We just watched the DVD version in my Humanities class at school--I was taking notes comparing it to the original movie and to the live productions I've seen of it. There were moments I -really- liked (Mary turning the "Everything's All right" song on Judas for one chorus, Simon the Zealot's whole number) and a few moments I really didn't (Judas singing directly to Jesus at the beginning, the cutting out of the "Jesus is cool" line) but overall I thought it was a good production. The technical aspects were done beautifully, for one thing. Nice subtle backlighting on Jesus, good simple set, and excellent costumes. The chorus was much stronger than in any other production I've seen of it and definitely -way- better than the original movie. I liked the original Judas better--I agree that this one was played far too "evil" at the beginning and his voice just felt too formal for this type of show. Pilate didn't work as well for me in this production, either, but I thought Herod, Jesus, and Mary were far and away better. Setting the temple up as a rave was absolutely brilliant, and the fight scene leading up to Simon the Zealot's "Christ You Know I Love You" works -so- much better than the random aerobics setup in the original movie. Mary Magdalen's "I Don't Know How To Love Him" was wonderful--she seemed much more real in this show than any other version I've seen, movie or stage.
*grins* And now I've babbled my head off like the drama major I am, so I'll just quit now.