Arts Bonita’s production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” is constructed around Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic score, Tim Rice’s often controversial lyrics and Kody Jones' contemporary choreography and staging.
Although the story is told through the eyes of Judas Iscariot, the fulcrum of the action is Jesus of Nazareth, played by Lantz Hemmert.
“My role is one of the most challenging male tenor roles definitely in musical theater and it’s been amazing to take on,” Hemmert said.
Abby Young plays Mary Magdalene.
In this production, Magdalene is portrayed as a street woman who, while she strives to nurture and protect Jesus, is not his romantic partner. She and Director Kody Jones have underscored this nuance by tweaking some of the lyrics in Webber & Rice’s beautiful ballad, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.”
“It’s been such a really cool experience to work so closely with Kody, the director, to be able to change Mary from how she’s typically portrayed in other productions,” said Young.
The Arts Bonita production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” is distinguished by the fact that Kody Jones cast Mia Zottolo in the role of Judas.
“I don’t think there’s very many productions around our area who’ve done a female Judas and the way that I’m doing it,” said Zottolo.
Zottolo brings her signature spunk and verve to the role, but she’s a singer who’s able to belt out numbers like the title song with such ferocity that audiences will remember her rendition of “Jesus Christ Superstar” long after the final bows.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” is in the Hinman Theater on Bonita Beach Road through April 19.
MORE INFORMATION:
“Jesus Christ Superstar opened on Broadway October 12, 1971.
It was made into a movie two years later with Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson in the roles of Jesus and Judas.
The plot of the rock musical will be familiar in basic fact to anyone with knowledge of western religion. Borrowing from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the musical tells the story of the last seven days of Jesus Christ’s life. But it’s told through the eyes of Judas Iscariot.
Judas fears that the compassionate movement with Jesus at its head has become a personality cult with many of Jesus' statements being taken up and twisted by his followers. Jesus must be stopped! Jesus is regularly ministered to by a street woman, Mary Magdalene but what is worse, he is being hailed as the Messiah. Judas meets with the Priests of Judaea and resulting from the meeting agrees to betray Jesus for which he will receive 30 pieces of silver in payment. Meanwhile, Jesus preaches throughout the land offering riches in the after-life - but not here on Earth.
Hemmert is a strong tenor. Still, preparing for each performance is an arduous undertaking.
“I have to do a lot to warm myself up and get ready for rehearsals and for the shows and double show days,” Hemmert said. “But I’ve been loving it. It’s my absolute bucket list, dream role. The stakes are higher than anything I’ve ever played, any other role, but it’s been an amazing experience.”
As Mary Magdalene sings in “I Don’t Know How To Love Him,” Jesus is just a man, God and man, and in the rock musical, he allows himself to get swept up in the adulation and adoration of his disciples and other followers.
“At the beginning of the story, I’ve got all my disciples, all my people and it’s just amazing. I’m on top of the world,” said Hemmert, slipping into character for a moment. “Everybody is hanging on every word, just believing in me. That’s not something that always happens, so I think Jesus is really taken by surprise by that and just loving and enjoying every moment that he has of it because he knows it won’t be forever.:
Hemmert conveys these moments of surprise and pleasure through a combination of facial expressions and body language that serve to underscore the character’s humanity and susceptibility to pride and flattery.
Abby Young’s Mary Magdalene provides a Protestant slant on one of the Bible’s most controversial figures. In Dan Brown’s bestselling novel, “The Da Vinci Code,” Magdalene is portrayed as Jesus’ love interest, with their descendants serving as the proverbial Holy Grail. But in the Webber-Rice rock opera, Mary Magdalene is seen in a different light. She not only nurtures and protects Jesus. She’s an influential member of his inner circle.
“Mary and Jesus are very close. She knows that she has Jesus’ ear and she can influence Jesus in many ways,” Young observed. “So that’s why there’s so much pressure for her to do that, but she’s just one of Jesus’ close followers.”
While casting a woman in the role of Judas certainly gives the Arts Bonita production a novel dynamic, it does present Mia Zottolo with a range of interesting challenges, not the least of which is adapting the music to her own voice.
“This role was written for someone with a lower voice, a male voice. It’s not traditionally written for a woman, so it was really hard to figure out how I was singing it and transposing the songs so that they worked for my voice,” Zottolo noted.
Jones had no qualms about casting Zottolo in the role.
“When I see this story, I think of it as a universal story, whether it’s for Christians, non-Christians, it doesn’t matter,” Jones said. “And I see these characters as universal. They can represent any of us. So therefore, they can represent any gender. During callbacks, we actually called back both genders for every single role and we picked the ones that really just connected to the role, and that’s how we found Mia as Judas.”
The character of Judas is rich and complex.
“In this show, you really get to see Judas’ perspective, but not just his. We get to see all of the characters and their whole entire arc, and I think that our cast does a great job of doing that,” said Zottolo.
In the rock musical, it is clear that Judas’ allegiance is to Jesus’ cause, not Jesus the man or the leader of that cause. But he cannot seem to get either Jesus or his disciples to appreciate and accept the distinction.
“Judas feels like everyone around him has betrayed him, especially Jesus, which is why he betrays him and then eventually regrets it,” Zottolo said. In ‘Heaven on Their Minds,’ I’m talking about how all these people are listening to what he’s saying, but he really should be doing what we agreed upon.”
This aspect of the character and her motivation is relevant in politics today, when people argue whether government officials and supporters owe allegiance to the man or the Constitution.
Zottolo’s stage credits include Eurydice in “Hadestown Teen Edition” for Arts Bonita Center for Performing Arts (2024), Patrice in “13: The Musical” for Players Circle Studio (2024), the Narrator in “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat," Katherine Howard in “Six: The Musical” for Red Knight Company at North Fort Myers High School, Miss Sandra in “All Shook Up” for Red Knight Company at North Fort Myers High School (for which she received Best Supporting Actor in a Female-Identifying Role at the 2024 High School Musical Theatre Awards) and Mise En Scene (Camille) for Red Knight Theatre Company at North Fort Myers High.
The rest of the “Jesus Christ Superstar” cast include Hadley Murphy as Caiphas, Carter Garule as Annas, Landon Maas as Pontius Pilate, Diego Decidue as Herod, Eric Ortiz as Simon, Jack Pustizzi as Peter, Hannah Hansen as John the Apostle, Samantha Calero as James, Izy Sedorchuck as Andrew, Aiden Johnson as Matthew, Kyle Socarras as Phillip, Cassie Grossarth as Thomas, Tavi Hunt as Bartholomew, Hanna Sidwell as Thaddeus, Liam Martinez as James, Son of Alpheus, Kamila Sanchez as Council Member No. 1, Lyla Black as Council Member No. 2, Lane Free as Guard No. 1, Anthony Sosa as Guard No. 2, Quin Hughes as Guard No. 3 and Caitlyn Clark as Mary, Mother of Jesus (and Featured Dancer).
Caitlyn Clark, Louis Fuelling, Sofia Sandoval, Maecy Lias and Mercy Newberry are the members of the Jerusalem ensemble.
Avery Acosta, Elena Guerra, Gia Anderson, Emery McLean, Mya Newberry and Luch Pustizzi comprise the Kids Chorus.
Performances are:
Friday, April 11, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 13, 2025 2 p.m.
Thursday, April 17, 2025 7 p.m.
Friday, April 18, 2025 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 19, 2025 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Venue: Performing Arts Center, Hinman Auditorium, 10150 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs.
Tickets are $35 Tier 1 / $27 Tier 2 / $20 Tier 3 / $12 Student.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.