‘Superstar’ performance to rock IU Auditorium stage

He’s back.

Ted Neeley will return to the IU Auditorium stage in the show and role he is most known for.

“Jesus Christ Superstar,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s award-winning musical detailing the final days of Jesus’ life will begin its two-day run today at 8 p.m. Tickets for students start at $19 and are still available on the auditorium’s Web site.

Maria Talbert, events manager at the auditorium, said the show would be portrayed in its traditional sense, as opposed to a 1990s updated performance. The show, since debuting in 1971, has entertained audiences all over the world and garnered a collection of awards. This includes Tony Award nominations, despite initial apprehensions for its original run and revival.

“It’s one of Lloyd Webber’s and Rice’s first collaborations,” Talbert said. “When they pitched the story, and they were just in their 20s, people didn’t think it would take off and that people would like it.”

Talbert said Neeley last performed at IU in the mid 1990s, and his return to the stage here should be memorable.

“It’s always wonderful when we have those stars and celebrities that come along with the show,” Talbert said. “We have all these incredible productions that come to our stage, but then when we have those people who are really known for a particular role or known across the globe for their talent, it just makes it that much more exciting.”

The musical provided a better understanding of the show’s content and place in history, Neeley said in a recent interview published in The Flint Journal.

“The simplicity of the message is right there,” he said. “Sometimes people have problems understanding it from the pulpit. Somehow, this piece has made it more understandable.”