LOS ANGELES (July 11, 2025) - Additional casting is being announced for the Hollywood Bowl's production of Jesus Christ Superstar on August 1, 2 and 3, 2025.

Joining Cynthia Erivo as Jesus and Adam Lambert as Judas are Milo Manheim (Disney Channel Zombies; Seymour in off-Broadway Little Shop of Horrors) as Peter; and Raúl Esparza (Tony-nominated Bobby in Company; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) as Pontius Pilate.

This new production sees Jesus Christ Superstar returning to its rock roots, featuring lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo as director and choreographer and Tony and Grammy award winner Stephen Oremus as musical director and conductor, and is produced in association with Neil Meron and Robert Greenblatt. The production also includes scenic designer Jason Ardizzone-West, costume designer Emilio Sosa, projection designer Peter Nigrini, lighting designers Tyler Lambert-Perkins and Tyler Glover, sound designer Jonathan Burke, and hair and makeup designer Brandi Strona, with casting by The Telsey Office. 

 A global phenomenon that has wowed audiences for decades, Jesus Christ Superstar is a timeless work that explores the biblical portrayal of the extraordinary events that led to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of his betrayer, Judas Iscariot. The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles among Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire. Originally released as a concept album, the iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as “Superstar,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” and “Gethsemane.”

Jesus Christ Superstar will be performed at the Hollywood Bowl: Friday, August 1, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, August 2, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, August 3, at 7:30 p.m. Subscriptions and single tickets for the Hollywood Bowl’s 2025 summer season are available at the Bowl box office at 2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles; online at hollywoodbowl.com or via phone order at 323-850-2000.

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ABOUT CYNTHIA ERIVO

Cynthia Erivo (Jesus) is a Tony^®, GRAMMY^®, Emmy Award-winning and three-time Academy Award nominated actor, singer and producer. Erivo burst onto West End and Broadway stages in The Color Purple, for which she won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical and has since taken the world by storm. In 2024, she starred as Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande’s Glinda in Universal’s record-breaking film adaptation of the hit musical Wicked from director Jon M. Chu. The film opened number one at the box office and has since become the highest grossing movie ever at the domestic box office based on a Broadway musical. Erivo garnered widespread critical acclaim for her performance, receiving Golden Globe, SAG, Critics’ Choice, NAACP, BAFTA, and Academy Award nominations.  She will return as Elphaba this Fall in Wicked: For Good, which will be released on November 21st, 2025.

Erivo is next set to start production on the film adaptation of Prima Facie, the Broadway sensation that originated on the West End. Under her Edith’s Daughter production banner, she will also executive produce the film. It was also recently announced that Erivo will return to the West End starring as Bram Stoker’s demonic vampire and 22 other roles in Kip William’s Dracula, a one-women theatrical extravaganza set for 2026. She recently finished production on Children of Blood and Bone with an all-star cast including Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Regina King, Damson Idris, and Amanda Stenberg as well as the action thriller Karoshi with Teo Yoo and Isabel May. 

In addition to her illustrious acting career, Erivo is a GRAMMY^®-nominated songwriter and performer, headlining numerous sold-out shows, symphonies, and music spaces including the Kennedy Center Honors, the 2020 Academy Awards, the 2017 post-Oscars Governors Ball, and the 2017 GRAMMY^® Awards. Erivo released her debut album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, with Verve/Universal Music Group in September 2021. This June 2025, Erivo is releasing her second album I Forgive You via Verve Records/Republic Records.

ABOUT ADAM LAMBERT

Adam Lambert (he/him) (Judas) is a GRAMMY^®-nominated singer/songwriter, actor, producer, philanthropist, and LGBTQ+ trailblazer. The first openly gay male artist to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Lambert has released five studio albums to date, selling more than three million albums worldwide. After blowing everyone away on the eighth season of American Idol, Lambert went on to become GRAMMY^®-nominated for his platinum-certified single “Whataya Want From Me” and has amassed an impressive catalog featuring five Top 10s on Billboard’s Top Album Sales Chart. Most recently, Lambert released his most liberated body of work to date with the hedonistic dance EP AFTERS. 

In addition to a successful solo career, Lambert is no stranger to impressing crowds with his carefully curated transformation of other artists’ songs – from selling out stadiums worldwide as the frontman of the iconic band Queen, to the Kennedy Center Honors where he reduced Cher to tears with his delicate ballad rendition of “Believe.” 

Alongside his impressive achievements in music, Lambert has showcased his acting chops in the hit TV series Glee, where he portrayed the character Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert. His voiceover work includes notable projects like Megamind Rules, Fraggle Rock, and The Playmobil Movie. He hosts and co-produced the ITV documentary Adam Lambert: Out, Loud and Proud, appeared in the five-time Academy Award-winning film Bohemian Rhapsody, and starred in the Sofia Coppola-produced feature film Fairyland, which world premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. On stage, Lambert's theatrical experience includes his critically acclaimed role as ‘Emcee’ in the TONY Award-winning production of Cabaret marking his official Broadway debut, as well as the first National Tour and Los Angeles Company of WICKED (Ensemble, Fiyero U/S).

