HOUSTON — Iconic musical Jesus Christ Superstar is coming to Houston. It will be performed at the Hobby Center from Jan.17 to Jan. 22. Ahead of its run here, digital anchor Brandi Smith chatted with cast member Jahlil Burke.
Brandi Smith: Even if someone hasn't seen Jesus Christ Superstar, I feel like it's one of those musicals everyone has heard of. So can you give folks kind of a rundown of what the show entails?
Jahlil Burke: The show entails the last few years of Jesus' life. Judas is pretty much the forefront of this story. He pretty much serves as our narrator. It just really gets into everything from everyone praising Jesus, to Judas warning Jesus about what's coming, down to the crucifixion. It is quite the 90-minute journey. It is a whirlwind. We have so much fun doing it every night.
Smith: Tell me about your role because you're Ensemble. What does that look like on a nightly basis?
Burke: I am one of the Ensemble members. But I'm also one of the priests. I'm also one of the Romans that arrests Jesus. So, quite literally, if I'm ever not on stage, it's because I just have to change for the next scene.
Smith: When you get up on that stage every night and you're looking out at a whole new group of faces, does that energize you? What do you get from the crowd?
Burke: Oh, my goodness. When I tell you we have had some of the most amazing crowds that I've ever had -- and I've been performing for coming on 12 years now. I have never had audiences the way that these audiences react. The people love this show. And it makes such a difference for us. Because we feed off of that energy in the show.
(Watch the full interview in the video above.)