Johnny Rotten Starring in Touring Production of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'

BY Alex HudsonPublished Apr 4, 2014

We never really thought of Johnny Rotten as the kind of guy who would be into musicals, but evidently we still have a lot to learn about the legendary punk snarler, since he'll be touring North America with a production of Jesus Christ Superstar this year.

The vocalist also known as John Lydon will be playing the role of King Herod in the rock opera, which was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice and was first staged on Broadway in 1971.

The cast also includes a number of radio-friendly pop vets; Brandon Boyd of Incubus will play Judas, while Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child will be Mary and JC Chasez of 'N Sync is Pontius Pilate. The role of Jesus will be handled by Ben Forster, winner of the UK talent competition show Superstar.

An announcement on the production's website refers to the tour as an "arena rock spectacular." Lydon's website, meanwhile, notes that it's set in the present day and adapted to our modern society.

The Sex Pistols singer said in a statement, "I'm here to sing with the King of the Jews, who could ask for anything more?" 

See the hefty schedule and get ticket information here. The trip includes Canadian stops in Toronto (June 26), Winnipeg (July 4), Regina (July 5), Edmonton (July 6) and Vancouver (July 12).

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