Review Roundup: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Hollywood Bowl

This weekend, Broadway landed at the Hollywood Bowl in a concert production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar, starring Cynthia Erivo as Jesus and Adam Lambert as Judas and more. Read reviews for the production!

The production also featured Phillipa Soo as Mary Magdalene and John Stamos as King Herod; Milo Manheim as Peter; and Raúl Esparza as Pontius Pilate.

This new production saw Jesus Christ Superstar returning to its rock roots with Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo as director and choreographer; Tony and Grammy award winner Stephen Oremus as musical director and conductor; and is produced in association with Neil Meron and Robert Greenblatt. The production also includes scenic designer Jason Ardizzone-West, Costume Designer Emilio Sosa, projection designer Peter Negrini, lighting designers Tyler Lambert-Perkins and Tyler Glover, sound designer Jonathan Burke, and hair and makeup designer Brandi Strona, with casting by The Telsey Office. 

A global phenomenon that has wowed audiences for decades, Jesus Christ Superstar is a timeless work that explores the biblical portrayal of the extraordinary events that led to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of his betrayer, Judas Iscariot. The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles among Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire. Originally released as a concept album, the iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as “Superstar,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” and “Gethsemane.”

Michael Quintos, BroadwayWorld: There are just not enough superlatives to bestow upon one of the most astonishing, incredibly entertaining summer musical revivals this historic venue has ever presented on this stage. Seriously, this is so insanely good that future presentations of its annual summer musical will have a hard time topping it.

Chris Willman, Variety: If Lambert and Erivo could both be signed up for Broadway, this show would surely run for as many months, years or millennia as they were willing to commit to it. Or — knowing schedules, and going back to the question of whether this still counts as a concert presentation — would it make sense to turn this into a short arena tour? That doesn’t feel remotely implausible, given the level of talent (and of the popular appreciation for that talent) at play here.

Benjamin Lindsey, The Wrap: Erivo’s take on Jesus Christ proved to be as Herculean a theatrical accomplishment as anything we’ve seen from her to date. Graceful and heroic, sharp and emotive... her Act II rendition of the six-minute ‘Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)’... was the runaway highlight of the evening.

Tammy Tarng. The Guardian: Despite the unevenness of Jesus’s conviction and some rushed ensemble songs, this rendition captures the tragedy of devotion and the contradictions of betrayal. ‘I don’t know how to love him,’ sing Mary and Judas, in separate scenes – and still, you know they do.