Julian Clary will take on the role of Herod when the multi-award-winning Regent’s Park Open Air production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar embarks on its 2023/2024 UK tour later this year.
Commenting on his casting in the role, Clary (Taboo, West End/UK tour, Cabaret, West End) who will take to the stage in the production in Manchester, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Liverpool, said: “I am so thrilled to be a part of this amazing production and look forward to presenting my crazed, queer, imperious King Herod. I’m thinking Putin meets Cleopatra with a hint of Biggins.”
Clary will join the previously announced Ian McIntosh (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Aldwych Theatre, We Will Rock You, London Coliseum/20th anniversary UK and Ireland tour) as Jesus alongside Shem Omari James (Dreamgirls, UK tour, Vanara, Hackney Empire) as Judas and Hannah Richardson (The Last Ship, US tour) as Mary. Further casting will be announced at a later date.
Produced by David Ian for Crossroads Live, the tour will launch at Manchester’s Palace Theatre from 11 September. The production will then visit Newcastle, Hull, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Plymouth, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Nottingham, Ipswich, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leicester, Stoke, Bristol, Crawley, Southampton, Norwich, Eastbourne, Birmingham, Oxford, Wimbledon, Woking, Sunderland, Canterbury, Sheffield, Llandudno, Torquay, Dartford, Cheltenham, Blackpool, Bromley, Inverness and Truro. Further tour dates are to be announced.
Announcing the tour earlier this year, Ian said: “I am thrilled to be taking this award-winning production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s much-loved musical Jesus Christ Superstar on tour in 2023/2024. Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre has created a fresh and bold new version of a beloved classic which will enthral both long-time fans of the show and delight those seeing it for the very first time.”
Celebrating 45 years since Lloyd Webber and Rice’s ground-breaking musical debuted on Broadway, the new production which debuted at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2016 was re-imagined by a creative team led by director Timothy Sheader, with choreography by Drew McOnie, design by Tom Scutt, music supervision by Tom Deering, lighting design by Lee Curran and sound design by Nick Lidster.
Winner of the 2017 Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival and the 2016 Evening Standard Award for Best Musical, the production sold out consecutive runs at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2016 and 2017 before playing a West End transfer season at the Barbican in 2019. The production also embarked on an extensive North American tour in 2019 before returning to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in a concert version during the summer of 2020.
Angela Thomas
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