Jesus Christ Superstar graces the doors of Danbury High School for the first time, serving as the upcoming spring 2026 musical; potentially meeting open arms or disappointed actors and audiences alike. Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera musical recounting the last days of Jesus Christ’s life from the perspective of his betrayer, Judas Iscariot. The bestselling album of 1971, the Broadway-born musical saw nationwide success with various revivals and adaptations, including movie and TV spinoffs.
The spring musical every year is something the whole school looks forward to, whether it be band kids, theater kids, athletic kids, or even just musical fanatics or supporters of the cast wanting to see their favorite people perform. Any choice of musical for the spring play will always have an audience; however, that doesn’t stop actors, crew, and the audience from voicing their opinions, and putting their say in about the musical choice, positive or negative.
The process of choosing the musical is stressful and filled with anticipation for teachers and students alike. It starts with multiple musicals at the beginning of the school year, then it is gradually narrowed down to fewer and fewer as the weeks pass by. Actors and actresses nervously open their Instagrams, waiting for the post about the new reduced choices.
By late September, the options were as follows: Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, and Bye Bye Birdie. Students already had strong opinions just on these few selections: Julie Devine said she specifically wanted Bye Bye Birdie, and was against Jesus Christ Superstar and Cats.
Finally, the day came for the show reveal. Students nervously sat in the auditorium as the musical staff shuffled through the slideshow of the final options. Finally, the slideshow stopped on Jesus Christ Superstar. Julie described the whole ordeal: “no one expected it to be Jesus Christ Superstar. The slideshow stopped on it and we all just paused, waiting for it to keep going. But it never did.”
Perhaps the reason many thought it wouldn’t be Jesus Christ Superstar was because of the religious aspect of the musical. This could potentially be a contentious matter, as proved from the drama resulting from the musical Hairspray last year, a musical with race as the central component. This is the main worry about the musical for this year, the controversy and division the religious aspect could potentially mean for the cast.
Not many agree with the musical choice either outside of religion: they think it “won’t be as exciting” compared to previous years. For example, many said a lot of musicals won’t shape up to be as exciting as a musical like Mamma Mia, a huge success with the whole school.
However, others also don’t see many issues with the religious aspect: Gabe Alladin said he doesn’t think there will be as many problems as people expect. He doesn’t foresee a lot of controversy and is looking forward to auditioning for a main role.
The musical this year is met with lots more anticipation and excitement than previous years. Jesus Christ Superstar may potentially pose many issues for the cast and staff alike; however, DHS is ready to face the challenge and put on another outstanding show for students again.
