The day before Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is scheduled to hit theaters, Tucson will get a musical dose of Christianity's central figure when Broadway's classic rock opera"Jesus Christ Superstar" hits Centennial Hall.
"Superstar," with musical score by Andrew Lloyd Weber and lyrics by Tim Rice, chronicles the last seven days in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
At first only released as a record because producers were afraid to chance such a daring production, the musical is now considered a theatrical legend. "Superstar" is the epic retelling of Jesus' last days as seen through the eyes of one apostle, Judas Iscariot, who is disillusioned with Jesus.
Despite controversy, "Superstar" became a box-office hit and ran for eight years in London's West End. The rock opera features songs such as "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and "Jesus Christ Superstar." Its soundtrack hit the top of the charts three times.
In 1996, London producers revived the show, and Broadway enjoyed this same revival in 2000. The National Broadway Tour of "Superstar" coming to Tucson is based on the 1996 London revival directed by Gale Edwards. The tour production's director is Kevin Moriarity.
Joan Almedilla is one of four women in the "Superstar" cast arriving next week. She's one of the show's soul girls, and said those attending can expect to see lots of theatrical talent.
"I remember during rehearsal, the director said, ÎWhatever you are, bring it ÷ whatever you can put on the table. We want to see each of you the way you are. It's visual what you can bring,'" Almedilla said.
Almedilla also knows Jesus personally.
"The guy who plays Jesus (Eric Kunze), I worked with him on Broadway in ÎMiss Saigon' when I was Kim and he was Chris," said Almedilla.
Almedilla said while some interpretations of "Superstar" require biblical costumes, cast members in Centennial Hall will follow contemporary fashion.
"Ours is very modern street clothes," she said. "Abercrombie and Fitch, Forever 21 kind of outfits that we're wearing."
While some of the musical's elements are subject to interpretation, the crucifixion scene is not.
"We don't have too much blood in the show," Almedilla said. "Because I remember the Broadway production; there was a lot of blood. In ours it was eliminated, except for the lashes."
The "lashes," when Jesus is whipped 39 times, made an impression on Almedilla. During a San Francico show, a 14-year-old girl ran screaming out of the theater.
"She was standing right behind the conductor of the orchestra pit, but she ran down the aisle and she started screaming. And it was really disturbing," Almedilla said.
Though she said she was shocked at the time, Almedilla was still able to laugh when she described what happened next on stage.
"I'm in front of Jesus during that scene, and he thought I was doing crazy noises," she said. "And he looked at me and I was pretty normal."
When she's backstage during a performance, Almedilla said she either watches her fellow cast members or reads a book. When she isn't performing, Almedilla said she likes to write songs and drive by the beach near her new Los Angeles residence.
Almedilla said writing lyrics for herself and other music artists is her latest goal.
"It's kind of difficult, because when you audition for musical theater or just straight acting, you're stepping into a role," she said. "But for this one, it's for yourself. It's who you are. You have to be more courageous and brave to show it to the world and accept criticism about your material, your songs."
Almedilla said her favorite part in "Superstar" is when Mary Magdalene (Natalie Toro) sings "Everything's Alright" and she joins in.
"With what's going on in reality with the world right now, it's nice to sing that," Almedilla said. "Personally, I'm not just singing it to my fellow cast members on stage, but also to the people ÷ that everything's fine, everything's all right. That is the part where it is effortless for me to communicate."