Julian Clary will be playing the role of Herod in the highly anticipated Jesus Christ Superstar when the play opens at Manchester’s Palace Theatre this autumn
Julian Clary said: ‘I am so thrilled to be a part of this amazing production and look forward to presenting my crazed, queer, imperious King Herod. I’m thinking Putin meets Cleopatra with a hint of Biggins.’
Produced by David Ian for Crossroads Live and Work Light Productions who present the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production, the play embarks on a 2023/24 UK tour opening at Manchester’s Palace Theatre from 11 September 2023.
It will then visit Newcastle, Hull, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Plymouth, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Nottingham, Ipswich, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leicester, Stoke, Bristol, Crawley, Southampton, Norwich, Eastbourne, Birmingham, Oxford, Wimbledon, Woking, Sunderland, Canterbury, Sheffield, Llandudno, Torquay, Dartford, Cheltenham, Blackpool, Bromley, Inverness and Truro with further tour dates are to be announced.
Featuring lyrics and music by Emmy, GRAMMY, Oscar and Tony
winners Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, this production was reimagined by London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre where it originated and is helmed by director Timothy Sheader and choreographer Drew McOnie. Completing the creative team is design by Tom Scutt, lighting design by Lee Curran, sound design by Nick Lidster and music supervision by Tom Deering.
A global phenomenon that has wowed audiences for decades, Jesus Christ Superstar’s iconic 1970s rock score was originally released as a concept album and opened on Broadway in 1971 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. The original London production ran for over eight years.
By the time it closed, after 3,358 performances, it had become the longest-running musical in West End history at that time. Jesus Christ Superstar has been reproduced regularly around the world in the years since its first appearance, with performances including a Broadway revival in 2012, an ITV competition TV show called Superstar that led to casting Ben Forster as Jesus in an arena tour of the show, and a production at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre celebrating 45 years since the musical’s Broadway debut.