ABOUT MILO MANHEIM

Milo Manheim (Peter) is best known for his starring role as Zed in Disney’s hit movie musical franchise Zombies, which will be premiering its 4th installment, Zombies 4: Dawn of Vampires in July. With an extensive and impressive career, Manheim continues to prove himself to be a true rising force and one of Hollywood’s young actors to watch.  Manheim currently stars as Wally Clark in Paramount+’s YA drama series School Spirits, which released its second season earlier this year. The series debuted to a great reception and later found a new audience when it began streaming on Netflix, where it remained in the Top 10 for multiple weeks. The 2nd season also received an impressive 104% audience increase within 7 days post-premiere and has been renewed for a 3rd season.

Manheim starred in the Deaf West stage production of Green Day’s American Idiot, which broke records by becoming the Los Angeles Mark Taper Forum’s highest-selling show of all time. This production included both deaf and hearing actors who performed simultaneously in American Sign Language and spoken English. Manheim played the role of 'Johnny,' which he shared with Daniel Durant (Coda). Recently, Milo made his Off-Broadway debut starring as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors alongside Elizabeth Gillies.

In 2023, Manheim starred in the Disney+ rom-com Prom Pact, as well as appeared in a memorable recurring role on Doogie Kamealoha, M.D., also available on Disney+. That fall he also starred in two major theatrical releases – Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving opposite Patrick Dempsey and Addison Rae (which has already cemented itself as a cult-classic slasher film) and the well-received musical Journey To Bethlehem as Joseph, alongside Fiona Palomo (Mary). Manheim grew up in Los Angeles, CA with a passion for acting and began training in an after-school program at the age of 7. He went on to perform in 15 musicals with Liza Monjauze Productions, including Rent, Footloose, Tommy, A Chorus Line, Gypsy, and Spring Awakening. Manheim also performed in the original musical Generation Me at the prestigious New York Musical Festival (NYMF), for which he won the 2017 NYMF Award of Excellence for Best Leading Actor. The following year, he wowed audiences and came in second place in the 27th season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

ABOUT RAUL ESPARZA

Raúl Esparza (Pontius Pilate) is an American stage and television actor, singer and voice artist. He is one of the only two actors in Tony Award history who has been nominated for the Tony in every male acting category.  Raúl can most recently be seen in Hulu’s limited series Candy, where he stars opposite Jessica Biel, Melanie Lynskey, Pablo Schreiber and Timothy Simons. Raúl can also be seen on Hulu’s Dopesick – opposite a stellar cast including Michael Keaton, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Rosario Dawson. Raúl starred as Rafael Barba in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Raúl also appeared in 20th Century Fox’s animated comedy Ferdinand, portraying the voice of Moreno. Additional film credits include in James Lapine’s Custody, Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene, Jonathan Ullman’s Trouble in the Heights, Wes Craven’s My Soul to Take and Sidney Lumet’s Find Me Guilty. In 2007, Raúl landed a recurring role on ABC’s Pushing Daisies. His other television credits include Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Medium, Georgetown, A Gifted Man, 666 Park Avenue and Hannibal.

Since making his Broadway debut in Cabaret in 1999, Raúl has taken the theatre world by storm. He is the second performer in theatre history to receive Tony nominations in all four acting categories. His Tony Award nominations include Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Taboo (2005), Best Actor in a Musical for Company (2007), Best Featured Actor in a Play for The Homecoming (2008), and Best Actor in a Play for Speed-the-Plow (2009).

He first drew attention with his performance as Riff Raff in the revival of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which won him the Theatre World Award. The following year, he appeared off-Broadway in tick, tick… BOOM! which garnered a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. Additional Theatre credits include The Cradle Will Rock, Leap of Faith, Arcadia, Twelfth Night, TChitty Chitty Bang Bang, Children and Art, Hair, The Normal Heart, Chess, Comedians, Rooms, Short Talks on the Universe, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins and Evita. Most recently, Raúl starred in the rock-musical Galileo by Danny Strong.

The multifaceted Esparza rounds out his accomplishments on stage and screen with his success in the voiceover world. Among his voiceover credits include BoJack Horseman, Dora and Friends, Into the City!, and Elián. He has also narrated a number of audio books including Stephen King’s Under the Dome, Elle Newmark’s The Book of Unholy Mischief, Nancy Farmer’s The House of Scorpion and The Lord of Opium, and Patrick Lee’s Runner and Signal.

