''Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert'' is an American musical television special that was broadcast live on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on April 1, 2018 (

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

Sunday) and rebroadcast (from tape) on Easter Sunday 2020, April 12, 2020. Executively produced by

Craig Zadan Craig Zadan (April 15, 1949 – August 20, 2018) was an American producer and writer. Working alone and with Neil Meron, his partner in the production company Storyline Entertainment, he produced such films as ''Footloose'', ''Chicago'' and ...

Neil Meron Neil Meron (born October 26, 1955) is an American film producer known for producing the 2002 film '' Chicago'' and the 2007 film ''Hairspray''. With partner Craig Zadan he ran the production company Storyline Entertainment until Zadan's death i ...

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musical ...

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...

, and Marc Platt, it was a staged concert performance of the 1970

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

''. It received positive reviews from critics but had a smaller viewership than earlier musical specials.

Description and plot

The musical is almost entirely sung-through, with minimal spoken dialogue. The plot is loosely based on the

Canonical Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

s' accounts of the last week of the life of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

, beginning with the preparation for the arrival of Jesus and his disciples in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and ending with the crucifixion. The disciple

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas bet ...

is worried that Jesus has become too swept up in the adoration of his followers, rather than focusing on his teachings about taking care of the poor, and that his following has grown too large and outspoken, which could soon provoke the wrath of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

("Heaven on Their Minds"). Judas also objects to Jesus spending his time with

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

("What's the Buzz / Strange Thing Mystifying"), who advises Jesus to relax ("Everything's All Right"). Judas's fears prove justified as priests

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD), known simply as Caiaphas (; grc-x-koine, Καϊάφας, Kaïáphas ) in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest who, according to the gospels, organized a plot to kill Jesus. He famous ...

Annas Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; grc-x-koine, Ἅννας, ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High ...

and more gather and agree that Jesus and his movement must be crushed ("This Jesus Must Die"). Jesus enters Jerusalem filled with exaltation ("Hosanna") until he discovers that his temple has become overrun with unscrupulous merchants and money lenders. Overwhelmed by a throng of people needing his assistance, he tells them to heal themselves ("The Temple"), and his follower Mary Magdalene attempts to calm him. Fearing that Jesus' movement is getting out of control, Judas goes to the Priests and tells them where Jesus will be the following night. The Priests pay him with 30 pieces of silver. Judas arrives at Jesus' location with Roman soldiers and identifies Jesus by kissing him on the cheek. The soldiers arrest Jesus and send him to Caiaphas, then

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

, King

Herod Antipas Herod Antipas ( el, Ἡρῴδης Ἀντίπας, ''Hērǭdēs Antipas''; born before 20 BC – died after 39 AD), was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both ...

, and finally back to Pilate, who condemns him to death on the cross.

Cast and characters

Main

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

Sara Bareilles Sara Beth Bareilles (, ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. She has earned various awards and nominations including nin ...

Brandon Victor Dixon Brandon Victor Dixon (born September 23, 1981) is an American actor, singer and theatrical producer. As a musical theatre actor, he is known for Tony Award-nominated Broadway performances as Harpo in the 2005 musical ''The Color Purple'' and Eub ...

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

as King Herod *

Norm Lewis Norm Lewis (born June 2, 1963) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in Europe, on Broadway, in film, television, recordings and regional theatre. Productions that he has been involved in include ''Dessa Rose'', ''Miss Saigon'', '' T ...

Ben Daniels Ben Daniels (born 10 June 1964) is a British actor. Initially a stage actor, Daniels was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Never the Sinner'' (1991), the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for ''900 Oneonta'' ...

Jason Tam Jason Tam (born June 28, 1982) is an actor and dancer, born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Punahou School for high school and went to CAP 21 in New York City for musical theatre. His most notable roles include Markko Rivera on the dayti ...

as Peter * Jin Ha as

Erik Grönwall Per Erik Magnus Grönwall (born 3 December 1987) is a Swedish hard rock and heavy metal singer. In 2009, he won the Swedish ''Idol'' reality television. During several of the shows, he received standing ovations from the jury for his performanc ...

Simon Zealotes Simon the Zealot (, ) or Simon the Canaanite or Simon the Canaanean (, ; grc-gre, Σίμων ὁ Κανανίτης; cop, ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲓ-ⲕⲁⲛⲁⲛⲉⲟⲥ; syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܩܢܢܝܐ) was one of the most obscure among the apostl ...

