Hunter Parrish Leaves Role of Jesus in GOSPELL; Corbin Bleu Takes Lead on April 17!

Tonight at the Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway and "Weeds" star Hunter Parrish ends his run as Jesus in the first-ever Broadway revival of Stephen Schwartz's GODSPELL. The show welcomes a new leading man-stage and screen star Corbin Bleu (Disney's "High School Musical," Broadway's In the Heights)-to the starring role.

After his final performance, Hunter Parrish returns to Los Angeles to begin filming the eighth season of the hit Showtime series "Weeds."

"I know Corbin Bleu has a special affinity for GODSPELL, and with his great talent, charisma, and radiant energy, I know he will be terrific in the show," said Stephen Schwartz in a statement in March. "I am very much looking forward to working with him and seeing him as our new Jesus."

Corbin Bleu made his Broadway stage debut in 2010 as the lead character, bodega-owner Usnavi, in the critically acclaimed musical In the Heights.

He starred in the Emmy-award winning Disney Channel Original Movie "High School Musical" and its sequel, "High School Musical 2" alongside Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Tisdale. "High School Musical 2" premiered to 18 million viewers, making it the highest rated Disney Channel Original Movie in history and the overall highest rated program in cable history.
Following to the worldwide success of "High School Musical," Bleu reprised his role in "High School Musical 3: Senior Year." The film broke opening weekend records and grossed over $250 million worldwide.

On stage, he starred in the Off-Broadway production of Tiny Tim Is Dead as well as Brothers of the Knight with Debbie Allen. He attended the prestigious Debbie Allen Dance Academy and then attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts as a theatre Major.

Read more about Corbin Blue here, and look for him on stage Tuesday night.

Featuring music and new lyrics by acclaimed Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin) and original concept and direction by John-Michael Tebelak, GODSPELL is directed by Daniel Goldstein and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Christopher Gattelli (South Pacific).
The new Broadway revival of GODSPELL stars a group of 10 young performers, now led by Corbin Bleu as Jesus and Wallace Smith and John/Judas, and featuring Uzo Aduba, Nick Blaemire, Celisse Henderson, Morgan James, Telly Leung, Lindsay Mendez, George Salazar and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle.

GODSPELL originally ran for more than 2,600 performances in New York and spawned successful touring productions in major U.S. cities, a 1973 motion picture adaptation and countless international engagements for the past 40 years.

The new Broadway revival of GODSPELL is produced by Ken Davenport, Hunter Arnold, Broadway Across America, Luigi Caiola, Rose Caiola, Edgar Lansbury, Mike McClernon, The Tolchin Family, Guillermo Wiechers & Juan Torres and The People of Godspell. Associate producers include Dennis Grimaldi Production, Todd Miller, Pivot Entertainment Group, Chris Welch and Cedric Yau.

Visit GODSPELL online at www.godspell.com.