ABOUT SERGIO TRUJILLO

Sergio Trujillo (Director and Choreographer) is an internationally renowned director and choreographer who is the first ever Latinx recipient of the Tony^® Award for Best Choreography. He was honored with the Tony^® in 2019 for Ain’t Too Proud and won the 2015 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for Memphis in London. He has choreographed over 12 Broadway musicals and is currently represented by Real Women Have Curves, among many projects which amplifies the voices of the Latine community. In 2011 four of his productions ran simultaneously on Broadway: Next To Normal (2010 Pulitzer Prize), The Addams Family, Memphis (Olivier Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, NAACP Award), and Jersey Boys (Greenroom Award, Dramadesk Award Nomination).

Mr. Trujillo recently directed Cirque Du Soleil’s Paramour and Arrabal (Elliot Norton Award for best direction). He is also the recipient of 3 NAACP Awards. Mr. Trujillo is a two Emmy Award nominee and choreographed The Kennedy Center Honors, the 2021 and 2023 Tony^® Awards(CBS) and Annie Live! for NBC. He most recently choreographed the movie musical adaptation of Kiss of the Spiderwoman starring Jennifer Lopez.

ABOUT STEPHEN OREMUS

Stephen Oremus (Musical Director and Conductor)  is the recipient of two Tony^® Awards (Best Orchestrations) and two GRAMMY^® awards (Best Musical Theater Album) for his work on The Book of Mormon and Kinky Boots. For Kinky Boots, Stephen served as music supervisor, orchestrator, and arranger for Broadway, National Tour, and worldwide productions. For The Book of Mormon, he co-orchestrated the score, wrote the vocal arrangements and serves as music supervisor for the Broadway, National Tour, and worldwide productions. Stephen is the music supervisor and arranger of the original Broadway production of Wicked, and of the subsequent productions of this hugely popular musical playing around the world and also of Disney’s Frozen including the Broadway, National Tour and worldwide productions.  He was the music supervisor, vocal arranger, and orchestrator of Avenue Q, for the Broadway, off-Broadway, London, and the National Tour productions. He was the music supervisor, vocal arranger and orchestrator of the Broadway musical adaptation of 9 to 5, with a score by Dolly Parton, and co-produced the GRAMMY^®-nominated cast recording. His other Broadway credits include All Shook Up, as music supervisor/vocal arranger/co-orchestrator and High Fidelity, as vocal arranger.

Beyond Broadway, Stephen has arranged/conducted for various artists for Television, Film, and Concert performances including Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Rufus Wainwright, Dolly Parton, Cyndi Lauper, Jake Shears, Chaka Khan, and many more, Television credits include: Music Director for the 87th Annual Academy Awards (Emmy nomination), Music Director for: Annie Live (NBC), The Wiz Live (NBC), Rent Live (FOX), A Very Wicked Halloween Special (NBC), and Into the Unknown: The Making of Frozen 2 (Disney Plus). Film credits include Arranging/Conducting songs for: Disney’s Frozen, Frozen 2, Sing 2, A Star Is Born, The Hunting Ground, and Shame. Stephen is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, Boston.

ABOUT TIM RICE

Tim Rice (lyrics) has worked in music, theatre and films since 1965 when he met Andrew Lloyd Webber, a fellow struggling songwriter. Rather than pursue Tim’s ambitions to write rock or pop songs they turned their attention to Andrew’s obsession – musical theatre. Their first collaboration, The Likes Of Us, did not set the musicals world alight, but their next three works together did – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. 

Rice has since worked with other distinguished composers such as Elton John (The Lion King, Aida), Alan Menken (Aladdin, King David, Beauty and the Beast), Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (Chess), and Stuart Brayson (From Here To Eternity). He has also written with Freddie Mercury, Burt Bacharach, Graham Gouldman, Gary Barlow and Rick Wakeman among others. Many of his musicals continue to play around the world in a huge variety of productions, big and small.

In 2024 Tim toured England (22 towns/cities) to present an evening of his songs, mercifully performed by top singers and musicians rather than by him, to which he added reminiscence and comment, recalling their creation, success (or rejection) and the joy (usually) of working with great composers. The show, entitled My Life In Musicals, did so well that it is to be repeated in 2025, this time taking in Wales, Scotland and Ireland too.

Sir Tim’s interests beyond music, film and theatre include cricket and he founded his own team in 1973. Heartaches CC has now played over 750 matches and been on playing tours to the USA, Russia, France, Estonia, Hungary, Germany and South Africa. He was President of the world’s most famous cricket club, MCC, in 2002. 

He has recently recorded a series of talks for BBC Maestro on Writing and Performing in Musical Theatre. He writes and presents a podcast (entitled Get Onto My Cloud) about his sixty-year career– playing hits and flops, out-takes and number ones. 

