Jesus Christ Superstar to Tour UK Arenas, West End in 2013?

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival's critically lauded production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR has already transferred to La Jolla Playhouse for a limited run and announced its Broadway plans, but according to the Daily Mail, the show has West End aspirations as well.

This ground-breaking rock opera, which reinvented musical theatre for the modern age, tells the story of the last week of Christ’s life. The zeal with which Christ’s followers are hailing him as the Son of God becomes a source of dismay to his disciple Judas Iscariot. Fearing that this tide of religious fervor will provoke brutal repression by the occupying Romans, Judas must make his fateful choice between faith and betrayal.

The production is currently playing at the La Jolla Playhouse through the end of the month, and will open on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre on Thursday, March 22, 2012. Previews will begin Thursday, March 1, 2012.

The report indicated that there are plans for a "stadium version to run at the O2 for a few days next September and then go on an arena tour of the UK."

The show's composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, told the paper that he didn't think that the move would impact further plans to bring the production to the West End in 2013.