A Sense of Doubt blog post #3774 - Cynthia Erivo Cast as JC in Jesus Christ Superstar

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3774 - Cynthia Erivo Cast as JC in Jesus Christ Superstar

My friends an I were discussing alternate casting of the roles of Jesus Christ Superstar back in the early 1980s.

I adore Jesus Christ Superstar.

This casting choice for a show at the prestigious and highly visible Hollywood Bowl is a huge win for LBGTQIA+ rights and visibility in a new era, with an administration, that wants to strip those rights and pretend gay and trans and nonbinary people do not exist.

I didn't see Wicked the movie, but I know who Cynthia Erivo is, obviously.

Remember, I am in low power mode right now so not a lot of commentary.

Thanks for tuning in.

LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.

queer black woman jc superstar casting

https://ew.com/cynthia-erivo-responds-conservative-criticism-jesus-christ-superstar-casting-11746404

Cynthia Erivo brushes off outcry over Jesus Christ Superstar casting: 'It's a musical, the gayest place on Earth'

Conservatives, including a pastor, have called the casting of Erivo, a queer Black woman, "blasphemy."

By Jessica Wang  Published on June 2, 2025 03:22PM EDT

Cynthia Erivo is rising above the crucifixion of her casting as Jesus in the upcoming production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

The Wicked star will play the Messiah for a three-night performance at the famed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles over the summer — a casting decision that came with criticism from conservatives, including a pastor who called it "blasphemy" to cast a queer Black woman in the role.

Speaking to Billboard in a new profile, Erivo laughed off the outcry and suggested naysayers better familiarize themselves with Andrew Lloyd Webber's works. "Why not?" she said. "You can’t please everyone. It is legitimately a three-day performance at the Hollywood Bowl where I get to sing my face off. So hopefully they will come and realize, ‘Oh, it’s a musical, the gayest place on Earth.’"

First released as a concept album before taking Broadway by storm, the rock opera is an interpretation of Jesus' final days before his crucifixion and chronicles his relationship with Judas, Mary Magdalene, and his disciples. Erivo is no stranger to the story, having previously assumed the role of Mary Magdalene in Morgan James' all-female Jesus Christ Superstar album.

Erivo's Hollywood Bowl iteration will begin Aug. 1 and run through Aug. 3. Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo will serve as director and choreographer, while Tony winner Stephen Oremus will serve as musical director and conductor. 

Though Erivo is unmoved by the conservative outcry, it's admittedly harder to brush off the current presidential administration's attempts to strip the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and threaten the arts via the hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

“I don’t know who gains what from that," Erivo said of Donald Trump's insertion onto the Kennedy's board.

"I hope that it comes back,” she said. “It’s really sad to have to watch this happen to it. The Kennedy Center is supposed to be a space of creativity and art and music for everyone.” She's calling on the queer community to "not decide to just tuck away and start hiding and not being themselves anymore, because that is exactly what they want."

"The more yourself you are, the more you are in front of people who don’t necessarily understand, the better understanding starts to happen," Erivo added.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2506.17 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3639 days ago & DAD = 293 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.