Cynthia Erivo Laughs Off Conservative Backlash to Her Playing Jesus on Stage: ‘Why Not?… It’s a Musical, the Gayest Place on Earth’

Cynthia Erivo has addressed the criticism of her upcoming turn as the star role in the Hollywood Bowl‘s “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which elicited conservative backlash when it was announced earlier this year.

During an interview with Billboard, the performer spoke out on the negative responses to a Black queer woman taking on the role in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical. “Why not?” she said of her casting. “You can’t please everyone. It is legitimately a three-day performance at the Hollywood Bowl where I get to sing my face off. So hopefully they will come and realize, ‘Oh, it’s a musical, the gayest place on Earth.’”

Erivo was announced as part of the Los Angeles production in February, with plans to take the stage at the famed venue from Aug. 1-3. She previously starred as Mary Magdalene in an all-female version of the musical in 2020 and sang the popular song “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.”

In addition to Erivo, Adam Lambert will play Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” with Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo serving as director and choreographer. Tony and Grammy winner Stephen Oremus will both conduct and music-direct the production, which is being produced in association with Neil Meron and Robert Greenblatt.

“Jesus Christ Superstar” began as a concept album before making its Broadway debut in 1971. A film adaptation directed by Norman Jewison was released in 1973. In 2018, John Legend played Jesus Christ in NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” on Easter Sunday, alongside Sara Bareilles, who performed as Mary Magdalene.