Athens Community Theatre Performs “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Arts Center
ATHENS, TN – Athens Community Theatre will present Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” Feb. 14-23 at The Arts Center. The musical will be held 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays with a 2 p.m. matinee Sundays. Tickets are on sale now.
The first musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to be produced for the professional stage, “Jesus Christ Superstar” has wowed audiences for over 40 years. “Jesus Christ Superstar” tells the story of Jesus in the final days leading up to his crucifixion. A rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the musical has no spoken dialogue and is sometimes considered a modern rock-opera.
Loosely based on the Gospels, the musical focuses on the personal conflicts between Jesus, his disciples, the people of Israel, and the leadership of Rome. Special attention is paid to the relationship between Judas Iscariot and Jesus, as well as Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene. The musical is unique among biblical retellings in that it focuses on both Judas’ struggle making the decision to betray Jesus and Jesus’ human psychology, fear, and anger in understanding and accepting his role as both leader and martyr.
The show is a product of its era, permeated with 1970’s rock, gospel, folk and funk themes, modern language and colloquialisms, and high-energy dance numbers.
Athens Community Theatre veteran and Arts Center Technical Director G. David Brown is the director; musician Kay Simmons serves as music director; and veteran director/performer Melonie Carideo is choreographer. Audiences will recognize the members of the band from their time on stage at various concerts and musical productions in the past. Ellen Kimball will be the accompanist and the rest of the band includes Ron Clayton, Cody Hensley, Andrew Kimball, David Ledbetter, Joe Littleton, and Kyle Littleton.
Joshua Bragg will play Jesus Christ, Cameron Cleveland will be Judas Iscariot, and Whitney Kimball Coe will be Mary Magdalene.
Adult tickets are $15 and student tickets are $10.
The Arts Center is located at 320 North White St. in downtown Athens. Staff is available for questions during business hours, which are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (January-March).
For more information call The Arts Center at 423-745-8781, follow The Arts Center on Facebook, or visit www.athensartscouncil.org.
All Athens Community Theatre productions are sponsored by Covenant Pediatrics, Grover Thurman, CPA, Muddy Waters Wine & Spirits, The Sock Shop, and Starr Regional Medical Center. All performances presented by Athens Area Council for the Arts are sponsored by Gibby & Son’s Pool Services. Edward Jones of Athens, Financial Guidance Partners, Willsonthropic, Inc, Mintie C. Willson, Willson Family Fund, and Wolfenden Family Pharmacies are AACA premiere sponsors and support all programming as does Tennessee Arts Commission.