to wait for her to finish, then I would take her place. I stood out in the hall, trying my best not to look like I was about to sneak into a men’s restroom, when one of the staff members came down the stairs. Then he motioned to the guy behind him to come down. It was Ted Neeley himself. As Ted entered the restroom, I realized that (if my sense of timing was correct,) Ted Neeley was about to encounter my cousin in that doorway. There was nothing I could do to prevent this. I heard my cousin’s voice on the other side of the door way say “Excuse me, …oh, it’s you.” Then both of them laughed. Amy stepped out of the bathroom and we both laughed about her encounter. Moments later, after taking care of business and assumably washing his hands, Ted Neeley returned. He looked directly at me and said, “Hey, you, the coast is clear. Go, go” and motioned me towards the now empty men’s room.
We made it back to our seats in time and enjoyed the movie. We even hung around after the show to meet Ted formally. He remembered us instantly and wrote in Amy’s CD book, “I’ll never forget the way we met.”
Saturday was the day I went to Free Comic Book Day. Saturday was the day I attended my sister’s arts and crafts party. And Saturday was day Jesus helped me sneak into a men’s restroom.
Life is odd and wonderful.
