The Gospel truth: ALT kicks off 95th season with 'Jesus Christ Superstar'

An updated version of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” complete with graffiti, leather and drugs, will launch the Albuquerque Little Theatre’s 95th season.

First performed in 1971, the show is loosely based on the Gospels, following the last week of the life of Jesus Christ. The show will run from Friday, Aug. 30, through Sept. 15.

“ ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ has never been done at ALT before,” said director Brian Clifton. “It felt like a great time to do a classic rock opera.”

Clifton has placed the story, as told through the eyes of Judas Iscariot, in 2024, complete with issues such as mental illness.

“Everyone looks like people you see today,” he said. “We’ve got women playing male characters; we’ve got a woman playing King Herod.”

Judas is the only character who sees where everything is headed, Clifton added. “People are getting out of control and the power and the money are getting out of control.”

A live band will accompany the music and lyrics of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

The musical explores the personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire. The iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as “Superstar,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and “Gethsemane.”

Thirty people will helm the stage.

“This is actually the biggest cast ALT has ever had,” Clifton said. “We wanted to start out with something big. This show has always been on my bucket list to direct.”

The director set the musical in an encampment with an abandoned train station.

“They’re going to be climbing on (the train), dancing and singing,” he said of the cast. “We wanted this gritty kind of feel. Jesus went after the people who were disenfranchised, the people who had no home.”

Clifton, whose parents introduced him to musicals through “Superstar” when he was little, also directed ALT productions of “Grease,” “Songs for a New World,” “Shrek” and “Head Over Heels.”