"What's the buzz ... what's a happening?"

My earliest memories of hearing music is when we were living in New Delhi, India. Mid 1970s in our bungalow made of red bricks in a tree-lined village. I was about 5 or 6 years old and my sister was just a toddler. 

We had a tiny garden and a porch area in the front of the house with a black gate made of black bars so people outside could see this area. But it was a gated community so we were in a safe and secure neighborhood. I would ride a small bicycle with a side car (sister in the side car) within this tiny area and I remember being as happy as I could be. =)

Inside, my parents had this record player with speakers blasting the "Jesus Christ Superstar" vinyl album. It was loud and often on repeat mode that to this day, I can still remember some of the songs by heart.

Back in 1970, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber released this rock opera album with lyrics by Tim Rice. Later, it was turned into a Broadway musical. It depicted our Lord, Jesus Christ in a very different light. He would preach and minister to his flock by singing songs, no dialogue at all.

During that time, it was considered a blasphemy. And I remember quite well when a colleague of my father at the Philippine Embassy dropped by our house, she berated my mother for playing such a blasphemous album. But did my feisty mother listen? No way!!! In fact, she made it much louder and told the nosy colleague to mind her own business. :D

So that early exposure to my very first musical made me appreciate other musicals as I grew older. I saw "Les Miserables" (my jaw dropped at the scene where Inspector Javert jumps to his death!) and "Cats" (large "felines" purring near your seat during intermission time, terrified me!) several times when they were staged in Singapore in the early 1990s.
I watched "The Phantom of the Opera", "Miss Saigon" (sans Lea Salonga), "Sunset Boulevard" and "Starlight Express" in 1995 when my mother, sister and I visited London. 

Last year, I won two tickets to "The Phantom of the Opera" musical which was staged at the Solaire Resort & Casino. It was an Australian production and it revived my love for musicals and brought back so many memories.

But my ultimate favorite has always be "Jesus Christ Superstar". In fact, I have a tendency to listen to the whole album during Lenten season. No I don't find it blasphemous, at all. I am quite secure in my Roman Catholic faith and nothing will make me question my strong belief.

Here is my favorite version of the song Gethsemane performed by the great Ted Neeley in the 1973 Jesus Christ Superstar musical: