What's the buzz? The arena tour extravaganza of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar is coming to America! Incubus’ Brandon Boyd, N’SYNC’s JC Chasez, the Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten and Destiny's Child and Broadway vet Michelle Williams will headline the North American dates.
Boyd will appear as Judas Iscariot, Chasez as Pontius Pilate, Williams as Mary Magdalane and Rotten as King Herod. They will be joined by Ben Forster as Jesus, who was discovered by Lloyd Webber in his U.K. ITV primetime talent show Superstar in 2012. Forster played the role in the subsequent Superstar arena tours of the U.K and Australia alongside Broadway.com Audience Choice Award Winner Tim Minchin as Judas and Spice Girl Melanie C as Mary.
Directed by Laurence O'Connor, the 50-city tour will kick off June 9 in New Orleans at the Lakefront Arena, with stops in Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and more, before finishing August 16 in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center.
Jesus Christ Superstar is based very loosely on the Gospel's account of the last week of Jesus' life. The show began life as a record-breaking album before it landed on Broadway in 1971. It was subsequently revived on the Great White Way in 1977, 2000 and 2012.
Check out Boyd and Williams' rendition of the title track on GMA on April 4 below.