JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Opens March 15 at Jefferson Performing Arts Center

Jefferson Performing Arts Society will present Andrew Lloyd Weber's Jesus Christ Superstar for five performances this spring March 14-24 at Jefferson Performing Arts Center at 6400 Airline Drive in Metairie. And, for the first time since pre-Katrina, JPAS is also taking its show on the road—this time to Hammond, for one performance, on April 5, 2024, at Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. 

"JPAS is resuming touring shows to surrounding communities and plans are in the works for a Houma and Mississippi Gulf Coast for future productions. Our tour to Hammond is just the beginning of a touring revival for JPAS,” explained JPAS Founder and Artistic Director Dennis Assaf.

A cast of 34 local and visiting performers directed by Kenneth Beck (The Nutcracker) will bring well-known numbers such as “What's the Buzz”, “I Don't Know How to Love Him”, “Try it and See” and “Superstar” to life accompanied by the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Dennis Assaf.

This once-controversial 1971 Broadway musical infused with rock, gospel, folk, and funk is set against the events told in the Gospels as seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. The show follows the last week of Jesus Christ's life leading up to his betrayal by Judas and his crucifixion by the Romans. 

“I am setting the musical in Biblical times, which is not typically done…it's usually set in modern times,” said director Kenneth Beck, co-director of Jefferson Ballet Theatre and director for the past five years of The Nutcracker at Jefferson Performing Arts Center. Beck will also direct the closing show of the JPAS 46th season, The Ballet Goes to Broadway in May 2024. According to Beck, audience members can expect “some interesting and surprising choreography and tableaus” not found in typical Jesus Christ Superstar productions. 

Jesus is played by Michael Moore, a native New Orleanian now based in Germany. His wife Nadine Kühn will portray Mary Magdalene. Other visiting artists include Torlef Borsting, based in central Florida, playing Pontius Pilate, and bass-baritone George Cordes, based in upstate New York, playing Caiaphas. 

All other performers are locally based, and many are returning to the JPAC stage from recent JPAS productions. Judas Iscariot is portrayed by Jake Wynn-Wilson, last seen on the JPAC stage as Prince Topher in Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella in 2022 and as Alan in the JPAS 2022 production God of Carnage. Adriel Aviles, last seen on the JPAC stage as the Monster in Young Frankenstein (October 2023), will portray Annas, and Ty Robbins, last seen on the JPAC stage in The View Upstairs (Patrick), will portray Simon Zealotes. 

Tickets and More Information

For a full cast and crew list visit https://www.jpas.org/performance/jesus-christ-superstar/. For more information on the Hammond production visit https://www.columbiatheatre.org/whats-on/jesus-christ-superstar#booking.

Jefferson Performing Arts Society's 46th season includes four more productions, including Willy Wonka Jr. (February 23-25), Jesus Christ Superstar (March 15-24), Noises Off (April 12-24), and The Ballet Goes to Broadway (May 18 & 19). Visit www.jpas.org for a full schedule and ticket information or call 504-885-2000.  The 47th season will open in September 2024 with School of Rock: The Musical. 

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