NBC has announced that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s classic Broadway rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, will be its next live production, set to debut on Easter Sunday 2018.
“As we continue to expand the profile of our live musicals, we are thrilled to be partnering with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to bring a new live staging of the iconic ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ to NBC,” the network’s entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt said in a statement.
“Casting has just begun, but we want to fill out this classic show with as many recording artists as possible to give proper voice to what is the original rock opera score,” Greenblatt added.
Jesus Christ Superstar, which premiered on Broadway in 1971, tells the story of Christ’s last week alive, including his brutal crucifixion and death.
NBC’s live production repertoire already includes The Sound of Music Live!, which aired on Dec. 5, 2013 to 18.62 million viewers, Peter Pan Live!, which aired on Dec. 4, 2014 to 9.21 million viewers, and The Wiz Live!, which aired on Dec. 3, 2015 on NBC to 11.5 million viewers.
The network’s live treatment of the comedy musical Hairspray pulled in it lowest ratings for Broadway TV adaptations, with 9 million total viewers tuning in for the December 7, 2016 showing.
In January, Fox saw solid ratings success when it aired Grease: Live pulling in 12.18 million total viewers.
NBC is also set to air a live adaptation of Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men later this year.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson
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