Ensemble

* Melody Betts * Felicia Boswell * Abby Corrigan *

Micaela Diamond Micaela Diamond (born July 17, 1999) is an American actor and singer mostly known for her role as Babe in the Broadway musical ''The Cher Show''. She performed alongside Stephanie J. Block and Teal Wicks as the youngest version of Cher. Early ...

* Rory Donovan * Christine Dwyer * Mike Evariste * F. Michael Haynie * Charissa Hogeland * Bre Jackson * Mykal Kilgore * Billy Lewis Jr. * Justin Gregory Lopez * Angel Lozada * Vince Oddo * Kyle Taylor Parker * Joel Perez * Jonah Platt * Conor Ryan * Christina Sajous * Justin Matthew Sargent * Heath Saunders * Joey Taranto * Syndee Winters * Lauren Zakrin

Dancers

* Chloe Davis * Timothy Edwards * Shelby Finnie * Bahiyah Hibah * Juel D. Lane * Terk Lewis * Mayte Natalio * Sarah Parker * Willie Smith III * Maleek Washington

Musical numbers

The musical numbers from the track list of the soundtrack. ;Act I * "Overture" – Orchestra * "Heaven on Their Minds" – Judas * "What's the Buzz / Strange Thing Mystifying" – Judas, Jesus, Mary, and Ensemble * " Everything's Alright" – Mary, Judas, Jesus, and Ensemble * " This Jesus Must Die" – Caiaphas, Annas, and Ensemble * "Hosanna" – Jesus, Caiaphas, and Ensemble * "Simon Zealotes / Poor Jerusalem" - Simon Zealotes and Ensemble * "Pilate's Dream" – Pontius Pilate * "The Temple" - Jesus and Ensemble * "Everything's Alright (Reprise)" – Jesus and Mary * "

I Don't Know How to Love Him "I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' written by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), a torch ballad sung by the character of Mary Magdalene. In the opera ...

" – Mary * "Damned for All Time / Blood Money" – Judas, Annas, Caiaphas, and Ensemble ;Act II * "The Last Supper" – Jesus, Judas, and Ensemble * "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" – Jesus * "Transition" – Jesus and Judas * "The Arrest" – Jesus, Peter, Annas, Caiaphas, and Ensemble * "Peter's Denial" – Peter, Mary, and Ensemble * "Pilate and Christ" – Pilate, Annas, Jesus, Ensemble * "King Herod's Song" – Herod and Company * "Transition After Herod" – Orchestra * "Could We Start Again, Please?" – Mary and Peter * "Judas' Death" – Judas, Annas, Caiaphas, and Ensemble * "Trial Before Pilate (Including the 39 Lashes)" – Pilate, Caiaphas, Jesus, and Ensemble * "

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

" – Judas and Ensemble * "The Crucifixion" – Jesus and Ensemble * "John Nineteen: Forty One" – Orchestra

Production

Development

On May 10, 2017, it was announced that

had selected ''

'' to be their next live musical event. Executive producers were expected to include

, Marc Platt,

, and

. In December 2017, it was reported that British theater director

David Leveaux David Leveaux (born 13 December 1957)this source shows 195filmreference.com. Retrieved 9 May 2009 is a British theatre director who has been nominated for five Tony Awards as director of both plays and musicals. He directs in the UK, working at ...

would direct and that the show would be performed in front of a live audience at the Marcy Avenue Armory in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...

. Members of the creative crew included costume designer Paul Tazewell and choreographer Camille A. Brown.

Casting

In December 2017, it was announced that

had been cast as King Herod, with

in the title role. The following month, it was announced that

would play Mary Magdalene. In February 2018, it was announced that

, Jin Ha and

had been cast as Judas, Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate, Peter, Annas and Simon Zealotes, respectively. The production included a cast of forty-four actors, including Joel Perez and Lauren Zakrin, and additional dancers.

Filming

The live production included an on-camera audience of about 1,500 people. Some of these extras lined two sides of the stage and formed a mosh pit effect. The production was expected to utilize as many as twelve cameras to film the special. In addition, a full dress rehearsal performance took place on Saturday, March 31, 2018, in front of an invited audience and was recorded. In the event of any difficulties during the live broadcast, the recording served as an emergency backup. It was ultimately not needed.

Marketing

On January 7, 2018, NBC aired the first teaser trailer for the special during their broadcast of the

75th Golden Globe Awards The 75th Golden Globe Awards honored film and American television of 2017, and was broadcast live on January 7, 2018, from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST by NBC. This Golden ...

Reception

Critical response

''Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert'' has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response from critics since it aired. On the review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the production holds a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.44/10 based on 26 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Shaking up traditional religious and musical iconography, ''Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert'' is a sight to be heard, superbly infiltrating the classic source material with originality, rock legend star power, and soulful depth."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned the production a score of 81 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". In a positive review, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''s Noel Murray praised the special saying, "A conceptual and artistic triumph, NBC’s live telecast of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' on Easter Sunday may have finally justified the recent live musical fad on network TV. Some technical flubs and one mixed-bag lead performance aside, the production was genuinely thrilling, taking chances with the staging of a classic but controversial Broadway show, much more daring than previous live musical broadcasts like ''The Sound of Music'' or ''Peter Pan''." Offering similar acclaim, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

''s David Rooney said, "But here's the thing: This was a phenomenally balanced production of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', in which star power was equaled by depth of feeling and characterization in all the principals. And the immediacy of television, with close-ups capable of bringing us in tight on the performers' faces, gave Jesus and Mary Magdalene a complexity that often is missing from conventional productions." Lorraine Ali of ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' also lauded the production saying, "The show was a collision of religion and theater and pop culture that could have been one holy mess. But by the grace of God, or maybe a great cast and lots and lots of expert staging, a great musical became a great TV production." In a more mixed review, Maureen Ryan of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said, "This musical threw together glitter, sequins, leather, writhing hotties, a few big performances pitched to the last row, and camerawork that often felt as though it was hopped up on too many lattes. Actually, the ragged edges of a unifying concept did emerge over the course of the NBC musical’s two-hour-and-20-minute running time: If its philosophy could be summed up in one word, "excess" would just about cover it. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But this live show was a lot."

Ratings

''Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert'' was the most-viewed program of the night of both network and cable programming. The production earned a 1.7 rating in adults 18-49 in Live + Same Day. Lee Seymour of ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' said the telecast's ratings were a "step back for NBC's live musicals," explaining "while ''Superstar Live'' came out on top for the night's ratings, it still landed near the bottom of the pile, relative to almost every other live musical since NBC revamped the mini-genre in 2013." ''Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert'' was watched by 9.4 million people. Comparatively, NBC's '' The Sound of Music Live!'' was watched by 18.6 million and '' The Wiz Live!'' by 11.5 million, while Fox's '' Grease: Live'' was watched by 12.2 million. Seymour felt the special may have failed to capture a larger audience on Easter because of its

blasphemous Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

themes. An encore on April 12, 2020, was seen by 3.17 million viewers.

Awards and nominations

Other media

''Andrew Lloyd Webber: Tribute to a Superstar''

On March 28, 2018, a one-hour special titled ''Andrew Lloyd Webber: Tribute to a Superstar'' premiered on NBC in honor of Lloyd Webber's 70th birthday and to promote the coming premiere of ''Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert''. In the special, Lloyd Webber was interviewed by Glenn Close,

, and

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and '' In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animat ...

. It also included appearances by some of the performers from ''Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert'' in various rehearsal scenes from the show. The special was executive produced and directed by Brad Lachman and written and produced by Matt Lachman. Interviews were conducted at

Sardi's Sardi's is a continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City. Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. It is known for the carica ...

restaurant,

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

recording studio, and the Renaissance Hotel Times Square. Production companies involved in the special included Brad Lachman Productions and

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...

Soundtrack

An official soundtrack was released by

Sony Masterworks Sony Music Masterworks (Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known as Sony BMG Masterwor ...

, digitally on April 6, 2018, and physically on April 27, 2018.

Track listing

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 46 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, earning 13,000 album-equivalent units in its first week according to Nielsen Music, with over 11,000 units coming from traditional album sales. It also debuted at number 3 the same week on the Soundtracks chart, as well as at number 14 on the Top Album Sales chart.

Charts

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2010s American television specials 2018 in American television 2018 soundtrack albums 2018 television specials American live television shows Caiaphas Cultural depictions of Judas Iscariot Cultural depictions of Pontius Pilate English-language television shows Jesus Christ Superstar Musical television films Musical television specials NBC television specials