A Superstar

When the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar was produced some were shocked by the liberties taken with the gospel account. That was 1971 and the musical, primarily due to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s haunting music and Tim Rice’s beautiful lyrics, is now an audience favorite. The show has a different perspective on the events of those days, but one thing can’t be denied, Jesus Christ was and is a superstar. We are accustomed to musicians and other performers drawing thousands of people, but he was an itinerant preacher hiking through the country with no publicity agent in tow. No wonder the religious authorities became anxious and the Romans suspicious when thousands of people began gathering to listen to him.