Over the weekend, Jesus Christ Superstar was performed at the Hollywood Bowl with Cynthia Erivo in the title role. She was not the only Jesus there. Ted Neeley, who starred in the 1973 film, was in the audience enjoying seeing his legacy live on. And he loved it.
He was not the only original cast member there. The other woman in that photo is Yvonne Elliman, who played Mary Magdalene on the stage and screen. No offense to Phillipa Soo, who gave a powerful performance, but Elliman is by far the best Mary Magdalene of them all. And I have seen countless performances of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
On that note, John Stamos and Josh Gad both sucked as much as Alice Cooper as King Herod, Uncle Jessie leading the pack as the worst one. Too bad they couldn’t get Josh Mostel to reprise his role. No one gave a performance as joyous as he did. Although I think I love Rik Mayall’s version from the 2000 film the most, which is also my favorite take on JCS!
Can you tell I love this musical?
Fun Fact: Neeley took his friend Sally Struthers with him. Why? The actor wrote, “Archie Bunker had a strong opinion about Jesus Christ Superstar, so, naturally, I had to take his ‘Little Goyl’ Gloria as my date to the #hollywoodbowl! Take that Archie! Lovely to see you Sally!! “
