A new production of the 70’s musical Jesus Christ Superstar will be touring Australia and will take up residence at the Crown Theatre in early 2025.
The new tour is celebrating the musical’s 50th anniversary.
The rock opera was a collaboration between Andrew Lloyd Webber. They first found success with Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the late 1960’s, but struggled to get the financial backing for their next project.
Jesus Christ Superstar was first released as a concept album, and after it found a lot of fans the full state production was mounted in 1970. Lloyd Webber and Rice would go on to create Evita, Cats, and the lesser-known musical Cricket.
The show is based on the Gospels’ accounts of the passion, the period just before the death of Jesus. Over the years the show as be performed as a stage musical, and as an arena concert production and many famous names have played the parts of Jesus, Judas and Mary Magdalene.
This time round Michael Paynter will play Jesus, Javon King will be Judas and Mahalia Barnes will make her musical theatre debut as Mary Magdalene.
“I am absolutely honored to be a part of this.” Barnes said on social media, noting that many of her favourite singers had previously played the part including Kate Ceberano and Marica Hines.
Over the years such luminaries as Yvonne Elliman, Ben Vereen, Paul Nicholas, Paul Jabara, Julian Clary, Alice Cooper, Rik Mayall, Tim Minchin, Melanie C and John Farnham have appeared in the show.
Everything’s Alright, I Don’t Know How to Love Him, and the show’s title track are the best-known numbers from Jesus Christ Superstar.
The production will open at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in November, before heading west to Perth in February for a season at the Crown Theatre. In March the show will relocate to Melbourne’s Princess Theatre.
