We Speak Entertainment

BRANDON VICTOR DIXON STARS AS JUDAS IN ‘JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE IN CONCERT’

Published

7 years ago

February 23, 2018

umeektv

‘HAMILTON’ VET AND TONY-WINNING PRODUCER BRANDON VICTOR DIXON STARS AS JUDAS IN NBC’S ‘JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE IN CONCERT’ EASTER SUNDAY

Tony Award-winning producer, “Hamilton” alum and “Power” co-star Brandon Victor Dixon will star as Judas and join an already stellar cast in NBC’s highly anticipated special event “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” to be aired Easter Sunday, April 1 from the Marcy Armory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Also joining the cast are Tony nominee Ben Daniels as Pontius Pilate, Tony nominee Norm Lewis as Caiaphas, Broadway veteran Jason Tam as Peter, “M. Butterfly” star Jin Ha as Annas and Swedish rock star Erik Gronwall as Simon Zealotes.

Rounding out the full, award-winning creative team is Emmy Award-winning live television director and executive producer Alex Rudzinski (“Hairspray Live!,” “Dancing With the Stars”), Emmy- and Tony Award-winning costumer designer Paul Tazewell (“The Wiz Live!,” “Hamilton”), Grammy Award-winning music producer Harvey Mason Jr. (“The Wiz Live!”), musical director Nigel Wright (“Jesus Christ Superstar” world arena tour), production designer Jason Ardizzone-West (“Adele Live in NYC”) and choreographer Camille A. Brown (“Once on This Island”).

As previously announced, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” a staged version of the original rock musical, will be executive produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, Marc Platt, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, John Legend, Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorius and Alex Rudzinski.

Oscar, Golden Globe, Tony and 10-time Grammy winner John Legend has been cast as Jesus Christ, with Broadway star and acclaimed recording artist Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene. In addition, rock icon Alice Cooper will take on the role of King Herod. The production will be helmed by esteemed British theatre director David Leveaux.

Dixon will play Judas, an apostle of Jesus who has concerns for the poor and the consequences of Jesus’s popularity. Dixon won a Tony in 2014 as a producer of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” which won for Best Revival of a Musical. In 2006 Dixon was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Harpo in “The Color Purple,” and again in 2016 for his role as Eubie Blake in “Shuffle Along.”

In addition to his Tony nominations, Dixon is known to many Broadway theatergoers as Aaron Burr from the musical sensation “Hamilton.” Dixon played Burr for nearly a year at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. In addition, he co-starred in a 2010 Off Broadway production of the musical “The Scottsboro Boys,” directed by Susan Stroman. On the TV side, Dixon currently co-stars on the Starz series “Power” as Terry Silver. He previously appeared on “The Good Wife” and performed on “The 40th Annual Kennedy Center Honors” in December.

Ben Daniels will portray Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea who has a dream about the gruesome way Jesus will be killed. Daniels was Tony nominated in 2008 for Best Actor in a Play for his role as Le Vicomte de Valmont in “Les Liasons Dangereuses.” In 2016 he co-starred in the blockbuster film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” His TV credits include “The Exorcist” and “House of Cards.”

Tony nominee Norm Lewis will play Caiaphas, a high priest who sees Jesus as a threat to the nation. Lewis was Tony nominated in 2012 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical in “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” and is currently starring in the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of “Once on this Island.” Lewis’ other extensive Broadway credits include “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Miss Saigon,” “Chicago,” “Les Miserables,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Sondheim on Sondheim.” On the TV side, Lewis has appeared in “The Blacklist,” “Gotham,” “Chicago Med” and “Scandal.”

Jason Tam will portray Peter, one of the apostles who saves himself the night Jesus is arrested. Tam has worked steadily on Broadway and his credits include “Les Miserables,” “A Chorus Line,” “Lysistrata Jones” and “If/Then.” His TV appearances include “The Blacklist,” “Hawaii Five-0” and “Do No Harm.”

Jin Ha will play Annas, a priest who aligned with Caiaphas and also saw Jesus as a threat. Ha made his Broadway debut as Song Liling in the 2017 revival of “M. Butterfly” at the Cort Theatre.

Erik Gronwall will play apostle Simon Zealotes, who believes Jesus should lead his followers into battle against the Romans. Gronwall came to fame in 2009 by winning the Swedish version of “American Idol.” Using “Idol” to jumpstart his music career, Gronwall released his first single, “Higher,” a few weeks after winning the competition and the song immediately shot to #1 on the charts. “Higher,” along with his self-titled album, soon reached platinum. He currently is the lead singer of the band H.E.A.T., who tour worldwide.

The “Jesus Christ Superstar” album hit #1 on the Billboard charts and made its way to the stage in 1971. It is based on the final week of Jesus’ life. The 1971 musical opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway and starred Jeff Fenholt as Jesus and Ben Vereen as Judas. It was nominated for five Tonys, including Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Vereen. Lloyd Webber won a Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Composer.

