when did jesus christ superstar open on broadway
Jesus Christ Superstar The musical opened on Broadway on 12 October 1971, directed by Tom O'Horgan, at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. It starred Jeff Fenholt as Jesus, Ben Vereen as Judas and Bob Bingham as Caiaphas. Dennen and Elliman played the roles[which?] that they had sung on the album. Kurt Yaghjian was Annas.[citation needed] Anderson replaced Vereen when he fell ill, and the two performers later took turns playing the role. The show closed on 30 June 1973 after 711 performances. The production received mixed reviews; the bold casting of African-Americans as Judas was lauded, but reviewer Clive Barnes from The New York Times said, "the real disappointment was not in the music ... but in the conception."[8][9] The show was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Score, but won none. Lloyd Webber won a Drama Desk Award as "Most Promising Composer", and Vereen won a Theatre World Award.