Background

The life of Jesus of Nazareth has influenced people everywhere; his spiritual and moral teachings have shaped the lives of both believers and non-believers, dominating much of the culture of the Western world. Born into a medium sized Jewish family, Jesus grew up in a turbulent and dynamic region, where Jews and Greek and Roman pagans lived side by side. Here, in ancient Galilee, the Romans set up a puppet monarchy, ruled by Herod Antipas, son of King Herod the Great. Governing only with the consent of his Roman overlords, Herod stifled every inkling of public discontent, keeping his Roman masters happy. Still, some Jews openly talked about rebellion and formed guerrilla units called Zealots, which were brutally crushed by the Roman occupiers. Other Jews prayed privately for a new king to arrive to restore their nation. This king was called the messiah, or anointed one; in Greek it was Cristos, or Christ. 

It was under these depressed conditions that Jesus of Nazareth left Galilee and travelled south to Judea in search of the holy man John the Baptist. Jesus soon became a disciple of John, who preached about the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven and of the new messiah. Talk of this new king frightened men like Herod Antipas, who feared that John may stir his followers to revolt against him and Rome - instigating the Roman army to re-pacify the entire countryside. It was this fear of revolt in an already smouldering political and religious tinderbox that prompted King Herod to arrest and eventually execute John the Baptist, echoing an ominous warning of what would happen to radical prophets who preached against the Roman status quo. 

By this time, Jesus of Nazareth had already become a holy man in his own right, and was a visionary with his own spiritual mission. A spellbinding preacher hailed as a faith healer, Jesus soon began building his own community of disciples from strangers bound by their faith to him. Possessed by a strong sense of mission and purpose, Jesus, like John the Baptist before him, also established a large following of his own. Unfortunately, these crowds often did not understand Jesus’ radical teachings, and would misquote and exaggerate the stories of their leader, sparking the attention of the authorities. One of the twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, began to see the actions of the hysterical crowds as possibly causing a dangerous backlash from the Romans who could make life very dangerous for all the people of Jerusalem. Concerned for the welfare of Jesus and the rest of his people, Judas begins to try to get Jesus of Nazareth to change his ways. Thus begins Jesus Christ Superstar. 

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice take a different view on the final days of Jesus of Nazareth in their rock opera. Jesus Christ Superstar, which tells the story from Judas Iscariot’s point of view, is a humanized look at the last days of Jesus, taking much of their inspiration from the often glossed over passages of the Gospels. More then anything else, Jesus Christ Superstar is a powerful piece of theatre, presenting a different view of the man who would have to give up his earthly existence to accept his destiny. 

Originally appearing as a record because producers were afraid to take a chance on such a daring production, Jesus Christ Superstar eventually premiered at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York on October 12, 1971. Despite opposition from certain religious groups, this production became a huge hit and ran for 720 performances.

Synopsis

Jesus Christ Superstar chronicles the last seven days in the life of Jesus of Nazareth as seen through the eyes of his disciple, Judas Iscariot, who has become disillusioned with the movement. At the opening of the play, Judas agonizes over his perception that Jesus' followers have become fanatical and unrealistic, hailing him as a god and twisting his words into monstrous prophecies. After all, in Judas' mind, Jesus is only a man--a man with certain inconsistencies, as evidenced by his relationship with Mary Magdalene. As the crowds in the street grow more and more out of control, the rift between Jesus and Judas grows. After watching Jesus lose control in the temple, lashing out at the moneylenders and merchants, then begging to be left alone when a crowd of cripples surround him asking to be healed, Judas is more convinced than ever that the man from Nazareth is just that--a man, and nothing more. He determines that Jesus, having lost control of the mob, has become dangerous and must be stopped. He goes to the priests and gives them all the information they need to catch Jesus alone so that they can take him prisoner without risking violence by the mob. After leading the soldiers to Gethsemane, however, and watching the events that unfold, Judas soon realizes that he has been tricked by God into being the instrument of Jesus martyrdom. Furious that the man from Nazareth will be remembered as a "Superstar," Judas hangs himself.