NBC has shared the first promo for its live staging of “Jesus Christ Superstar” featuring Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene and Alice Cooper as King Herod.
The clip also gives a snippet of Bareilles’ performance of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” the standout single first recorded by Yvonne Elliman for the Broadway rock opera.
John Legend stars as Jesus Christ in NBC’s adaptation, alongside Bareilles, Cooper, “Hamilton’s” Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas, Ben Daniels as Pontius Pilate, Norm Lewis as Caiaphas, Jin Ha as Annas, Jason Tam as Peter and Erik Gronwall as Simon Zealotes.
The original musical debuted on stage in 1971, and follows the final week of Jesus’ life. It musical starred Jeff Fenholt as Jesus and Ben Vereen as Judas, and earned five Tony nominations. Vereen was nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, and Lloyd Webber won a Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Composer.
NBC’s production will be directed by David Leveaux. The show will be filmed live in front of an audience at the Marcy Armory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert!” will air Easter Sunday, April 1 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.