The 2025 production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl ran for three nights, from August 1 to August 3, 2025. Directed by Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo, the classic musical returned to its rock opera roots while also causing a great deal of controversy for its unusual casting choices.
Cynthia Erivo, a black queer British actress who previously starred in the movie Wicked, was cast in the role of Jesus Christ. This decision sparked backlash from conservative religious groups who viewed it as disrespectful and blasphemous. Critics argued that portraying Jesus—historically male and Middle Eastern—as a queer black woman was a form of historical erasure or cultural provocation. Not only that, but Adam Lambert, a white man who openly embraces his queer identity, played Judas in the production.
Controversial Musical
Created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in 1970, the Jesus Christ Superstar musical reimagines the final week of Jesus’ life through a modern lens, with rock music and emotionally charged storytelling. Since its 1971 debut, it’s had a long-standing reputation for reimagining traditional narratives and challenging religious norms.
The secular musical has been criticized for portraying Jesus as conflicted and vulnerable, sympathizing with Judas, who narrates much of the story, and de-emphasizing divinity, focusing instead on political and emotional tensions.
Religious groups have protested the show for decades, viewing it as an irreverent take on sacred events. The 2025 Hollywood Bowl production of Jesus Christ Superstar was no exception, stirring up controversy this time primarily due to its casting choices.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a practicing Catholic who has also been known to frequent a Southern Baptist megachurch, shared his thoughts on the controversial musical:
For people of faith, none of this should be new … Christianity has been mocked, Christianity has been attacked from its very inception. In fact, the Church has traditionally been at its strongest when it’s the persecuted church, it’s been at its weakest when it sort of gets consumed by the culture.
Read the Bible
Much as Hamilton is not really an American history lesson, Jesus Christ Superstar is not a literal Bible interpretation. It’s a secular reinterpretation that’s provocative by design, intended to spark conversation rather than preach doctrine. But even though it’s not meant to be a theological treatise, you can still call it sacrilegious because it treats holy things without proper respect. Seriously, can you see these same people mocking Muhammad, the founder of Islam, like this???
2 Timothy 3:16 states that “All Scripture is God-breathed”, indicating its authority and origin as God’s Word. To change anything in it not only shows disrespect for its divine origin, but also ultimately dishonors the original Creator. Admittedly, The Chosen is a Christian series that takes creative liberties with the Bible, but it does so for a good reason, and in a reverent way, to support the scriptures, not distort their meaning.
The Bible’s account of Jesus’ life, especially in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), presents a divine Messiah with a clear mission: salvation through death and resurrection. If you want to know the real Jesus, read the Bible.
