Review by Tatum Stafford
When Jesus L’Oreal (He/Hymn) sauntered onto the stage for a Sunday night service, it was clear we were all in for an absolute treat.
Packed full to the brim with puns, fiery Zumba moves and more jokes than you’ll have time to absorb, this show is ridiculous campery at its best – and it’s clear the nearly sold-out crowd would agree with this.
Visually, Jesus L’Oreal is a feast for the senses. Jesus dons a tight tee with ‘Jesus’ embossed in red glitter on it, booty shorts dangling with silver jewels and beads, and platform sandals (he is the King of the shoes, after all).
As a fitness instructor behind the ‘Get the Jordan look’ workout, Jesus’ Fringe show is filled with workout routines set to beloved pop songs (with rewritten joke lyrics, of course), which give the audience a chance to get up and dance with the son of God himself. And don’t worry, Jesus will tell you when to sit back down so “the Romans don’t find you”.
In between dance routines, Jesus is a genius on the mic, spitting out pun after pun, some of which took the audience longer to clock than others, which was even more hilarious. A running gag in the show was when Jesus exclaimed ‘oh my dad you guys’ instead of ‘oh my God’ – just to give you a taste of what to expect.
But it’s not just Jesus on stage – Mary makes an appearance, and even has a chance to grab the mic at the end of the show to belt out a few numbers.
Without giving too much away, one of the show’s highlights saw Jesus sat on a giant light-up crucifix, giving a sermon which included countless references to pop songs, to give audiences a dose of inspiration. It was absolutely hilarious, and the performer and writer behind this larger-than-life character should be very proud of what they’ve pulled off here.
This show is side-splittingly funny, and it was such a treat to catch it this season. Snap up a ticket as Jesus is performing a limited season this year.
Image Supplied