Review: Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert Are Divine in Jesus Christ Superstar Hollywood Bowl Concert

Audiences will have “Heaven on Their Minds” during the Hollywood Bowl production of Jesus Christ Superstar, running through August 3. The classic rock opera fills the whole Bowl with an energy that’s astounding and intoxicating.

Jesus Christ Superstar focuses on Jesus’s final days, including his capture, flogging, and crucifixion. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice use the biblical tale to comment on the cult of personality, a concept of which our world has healed itself of, and rarely sees in practice today (ahem).

The Bowl sold out its 17,500 seats on the prestige of its two vibrant stars, Adam Lambert as Judas and Cynthia Erivo as Jesus, and both are extraordinary.

Lambert hits those high D’s with ease while making each note crisp and furious. He achieves both self-righteousness when Judas betrays his best friend and desolation when realizing he’s merely a pawn who will be “damned for all time.” Then comes the epic title number. Supported by the enthusiastic ensemble, and Tyler Glover and Tyler Lambert-Perkins’s pulsating lighting, Lambert emerges from the afterlife to rejuvenate the audience with the passion of a tent-show revival.

If Lambert’s performance is brilliantly extroverted, Erivo, on the other hand, internalizes her role. Her take on the role is not as a Christ-figure; the audience never sees her blessing people or healing the sick. She’s playing a 33-year-old man named Jesus who got wrapped up in a movement and is now overwhelmed.  One can see (at least on the jumbo screens) her panic during the leper scene, as if she knows she has no special powers.

While many actors who’ve played Jesus use their one big number, “Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say),” to reveal a crack in the armor, a moment to reflect and question his mission, Erivo explodes at the climax and is rewarded with a standing ovation. Jesus cries as the audience cries, but it’s hard to not see Erivo herself breaking down as she connects with 17 thousand people in the stands. It’s the magic of the theater and a moment that I will remember forever.

Most of the supporting cast is excellent, but Raúl Esparza really stands out as the bombastic Pilate, who loses his grip on power after condemning this lord of the people. Phillipa Soo is also heartbreaking, giving every ounce of her spirit to “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.”

What to say about John Stamos as King Herod? Bravo to his guts and his spirit of “The Show Must Go On,” as he stepped in at the very last minute when his friend Josh Gad dropped out due to Covid. The lack of rehearsal showed during his three minutes and 13 seconds of speak-singing, and it’s a shame the production team didn’t really have an understudy who had more prep time with the song.

There are a few other, more minor quibbles. The death of Judas doesn’t have much of an impact when the lights fade to read as he starts to hang himself. I’m sure no one in the audience wanted to see a mannequin fall on the stage with a noose, but anyone unfamiliar with the story would have no idea what happened to the protagonist. Similarly, having Jesus wear a cross feels anachronistic, as if he already knows how he’s going to die. It makes him seem psychic, with a flair for irony, and Erivo’s take on the role goes against that.

Director/choreographer Sergio Trujillo does a tremendous job keeping the rock opera moving without dead spots — nothing kills the momentum in an amphitheater like silence. He brings the cast through into stands, fills all the dance scenes with exciting movement, and lets his talented cast run wild.

Stephen Oremus’s orchestra/rock band sounds raw and exhilarating. He punctuates the small movements, like the flute solo before “Damned For All Time,” and turns the title number into a rousing finale.

An engrossingly acted, star-studded concert, Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl gives the audience what they want, and more. What a party.