Jesus Christ Superstar 2019 National Tour

[brdwybound04]

Looks like JCS will be embarking on a 50 City National Tour beginning Fall 2019. It will be based on the recent 2017 London production...

https://www.broadway.com/buzz/191663/exclusive-jesus-christ-superstar-to-launch-north-american-tour-in-2019/

[Call_me_jorge]

Wonder if it will be skipping Chicago since we’re getting this exact same production through the lyric opera

[kaykordeath]

Soooooo many disappointed people at the box office/house manager at intermission wondering where Legend and/or Bareilles are...

[JSquared2]

kaykordeath said: "Soooooo many disappointed people at the box office/house manager at intermission wondering where Legend and/or Bareilles are..."

 

Why?  The tour starts over 18 months from now and they're not billing it in any way as "Direct from NBC TV"!  The person would have to be a complete moron to expect the same cast they saw on TV 2 years earlier.  Are people at MEAN GIRLS complaining that Lindsay Lohan isn't in it?  Will people at PRETTY WOMAN complain that Julia Roberts isn't in it? 

 

[Mildred Plotka]

^ Youd be surprised by some people. When I saw How to Succeed with Daniel Radcliffe a woman in her 40’s complained he didn’t have his glasses and scar.

[Elfuhbuh]

kaykordeath said: "Soooooo many disappointed people at the box office/house manager at intermission wondering where Legend and/or Bareilles are..."

What? Jesus Christ Superstar sells perfectly fine on its own, because it's had a presence in pop culture for decades. It's not like no one knew what it was before Legend and Bareilles sung the score on TV.

[kaykordeath]

Elfuhbuh said: "kaykordeath said: "Soooooo many disappointed people at the box office/house manager at intermission wondering where Legend and/or Bareilles are..."

What? Jesus Christ Superstar sells perfectly fine on its own, because it's had a presence in pop culture for decades. It's not like no one knew what it was before Legend and Bareilles sung the score on TV."

JSquared2 said: "kaykordeath said: "Soooooo many disappointed people at the box office/house manager at intermission wondering where Legend and/or Bareilles are..."



Why? The tour starts over 18 months from now and they're not billing it in any way as "Direct from NBC TV"! The person would have to be a complete moron to expect the same cast they saw on TV 2 years earlier. Are people at MEAN GIRLS complaining that Lindsay Lohan isn't in it? Will people atPRETTY WOMAN complain that Julia Roberts isn't in it?

"

 

 

Perhaps. But you're thinking within the realm (or bubble) of this board and a community of experienced (read: knowledgeable) theater-goers. Neither Mean Girls nor Pretty Woman is riding on the immediate coat-tails of a production that has captured the attention of a wide audience outside of the USUAL theater fans.

Sure, I may have exaggerated a little, but I would be willing to bet a not insignificant number of ticket buyers will think the tour production and the telecast are one and the same.

[Elfuhbuh]

No, I mean Jesus Christ Superstar is well-known even outside of the inner musical theatre bubbles. I think you're being a bit ridiculous insulting regular theatregoers like that.

[kaykordeath]

Elfuhbuh said: "No, I mean Jesus Christ Superstar is well-known even outside of the inner musical theatre bubbles. I think you're being a bit ridiculous insulting regular theatregoers like that."

 

I'm very specifically referring to the NON-regulars...

 

[darquegk]

Will this production pause every nine minutes for a three-minute commercial break?

[jimmycurry01]

kaykordeath said: "Elfuhbuh said: "kaykordeath said: "Soooooo many disappointed people at the box office/house manager at intermission wondering where Legend and/or Bareilles are..."

What? Jesus Christ Superstar sells perfectly fine on its own, because it's had a presence in pop culture for decades. It's not like no one knew what it was before Legend and Bareilles sung the score on TV."

JSquared2 said: "kaykordeath said: "Soooooo many disappointed people at the box office/house manager at intermission wondering where Legend and/or Bareilles are..."



Why? The tour starts over 18 months from now and they're not billing it in any way as "Direct from NBC TV"! The person would have to be a complete moron to expect the same cast they saw on TV 2 years earlier. Are people at MEAN GIRLS complaining that Lindsay Lohan isn't in it? Will people atPRETTY WOMAN complain that Julia Roberts isn't in it?

"





Perhaps. But you're thinking within the realm (or bubble) of this board and a community of experienced (read: knowledgeable) theater-goers. Neither Mean Girls nor Pretty Woman is riding on the immediate coat-tails of a production that has captured the attention of a wide audience outside of the USUAL theater fans.

Sure, I may have exaggerated a little, but I would be willing to bet a not insignificant number of ticket buyers will think the tour production and the telecast are one and the same."

