Ted Neeley has played Jesus since the 1970s.

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Forgive them. They know not what they do.

Or so it would seem with the road show of "Jesus Christ Superstar," brought here by Broadway in Tucson.

There were so many bizarre elements to this production that's it's difficult to figure out where to start.

Oh, heck. No it isn't. We'll start with Jesus himself, played by Ted Neeley.

It's a given that Neeley's too long in the tooth to play the role of a man who died when he was 33. Neeley is now 65 and has been playing the stage role off and on since the early 1970s. He also starred in the movie, which introduced this Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical to a wide audience.

The movie was wildly popular, and for good reason — it was a great production of what is Webber's best musical.

This is not a great production. Neeley was not in good voice. While he hit the high notes at times, most often his voice was thin and ragged.

And then he kept doing this weird thing where he'd look toward the balcony and mouth words. Maybe he was talking to himself. Maybe he had a friend in the balcony. Oh, wait. I bet he was having a dialogue with God, the father. But, honestly, he just looked a little looney.

And then there was the death scene. My mother used to say that Christ's crucifixion went on for only three hours but hers went on and on. That's what this was like — his went on and on. And on. It got to the point where it was comical, unintentionally turning into a Monty Python skit. And then Neeley ascended into heaven, right off the cross. What was that about? Anyone who knows the story knows Christ waited three days before he took that journey.

James Delisco's Judas had a strong voice and a sincerity that lent weight to his character. But right before he hangs himself (oh, come on, I'm not spoiling anything for you) he clutched his stomach and writhed on the ground as if in awful pain. For some time. Then he hanged himself. Really, if he had waited just a few more moments, that intestinal problem would have done him in.

Cristina Sass has a beautiful voice, but her "I Don't Know How to Love Him," Mary Magdalene's confused and haunting sung soliloquy, was delivered with a coyness that was way, way out of sync with the song and the situation.

And Mark Baratelli's King Herod, who seemed to be played more to the audience than to Jesus? Oh, dear. His "King Herod's Song" ("Prove to me that you're no fool / Walk across my swimming pool") was zapped of all its sly humor and relevance to the story. One wonders if Baratelli knew what play he was in.

The sound was inconsistent, the costumes — some robes, some culottes and one headband that looked like a big leather belt — were perplexing, and the evangelical twist on the whole production seemed completely out of character for what lyricist Rice intended. He often said it wasn't a religious story he was writing, but a study of Judas, and a look at Jesus as a man. This production did neither.

Much of the blame for the many failures of this production falls on director Dallett Norris. It's almost as though he wanted to turn the rock musical into a religious experience and by doing so robbed it of its spiritual impact.

What he did to this wonderful musical was just plain sinful.