Cynthia Erivo is addressing the criticism over her casting in the upcoming three-night production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
The Wicked: For Good star shut down the negativity around her, scoring the titular role of the Hollywood Bowl production.
“Why not?” she told Billboard about the outcry from conservative critics. “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.’”
Performances of the musical will start on August 1 and run through August 3. Sergio Trujillo is set to direct and choreograph the special presentations, with Stephen Oremus serving as musical director and conductor.
Erivo is not a stranger to the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical as she previously portrayed Superstar’s Mary Magdalene in the two-volume all-female 2020 concept album Jesus Christ Superstar: She Is Risen. As Magdalene, Erivo performed “Everything’s Alright” and “I Don’t Know How To Love Him.” As Jesus, she’ll sing such numbers as “Hosanna,” “The Last Supper” and “Gethsemane.”
The performer identifies as queer and during the same interview also addressed Donald Trump’s attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and his takeover of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
“I don’t know who gains what from that. I hope that it comes back,” she told Billboard. “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.”
The post Cynthia Erivo On Criticism Over ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Casting: “It’s A Musical, The Gayest Place On Earth” appeared first on Deadline.