Don't make that bet, you'd lose. Jesus Christ Superstar will be touring two years from now. It's won't be riding on the coat tails of NBC's production. You also don't seem to understand the level at which JCS has earned its place in pop-culture. The original album was the number one album in February and May of the year it came out, and was the year-end number one album. Superstar was a cultural phenomenon in much of the world. We aren't talking about the number one cast album, but the number one nest selling pop-album. This extends well beyond the confines of this board. The original film version was the 12th highest grossing film of 1973, and the show has had major national tours in every decade since it came into fruition. While the NBC production certainly furthered the reputation of a pop-culture phenomenon, it certainly isn't what people expect to see when seeing it live on stage.

 

[Mister Matt]

Soooooo many disappointed people at the box office/house manager at intermission wondering where Legend and/or Bareilles are...

Did that happen with The Sound of Music tour and Carrie Underwood? 

[adamgreer]

Elfuhbuh said: "kaykordeath said: "Soooooo many disappointed people at the box office/house manager at intermission wondering where Legend and/or Bareilles are..."

What? Jesus Christ Superstar sells perfectly fine on its own, because it's had a presence in pop culture for decades. It's not like no one knew what it was before Legend and Bareilles sung the score on TV."

The last arena tour was canceled in the U.S. due to low ticket sales. 

[broadwaysfguy]

have to go to posters point about last arena tour cancelled due to low demand
jc superstar was the last album to truly dominate mainstream pop culture but that was 47 years ago
the 14-25 yr olds that bought that lp are 61-72
and while these folks will fill an arena for the stones and paul mccartney im just not convinced they will come out en masse for jcs

i will go for sure but i think they are safer shouting for
3-5k size auditoriums vs the 16-18k person tier 1 indoor arenas

i also think no one except morons will expect john legend to be there two years later

[dmwnc1959]

I don’t recall anything in the press release saying it was going to be an arena tour. Was it an arena tour on Broadway?

It’ll be interesting to see who they cast. I’m sure that will be a critical part in attracting those who will still connect what they saw on TV to this National Tour - even though it starts in the Fall of 2019, casting announcements could come as early as next spring. Will it be “pop names” more familiar for the sake of ticket sales? Or seasoned names more familiar to Broadway fans? 

[TheGingerBreadMan]

dmwnc1959 - The ill-fated tour of the show which was slated to run a few years ago was indeed to be an arena tour. Methinks that the tour would have happened had it been a traditional national tour playing subscriber houses - they seem to have severely overestimated the number of people who would be interested. This tour will likely fare much better.

[adamgreer]

dmwnc1959 said: "I don’t recall anything in the press release saying it was going to be an arena tour. Was it an arena tour on Broadway?

It’ll be interesting to see who they cast. I’m sure that willbe a critical part in attracting those who will still connect what they saw on TV to this National Tour -even though it starts in the Fall of 2019, casting announcements could come as early as next spring.Will it be “popnames” more familiar for the sake of ticket sales? Or seasoned names more familiar to Broadway fans?"

My point in posting that was to counter the point another poster made that the show “sells itself.” There was absolutely no interest in that tour. The last two revivals on Broadway were also massive flops. 

[dmwnc1959]

adamgreer said: "My point in posting that was to counter the point another poster made that the show “sells itself.” There was absolutely no interest in that tour. The last two revivals on Broadway were also massive flops."

Then who could they cast in this tour to avoid it being a flop? Names will matter. Or is it just that the base material makes it a flop when it’s produced for a theater?

What production values and stage sets could they use to improve on past tours to peak interest? Would it just be one set, or revolving sets? Would you go big and elaborate, or keep it simple. 

[darquegk]

You need a name. The material doesn't make it an inherent flop, but the show's iconic status works against the tours sometimes- when a show is a perennial, constantly produced at amateur and professional levels in every town with a half-decent theatre program, you can get a sort of "Annie fatigue" and have limited interest in spending a lot of money to see a tour of the same damn show you've seen every year or two, unless they have a hook to pull you in.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Which is why I griped publicly at one point that a national tour seemed kind of pointless. Count the number of upcoming productions in the U.S. alone (never mind the screening tour of the '73 film, where fans of the classic version can totally ignore that any remake or new production exists, sing along to the movie, show up in costume to win a prize, and meet and greet with members of the original cast), and tell me you don't question the logic of Webber convincing anyone to pay Broadway prices for a national tour when it's constantly being produced all over the U.S. where one can see their friends, relatives, children in it for pennies on the dollar, and -- in my opinion -- probably get something better than what will be on display. I get the idea of striking while the iron is hot, but unless it bears more resemblance to the concert than casting two black guys as Jesus and Judas (as the Chicago transfer has done), then I dunno what to tell ya.

Frankly, the only thing that might convince the general public (or at least the amount of the general public that doesn't buy tickets to everything JCS) to buy is to cast the members of the concert cast that they can actually afford to bring in. It's not like the Regent's Park production was super different from the concert anyway; scaffolding, gratuitous glitter, costumes straight out of the generic postmodern pop star department, singers not particularly suited to the parts...