'Wicked' star, self-identified bisexual actress Cynthia Erivo cast as the Son of God in 'Jesus Christ Superstar'

[Michie]

Pastor blasts casting choice as 'blasphemy

A black LGBT-identified British actress best known for her role in “Wicked” has been tapped to play the role of Jesus in an upcoming production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

Cynthia Erivo, 38, is no stranger to the longtime Broadway hit: she previously portrayed Mary Magdalene in an all-female version of “Superstar” in 2020.

But the Feb. 18 Hollywood Bowl announcement that Erivo will portray the Son of God in the musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber has drawn criticism from pastors and Christian audiences alike.

Continued below.

'Wicked' star, self-identified bisexual actress Cynthia Erivo cast as the Son of God in 'Jesus Christ Superstar'

A black LGBT-identified British actress best known for her role in Wicked has been tapped to play the role of the Son of God in an upcoming production of Jesus Christ Superstar

www.christianpost.com

 

[PloverWing]

Amanchukwu's comments are an interesting cluster of complaints. He wrote: "With all due respect, and humbly submitted, Cynthia Erivo is too BALD, BROWN, and BI to play Jesus. Casting a woman as Jesus Christ is an intentional form of blasphemy that Hollywood would be fuming over if done to certain other religions."

I understand the complaint about Erivo being female, and I see how that's problematic for a number of Christians.

On the other hand, "too brown"? Really? Jesus wasn't African, but he wasn't Swedish either. "Too bald"? I don't remember the gospels saying anything about Jesus' hair, one way or the other.

As for "bi", I don't see how an actor's personal sexual orientation is relevant to the character they're playing. Especially true here, since I don't think the play portrays Jesus as having any romantic relationships. (Mary Magdalene has a crush on him in the play, as I recall, but that's only the feelings in her own head.)

Oddly, Amanchukwu doesn't complain that Erivo is British. He may as well add that to the list, since Jesus wasn't British.

Or maybe we could acknowledge that the point of acting is that one person pretends to be another person for a couple of hours, and we go along with the lets-pretend of it, because it's an interesting way to experience a story.

 

[Lukaris]

So bold and daring, I wonder if such individuals would play Krishna or some other avatar?

 

[Michie]

So bold and daring, I wonder if such individuals would play Krishna or some other avatar?

Try to play Mohammed if they want to be daring…

 

[Lukaris]

Try to play Mohammed if they want to be daring…

Yeah, just like the old Buddy Holly song: That’ll be the Day.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Cynthia Erivo is the one who yells and calls it singing.

 

[RileyG]

Pastor blasts casting choice as 'blasphemy

A black LGBT-identified British actress best known for her role in “Wicked” has been tapped to play the role of Jesus in an upcoming production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

Cynthia Erivo, 38, is no stranger to the longtime Broadway hit: she previously portrayed Mary Magdalene in an all-female version of “Superstar” in 2020.

But the Feb. 18 Hollywood Bowl announcement that Erivo will portray the Son of God in the musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber has drawn criticism from pastors and Christian audiences alike.

Continued below.

'Wicked' star, self-identified bisexual actress Cynthia Erivo cast as the Son of God in 'Jesus Christ Superstar'

A black LGBT-identified British actress best known for her role in Wicked has been tapped to play the role of the Son of God in an upcoming production of Jesus Christ Superstar

www.christianpost.com

Christians are an easy target.

Imagine if she was cast as Mohammad? I don’t even want to think about the reaction would be!

 

[RileyG]

Try to play Mohammed if they want to be daring…

This! 1000X this!

 

[SavedByGrace3]

One more step down the road toward Babylon the Great and its complete destruction.
If you are not yet taking seriously the call to "come out from among them," it is not too late.

 

[RileyG]

One more step down the road toward Babylon the Great and its complete destruction.
If you are not yet taking seriously the call to "come out from among them," it is not too late.

Hollywood is the Great Babylon? I can get behind that! Symbolically, that is.

 

[Servus]

There wouldn't be a play, especially one like Superstar, about Mohammed in the first place.

 

[RileyG]

There wouldn't be a play, especially one like Superstar, about Mohammed in the first place.

Yeah, apparently it's considered blasphemous to Muslims to make images of their prophets or Allah. That's true.

 

[RDKirk]

As for "bi", I don't see how an actor's personal sexual orientation is relevant to the character they're playing. Especially true here, since I don't think the play portrays Jesus as having any romantic relationships. (Mary Magdalene has a crush on him in the play, as I recall, but that's only the feelings in her own head.)

It's ostensibly hypocritical, though.

We're in a time when even voice actors are required to match the race, nationality, and gender of their cartoon characters (even non-human cartoon characters, if the characters are identifiable "race-coded").

Straight actors who played homosexual characters in past performances have been criticized and expected to apologize, and in the future will only be allowed to play straight if they are straight.

Scarlett Johansson was criticized for being chosen to play a post-transitioned transwoman because she's not actually a post-transitioned transwoman.

I say "ostensibly" because if you understand how Critical Theory works, it's not hypocritical at all, it's ideological. There is no calling foul on anything done by someone from an "oppressed class." A black, bi, female actor can do pretty anything without criticism, being at the intersection of three different "oppressed classes."

 

[iarwain]

I thought she was good in Wicked (though she's no Idina Menzel). But this casting is disrespectful to Christianity as a whole. Which, I suspect, is the point.

 

[RileyG]

I thought she was good in Wicked (though she's no Idina Menzel). But this casting is disrespectful to Christianity as a whole. Which, I suspect, is the point.

Absolutely! The left despises Christians!

 

[iarwain]

Absolutely! The left despises Christians!

I can just see the activist types who are putting this play on. I bet they're thinking "This will really stick in those Christian's craws".

 

[Apple Sky]

Amanchukwu's comments are an interesting cluster of complaints. He wrote: "With all due respect, and humbly submitted, Cynthia Erivo is too BALD, BROWN, and BI to play Jesus. Casting a woman as Jesus Christ is an intentional form of blasphemy that Hollywood would be fuming over if done to certain other religions."

That's Hollywood for you, anything to discredit Jesus.

 

[Apple Sky]

On the other hand, "too brown"? Really? Jesus wasn't African, but he wasn't Swedish either. "Too bald"? I don't remember the gospels saying anything about Jesus' hair, one way or the other.

King James Bible
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

 

[RileyG]

I can just see the activist types who are putting this play on. I bet they're thinking "This will really stick in those Christian's craws".

Yup. It’s anti-Christian bigotry. Plain and simple!

 

[PloverWing]

Absolutely! The left despises Christians!

Note that many on the political and social left ARE Christians.

Whether this is a good casting decision, I can't say. I'm iffy about the play in the first place. The playwrights have a different vision of Jesus than I do.