On Screen

8—March 31 - April 6, 2018 The Greeneville Sun, Greeneville, TN By Jay Bobbin © Zap2it In staging "Jesus Christ Superstar" live for television on Easter Sunday, those involved are taking the iconic rock opera back to its roots. Originated as a concept album by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice, the retelling of the last week of Jesus' life gets a concert-style performance April 1 on NBC. Title star John Legend is among the music staples in the production, along with Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene and Alice Coo- per as King Herod. The cast also includes Broadway veterans Brandon Victor Dixon ("The Color Purple") as Judas, Ben Daniels ("Les Liaisons Dangereuses") as Pontius Pilate, and Norm Lewis ("The Phantom of the Opera") as Caiaphas. Attended by an in-person audi- ence at the Marcy Armory in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y., "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert" is the latest live TV musical from longtime producing partners Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. They've also furnished NBC with "The Sound of Music," "Peter Pan," "The Wiz" and "Hairspray" in recent years. (Marc Platt, who did the live "Grease" and "A Christmas Story" for Fox, also is a "Superstar" executive producer.) Citing "Superstar" as "the first time rock music was used to tell such a controversial story," Meron says he and Zadan first considered producing a TV version right after the 2013 "Sound of Music" broad - cast. "Craig and I had the great fortune of meeting Andrew and Tim in the 1970s," Meron adds, when he and Zadan oversaw a series of programs involving composers and lyricists. "This is reconnecting with someone we'd already had some sort of dia - logue and trust established with, and it's been great to actually work with them so many years later. They're legends, but — as they were 40 years ago — they're also wonderful people." Grammy and Tony nominee Bareilles began rehearsing for "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert" just before ending her Broadway run in "Waitress," for which she also composed the music and lyrics. The artist behind "Brave" and "Love Song" deems "Superstar" to be "one of the greats" of musical theater: "The score has been in my life for a long time. I got introduced to it very young by my oldest sister, who was a big fan, and it's interesting getting a chance to experience it now." As Mary Magdalene, Bareilles gets to add her touch to the classic song "I Don't Know How to Love Him." Having read a related book recently, she notes, "There's so much that actually is kind of misleading in what gets said about her. It feels like a great privilege that I get to jump into this role, and it's nice to give yourself a more complete under - standing of it." 8 — March 31 - April 6, 2018 The Greeneville Sun, Greeneville, TN Celebrity Scoop Celebrity Scoop 2 x 2" ad Client will fill John Legend plays the title role in "Jesus Christ Super- star Live in Concert" Sunday on NBC. 'Jesus Christ Superstar' returns in NBC's live Easter production Cover Story Cover Story By Jay Bobbin © Zap2it Steve Zahn usually represents the everyman, but in his new se- ries, he stands in for every baffled man ... and woman. Premiering Monday, April 2, the ABC suspense-drama "The Crossing" casts the vet- eran of such movies as "That Thing You Do!" and "War for the Planet of the Apes" as a small-town sheriff whose quiet existence is interrupted big-time by the sudden appearance of many people who have washed up on his locale's beach ... and not only that, they're from the future. Homeland Security investigators and genetic engi- neering eventually come into play as the lawman struggles to grasp what's happening. "I thought it was a unique role that I had not played be- fore," says the good-humored Zahn, who's often cast in parts with comedic slants. "I usually wouldn't be on the list for a character like that, especially in a (broadcast-)network show. But once I read the script and I talked to these guys (the series' producers, who include "Cross- ing" creators Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie), I realized they were a little different, and I dug that." Despite the supernatural over- tones of "The Crossing," Zahn notes, "I'm not a sci-fi-minded guy, to be honest. I never watched a 'Star Trek.' That's the truth. I watched 'The Rat Patrol' and 'Hogan's Heroes.' I needed something real — that's who I am — so when I read a script, I'm attracted to a war picture or a Western. I'm not attracted to a kind of high- concept sci-fi, so when I read Checking in with Steve Zahn this. I read it as a small town that just happened to have this crazy thing happen. That was very interesting to me." With that, Zahn adds of his "Crossing" alter ego, "It takes him a while to kind of figure it out. It's this gradual under- standing and trusting of other people. He's got some tough stuff that he's working through, but he's a good guy." Birthdate: Nov. 13, 1967 Birthplace: Marshall, Minn. Current residence: Kentucky Marital status: Married; has two children Other television work in- cludes: "Mad Dogs," "Modern Family," "Mind Games," "Treme," "Phineas and Ferb" (voice only), "Monk," "Comanche Moon," "Wolf Lake," "From the Earth to the Moon," "Friends," "South Beach," "All My Children" Movie work includes: "Blaze," "Lean on Pete," "War for the Planet of the Apes," "Captain Fantastic," "The Good Dinosaur" (voice only), "Dallas Buyers Club," "Escape From Planet Earth" (voice only), "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days," "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules," "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," "Calvin Marshall," "A Perfect Getaway," "Manage- ment," "Strange Wilderness," "Sunshine Cleaning," "The Great Buck Howard," "Rescue Dawn," "Bandidas," "Chicken Little" (voice only), "Sahara," "Employee of the Month," "Shattered Glass," "Daddy Day Care," "National Security," "Stuart Little 2," "Riding in Cars With Boys," "Chelsea Walls," "Joy Ride," "Dr. Dolittle 2" (voice only), "Saving Silverman," "Hamlet," "Stuart Little" (voice only), "Forces of Nature," "Happy, Texas," "You've Got Mail," "Safe Men," "Out of Sight," "The Object of My Affection," "That Thing You Do!," "Crimson Tide," "Reality Bites" We Have Issues! 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