Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera that became a musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It highlights the political and interpersonal struggles of Judas Iscariot and Jesus that is not described in the Bible. The rock opera is based on St John’s Gospel account of the last week of Jesus’ life, beginning with the preparation for Jesus’ and his followers’ arrival in Jerusalem  and ending with the Crucifixion. Twentieth-century attitudes and sensibilities as well as contemporary slang pervade the lyrics and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the political depiction of the events. Stage and film productions accordingly feature many intentional anachronisms.

The works depiction of Jesus is significantly different from Biblical accounts: according to the traditional Christian interpretation of the New Testament, Jesus was God incarnate and, after the Crucifixion, arose from the dead. In Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus is fully human, and after his death, no resurrection is implied. A large part of the plot focuses on the character of Judas who is depicted as a tragic figure who is dissatisfied with what he views as Jesus’ lack of planning and is also alarmed by the relatively recent claims of his divinity. He fears that Jesus will doom the Jewish people to destruction at the hands of the Romans.