(Image via whatsonstage.com)
Business Manager: Brendan Flaherty
Email: bflaherty1@umassd.edu
After the major success of the film adaptation of the beloved musical Wicked, Cynthia Erivo has turned her attention to yet another musical.
For those unaware, Wicked is a musical that “presents events, characters, and situations adapted from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and its 1939 film adaptation.”
Cynthia played the role of Elphaba, who is based on the character The Wicked Witch of the West from the original story Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West written by Gregory Maguire.
Wicked portrays dark themes like racism, political unrest, and other serious topics. Now, the main character has moved to another musical: Jesus Christ Superstar.
She is cast as none other than Jesus. Jesus Christ Superstar is a play on the story of Jesus, following “personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire.”
As a black and queer actress, it doesn’t come as a surprise that many people have been angered by the casting of the new face of Jesus. As reported by Metro News, “fans have been divided by this news with many people on social media calling the move ‘blasphemous.’”
Many think that the move was meant to be controversial in order to create buzz about the upcoming performance. Yet, all that appears to be happening so far is backlash.
Although, it is true that the casting of Jesus in the musical has always been racially diverse, as pointed out by fans and mentioned by Metro News.
It is also true that back in 2020, Erivo played a part in an all-female concept album Jesus Christ Superstar: She Is Risen.
Yet, people may overlook this and instead may focus on the fact that it could be seen as offensive and gender-bent purely for the sake of stirring up controversy.
Along with this information, a heartwarming video from One News Page has recently surfaced, where the originally casted person who played Jesus when the show first came out, wished all the best to Erivo, saying “I hope that you do a great job and the show’s wonderful.”
The reason for this occurrence is that in 2025, the Hollywood Bowl prepared a solid cast of names who were experienced in theatre, including Hugh Jackman, Juanes, Cyndi Lauper and Diana Ross, and Cynthia Erivo.
The Hollywood Bowl first opened in 1922 and has since been used as a place for people to come together and to perform all sorts of concerts and performances.
In summer 2025, all the big names among a few other bands will all come together to perform various songs from albums including musicals一like Jesus Christ Superstar.
This version, however, will be a concert rendition of the show, distinct from the original theatre production.
The entire show is a collage of songs and performances meant to dramatize the events of Jesus’s life. It is uniquely portrayed through a rock opera lens, allowing the viewer to both empathize and enjoy the tale from another perspective.
Yes, there has been a lot of flak for the new and up and coming actress, but there is also a lot more for her to gain. Riding off the success of Wicked, Erivo is going on to perform in a much anticipated show playing a well-known part.
On top of that, the actress is planned to be cast as Elphaba once more in the second part to the Wicked movie called Wicked: For Good, which is set to come out in late 2025.
Overall, there is much to be gained from these notable appearances. If the performances manage to capture audiences all over again like the film did, then perhaps people will have less negative comments to make about her.
Although it sometimes seems like the never-ending trail of hatred will end, there is hope that through the beauty of music, people can see through the hate, move on, and appreciate the magic of the art.