NBC presented a star-studded production of Jesus Christ Superstar Live on Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018. The television special starred John Legend in the titular role, Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdelene, Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas Iscariot, and Alice Cooper as King Herod. The classic rock star made the most of his brief appearance in the acclaimed production. When first broadcast, the program won its time period in each half hour. The network brought it back on Easter Sunday 2020.

Jesus Christ Superstar Live earned five Emmy Awards in 2018, most notably Outstanding Variety Special (Live). The television production was performed in front of a live audience at Marcy Armory in Brooklyn, New York.

Watch Sara Bareilles sing “I Don’t Know How to Love Him”

Jesus Christ Superstar, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, was originally conceived as a 1970 concept album with Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan as Jesus, Murray Head as Judas Iscariot, Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene and Mike D’Abo as King Herod. The recording hit #1 on the Billboard album chart, and eventually made its way to the stage in 1971. It is based on the final week of Jesus’ life.

The 1971 musical opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway and starred Jeff Fenholt as Jesus and Ben Vereen as Judas. It was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Vereen. Lloyd Webber won a Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Composer.

In its review of the 2018 broadcast, The Hollywood Reporter wrote: “This was a phenomenally balanced production of Jesus Christ Superstar, in which star power was equaled by depth of feeling and characterization in all the principals. And the immediacy of television, with close-ups capable of bringing us in tight on the performers’ faces, gave Jesus and Mary Magdalene a complexity that often is missing from conventional productions.”

The Washington Post wrote: “Redeeming itself from an overblown first half and having its energy continually sapped by frequent commercial breaks, NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert was saved Sunday night by its emotional climax, as Brandon Victor Dixon (as Judas Iscariot) delivered an unforgettably raucous take on the show’s title number and John Legend (as Jesus) floated away on a cross into an impressively ethereal light display.”

Watch Alice Cooper sing “King Herod’s Song” from the April 1, 2018 live broadcast

Cooper’s casting was announced on Dec. 8, 2017, before any of the other leads. At the time, Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, said: “Casting has just begun, but we want to fill out this classic show with as many recording artists as possible to give proper voice to what is the original rock opera score.”

Lloyd Webber and Rice are icons of musical theater, with hits spanning six decades. Their other major works together are Evita (1976) and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968).

With 21 musicals to his credit, Lloyd Webber is considered the most successful composer of musicals in history and has won numerous awards, including six Tonys, three Grammys, and an Oscar.

His musicals also include Cats (1981), The Phantom of the Opera (1986), Sunset Boulevard (1993) and School of Rock (2015).

Lyricist Rice is a member of the exclusive EGOT “club,” having won at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award. He has been nominated for five Oscars and won three for Best Original Song – from Evita for “You Must Love Me” (shared with Lloyd Webber), The Lion King for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (shared with Elton John) and Aladdin for “A Whole New World” (shared with Alan Menken).

Related: Our interview with Cooper

A 50th anniversary edition of the original 1970 album is available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here. The 2018 TV production is available here.