Rice dedicates considerable time to several British educational institutions and charities, many connected with sport for disadvantaged children. He is a patron of the Bob Willis Fund (along with Bob Dylan!), an enterprise inspired by the late great English cricketer, dedicated to raise prostate cancer awareness.

He crops up here and there in all branches of the media drawing on his extensive knowledge of the history of popular music. He has won several awards, mainly for the wrong thing or for simply turning up, but since you ask: 1 Emmy, 5 GRAMMYs^®, 3 Tonys^® and 3 Oscars, making him an EGOT. His shows have spent more weeks on Broadway than those of any other British lyricist. He was knighted by Her Late Majesty the Queen in 1994. Despite hints, he is not retiring just yet.

ABOUT ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER

Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) has composed the scores of some of the world’s most famous musicals. His shows have run continually in the West End for 50 years and on Broadway for 43.

When the original Sunset Boulevard joined School of Rock, CATS, and The Phantom of the Opera in 1994, Lloyd Webber equalled Rodgers & Hammerstein’s record of four shows running simultaneously on Broadway. He is also one of the select group of artists with EGOT status, having received Emmy, GRAMMY^®, Oscar, and Tony^® Awards.

Lloyd Webber owns six London theatres including the iconic London Palladium and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Reopened in July 2021, the latter was completely restored and renovated at a cost of over £60 million. It was one of the biggest projects ever undertaken by a private theatre owner in recent times. His mantra is that every penny of profit made from his theatres is ploughed back into the buildings.

Lloyd Webber is passionate about the importance of musical education and diversity in the arts. The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation provides 30 performing arts scholarships every year for talented students with financial need and supports a range of projects such as the Music in Secondary School Trust and commissioning research into diversity in theatre.

Lloyd Webber has composed music for globally significant moments, including Olympic ceremonies and World Cup celebrations. He has also been asked to compose for many royal occasions, the most recent piece being “Make a Joyful Noise,” an anthem for the coronation of King Charles III. 

Lloyd Webber was knighted in 1992, created an honorary life peer in 1997, and made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter by King Charles III in 2024.

ABOUT HOLLYWOOD BOWL MUSICALS

The recent history of Broadway musicals at the Hollywood Bowl is nothing short of spectacular, including Kinky Boots, starring Wayne Brady, Jake Shears and Kelly Marie Tran; Into the Woods, starring Skylar Astin, Sierra Boggess, Chris Carmack, Sutton Foster, Cheyenne Jackson, Gaten Matarazzo, Patina Miller and Shanice Williams, directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom; Annie, starring Ana Gasteyer, David Alan Grier, Megan Hilty, Roger Bart and Lea Salonga, directed by Michael Arden; Mamma Mia!, starring Jennifer Nettles, Jamie Camil, Dove Cameron, Corbin Bleu, Lea DeLaria, Hamish Linklater, Steven Weber and Tisha Campbell-Martin, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall; A Chorus Line, starring Mario Lopez, Krysta Rodriguez, Robbie Fairchild, Spencer Liff and Ross Lynch, directed and choreographed by Baayork Lee; Spamalot, starring Craig Robinson, Christian Slater, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Warwick Davis and Eric Idle; Hair, starring Kristen Bell, Hunter Parrish, Beverly D’Angelo, Benjamin Walker and Amber Riley, directed and choreographed by Adam Shankman; Chicago, starring Ashlee Simpson, Drew Carey, Lucy Lawless and Stephen Moyer, directed by Brooke Shields; The Producers, starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Rebecca Romijn, Richard Kind and Dane Cook, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman; Hairspray, starring Harvey Fierstein, Drew Carey, John Stamos, Corbin Bleu and Nick Jonas, directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell; and Rent, starring Vanessa Hudgens, Aaron Tveit, Skylar Astin, Nicole Scherzinger and Wayne Brady, directed by Neil Patrick Harris.

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922 and plays host to the finest artists from all genres of music. For over a century, the Bowl has been a Los Angeles County public park, operated in partnership with the LA Phil to welcome visitors from all over the world. It remains one of the best deals anywhere in Los Angeles; to this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many classical and jazz performances. In February 2024, the Hollywood Bowl was awarded the Outdoor Concert Venue of the Year award at the 35^th Annual Pollstar Awards, an honor bestowed 16 previous times. For millions of music lovers across Southern California, the Hollywood Bowl is synonymous with summer. hollywoodbowl.com

ABOUT THE LA PHIL

Under the leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil offers live performances, media initiatives and learning programs that inspire and strengthen communities in Los Angeles and beyond. The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra is the foundation of the LA Phil’s offerings, which also include a multi-genre, multidisciplinary presenting program and such youth development programs as YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). Performances are offered on four historic stages—Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and The Ford—as well as through a variety of media platforms. In all its endeavors, the LA Phil seeks to enrich the lives of individuals and communities through musical, artistic and learning experiences that resonate in our world today.