The undisputed ‘King of Shock Rock’ has been cast as the flamboyant King Herod in NBC’s staged rock concert of “Jesus Christ Superstar Live!,” to be aired Easter Sunday, April 1.
Alice Cooper famoulsy recorded “King Herod’s Song” at the request of Lloyd Webber and Rice for the 2000 release of a cast album from the 1996 production of Jesus Christ Superstar in the U.K. Alice will reprise his role in the show as part of NBC’s Easter Sunday spectatular.
Of course, it’s been a busy year for Cooper. The iconic rocker recently concluded an extensive world tour in support of his latest album Paranormal. This being a tour which saw Alice perform in excess of 100 shows whislt traversing five continents around the globe.
Speaking about Alice Cooper’s involvement in this formidable project Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment went on to say that “Alice Cooper, whose theatricality is the stuff of legend, is the perfect rock star to play Herod in our live production.” Greenblatt goes on to say that “Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote a showstopping musical number for Herod and we all look forward to the ‘King of Shock Rock’ taking on the King of Judea. As the casting for ‘Superstar’ ramps up, we can feel the excitement building for this brand new concert experience of what has long been considered the original rock musical.”
Joining Alice Cooper throughout the production is esteemed British theatre director David Leveaux, a five-time Tony Award nominee who has directed some of the most noteworthy productions in the U.K. and on Broadway, including the 2003 revival of “Nine,” starring Antonio Banderas, and 2008’s revival of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” starring Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner.
Jesus Christ Superstar Live! will be executive produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, Marc Platt, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.
Alice Cooper
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Photo: © Adam Kennedy