Since then, the musical has been considered a classic and has become a staple of theatre and music organizations throughout the world. It has been performed in nearly 20 countries and translated into 18 different languages. There have been many revivals of “Jesus Christ Superstar” over the 46 years since its debut, including 2000 and 2012 Broadway versions that each earned a Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Musical. The 1973 film was directed by Oscar winner Norman Jewison and starred Ted Neeley.

“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” will be produced by Universal Television, The Really Useful Group, Marc Platt Productions and Zadan/Meron Productions.

We Speak Entertainment

Julian Schlossberg Guests On “If These Walls Could Talk” With Hosts Wendy Stuart and Tym Moss Wednesday, February 19th, 2025

Published

1 week ago

February 14, 2025

Jimmy Star

Who else but hosts Wendy Stuart and Tym Moss could “spill the tea” on their weekly show “If These Walls Could Talk” live from Pangea Restaurant on the Lower Eastside of NYC, with their unique style of honest, and emotional interviews, sharing the fascinating backstory of celebrities, entertainers, recording artists, writers and artists and bringing their audience along for a fantastic ride.

Julian Schlossberg will be a featured guest on “If These Walls Could Talk” with hosts Wendy Stuart and Tym Moss on Wednesday, February 19^th, 2025 at 2 PM ET live from the infamous Pangea Restaurant.

Wendy Stuart is an author, celebrity interviewer, model, filmmaker and along with If These Walls Could Talk she hosts TriVersity Talk, a weekly web series with featured guests discussing their lives, activism and pressing issues in the LGBTQ Community.

Tym Moss is a popular NYC singer, actor, and radio/tv host who recently starred in the hit indie film “JUNK” to critical acclaim.

Julian Schlossberg is an American motion picture, theater, and television producer.

He was born in New York City. Following a short tour of duty in the United States Army, Schlossberg attended college at New York University, graduating with honors.

In 1964 he began his career in television at ABC as an assistant account representative in station clearance. After 10 months, he was promoted to head the department. In 1966 Schlossberg left ABC to become an account executive at the Walter Reade Organization in the television division. He moved to the theater division in 1969, and he became the Vice President and Head Film Buyer. In 1974, while working as an executive, Schlossberg began hosting Movie Talk, a four-hour nationally syndicated radio program aired in New York first on WMCA and subsequently on WOR. Over the next nine years, he interviewed hundreds of stars (many of whom rarely did interviews) such as Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty. He also hosted Movie Talk on television, which aired in New York and Philadelphia on Wometco Home Theatre. For two years (1976 and 1977) he worked at Paramount Pictures first as V.P. of World Wide Acquisition and later as V.P. of Production.

In 1978, Schlossberg established Castle Hill Productions, a film production and distribution company. They distributed over 500 first run and classic movies to theaters, pay TV, basic cable, home video, TV syndication and other motion picture outlets worldwide. It became one of the largest independent film distribution companies in the world. Some of the features distributed by Castle Hill were three Elia Kazan features: Face in the Crowd, Baby Doll and America America; John Cassavetes’ collection including Woman Under the Influence and Faces; Orson Welles’ Othello, John Ford’s Stagecoach, Alfred Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent, Bruce Beresford’s Breaker Morant, The Marx Brothers’ A Night in Casablanca, Glengarry Glen Ross starring Al Pacino, Death of a Salesman starring Dustin Hoffman, Seize the Day starring Robin Williams, presented with Martin Scorsese, Fellini’s Intervista, two Academy Award nominees – A Great Day in Harlem and Al Hirschfeld: The Line King, and Academy Award winners Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and Get Out Your Handkerchiefs.

Schlossberg established himself as a producer’s representative for prominent figures such as Elia Kazan, Dustin Hoffman, John Cassavetes, and George C. Scott, Elaine May and Robert Duvall.

In 2006 Schlossberg sold Castle Hill Productions and started two new production and film distribution companies, Jumer Productions Inc. and Westchester Films Inc. Their libraries are managed in part by Janus Films. Then, in 2014, Schlossberg sold the Westchester company and its library to Shout! Factory, though he remained with the new owners as an adviser. He is also the co-founder of Merlian News, a holistic online magazine. Along with Meyer Ackerman he owns the motion picture rights to the musical Carnival based on the motion picture Lili.

He also embarked on a career as a record executive when he and partner Danny Goldberg founded Gold Castle Records. The company went on to record artists such as Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, Don McLean, The Washington Squares, and Judy Collins.

Schlossberg has lectured about film at New York University, Tufts University, The New School, UCLA, The School of Visual Arts, Columbia University, Judith Crist’s Seminar, Rutgers University, Cannes Film Festival and in the People’s Republic of China. In 1971 he created and was the key speaker for The Business of Motion Pictures, a course which he ran for five years. Guest speakers included Otto Preminger, David Susskind, Maximilian Schell, Elia Kazan, and many others.

He has created and is currently producing Witnesses to the 20th Century, a fourteen-hour series that examines the major historical events of the twentieth century from some of the prominent people who lived during it. He is also producing 100 Voices For 100 Years, 100 one-hour interviews with some of the most recognizable people from the 20th century.

Watch Julian Schlossberg on “If These Walls Could Talk” with hosts Wendy Stuart and Tym Moss on YouTube here: