(upbeat music)
- Welcome to another Broadway Profile Show Spotlight.
I'm Tamsen Fadal.
The 50th anniversary production of the musical phenomenon,
"Jesus Christ Superstar" is coming to a city near you.
♪ Jesus ♪
♪ I only want to know ♪
An iconic rock opera
that reinvented musical theater for the modern age.
This Olivier Award-winning production has been re-imagined
all while staying true to the timeless story
with mesmerizing choreography,
music from Andrew Lloyd Webber,
and the lyrics of Tim Rice.
This version of "Superstar" has moments
that make you feel like you're at a rock concert.
♪ I want to know ♪
"Superstar" follows the last week of Jesus Christ's life.
The story told entirely through song
explores the personal relationships and struggles
between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples,
his followers, and the Roman empire.
Watching and hearing this electrifying show
play out on stage is a genuinely amazing experience.
These are the rock roots that defined a generation.
♪ Jesus, nice to meet you ♪
♪ Touch me, touch me, Jesus ♪
♪ Jesus, I am on your side ♪
♪ Kiss me, kiss me, Jesus ♪
♪ What more do you need to convince you ♪
♪ That you made it and you're easily as strong ♪
I had a chance to speak with three of the great cast members
from the North American tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar."
I wanna start off and talk about the inspiration
for this version of the production.
Where did it come from?
Aaron, I'll start with you.
- This version originated in London, in Regents Park,
in I'm going to say 2016.
It's very real.
It's very raw.
It's very intense.
But the choreography is amazing and the singers are amazing.
The acting's great.
It's a very cool, hip, updated version.
It's very to the point.
It hits you pretty fast.
♪ Show me there's a reason for you wanting me to die ♪
♪ Your far too keen on where and how ♪
♪ I'm not so hard on why ♪
- What is it like for all of you
taking on such iconic roles?
- It's an honor.
I think the way that they created this piece
was to bring all of us to these real humans
and not just have them as the ideas
that people have of these iconic figures in history.
'Cause everyone has such a distinct vision
of each of these people in their own minds,
but they really wanted us to be us.
And I think that that was what was so cool as an actor
to just kind of like authentically live in it
every single night.
They just wanted us to be real and whatever we were feeling.
So you might see the show again,
and it might feel a bit different
because of what we're bringing to the table that night,
how we're feeling in it.
And I just think that that's the part of this production
that is really special.
It's just very authentic and raw.
♪ Sleep and I shall soothe you ♪
♪ Calm you and anoint you ♪
♪ Myrrh for your hot forehead, oh ♪
♪ Then you'll feel everything's all right ♪
♪ Yes, everything's fine ♪
- I've heard the themes of the show are love,
responsibility, friendship, leadership,
all the things that really are we need right now
in our real lives as well.
Talk a little bit about that
and how the show and our real life
kind of parallel each other.
- There is a lot of responsibility.
It's a little heavy.
There's a lot of weight involved
with these historical figures
that everyone in the world knows about.
So there's a lot of that, but like Jenna said,
you're bringing a lot of your authentic self to it.
At the end of the day, that's where you're based.
That's where the story comes from.
And it comes from the actual feelings within you.
♪ Christ, you know I love you ♪ ♪ You know I love you ♪
♪ Did you see I waved? ♪ ♪ Did you see I waved? ♪
♪ I believe in you and God ♪
♪ So tell me that I'm saved ♪
- Let's talk a little bit about the show.
It's rock roots, it's electric production, iconic music.
This show's got
just a little bit of everything sprinkled in.
- One of the things I can't wait for
is when that first chord hits,
when Mike hits that first chord,
even with an iconic show like this,
even before the pandemic, when that chord would hit,
the audience would lose it.
Because they just cannot wait to see this beloved show
that is over 50 years old now.
So I can't wait to experience that when we get back,
because people have just been hungering to get back
into theater and to have that live experience
and to have this rock show that, in my opinion,
we do so well.
There are nine tenors in this show and me and Jenna.
All of our voices are so different and distinct.
And I think that also is what makes our show very special.
- What does that first chord sound like?
- Music. (humming)
(imitating a guitar)
(calm guitar rock music)
- And he's lit, and you see a shadow of him and the guitar
at the top of the show, and people just lose it.
- Even doing this right now,
just got me excited just because it just feels good
to do this again.
We haven't done this.
We've had these such mixed emotions about
and expectations about when we're coming back.
When we first shut down,
we thought we were gonna open back up in a few weeks
or a few months potentially.
And then when we saw the reality, it was like, "Oh, okay."
Not just ours, lots of people are being affected by this.
The entire world.
I'm just excited to share space with people,
with an audience.
Tell stories again.
There's nothing more, at least from my point of view
in the show.
It's very intense, but it's a very visceral connection.
- Once again, the North American tour
of "Jesus Christ Superstar" is headed your way.
For more information on the national tour,
visit USTour.JesusChristSuperstar.com.
And we leave you with an exclusive performance
from "Jesus Christ Superstar."
♪ God, thy will be done ♪
♪ Take your only son ♪
♪ I will drink your cup of poison ♪
♪ Nail me to your cross and break me ♪
♪ Bleed me, beat me, kill me, take me now ♪
♪ Before I change my mind ♪