'Jesus Christ Superstar' tour tickets will be refunded after the formal announcement that the show has been cancelled even before it had the chance to start rolling. The abrupt cancellation came as a surprise not only to fans, who already booked and bought 'Jesus Christ Superstar' tour tickets, but also to the cast and crew of the star-studded touring production, Rolling Stone has learned.
According to the New York Times, the production company behind the much anticipated tour called S2BN had announced Friday that the 'Jesus Christ Superstar Arena Spectacular Tour' was cancelled and that all bought tickets will be refunded right away.
The 'Jesus Christ Superstar' tour was reportedly starring Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten and Incubus' Brandon Boyd. Rotten of John Lydon was reportedly playing King Herod while Boyd was supposedly portraying Judas.
The Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice rock opera also stars big names including Destiny' Child member Michelle Williams as Mary Magdalene, 'NSync's member JC Chasez as Pontius Pilate and British reality TV winner Ben Forster as Jesus.
The cast had been engrossed in the final rehearsals in New Orleans Thursday when news broke that the tour got cancelled and that 'Jesus Christ Superstar' tour tickets will be refunded. The first leg of the tour was supposed to be opening on June 9 at New Orleans' Lakefront Arena.
Reports say that the big production tour was scheduled to hit massive venues including the Staples Center in Los Angeles and New York City's Madison Square Garden.
In April, Boyd was very proud and thrilled to reveal that he was part of the big production. "I grew up on Andrew Lloyd Webber's classics and never imagined I would be playing a role in one, let alone with such an incredibly diverse cast of players," he told Rolling Stone then.
Just this Friday, upon hearing the abrupt decision to cancel their show, Brandon took to Twitter to express no only his sadness but also everyone else's who took part in the preparations for the show. "I got fired from #JesusChristSuperstar today....but so did the rest of the cast so we're all sad together," he wrote. "Yeah, it's true. Tour cancelled"
Meanwhile, Ben Forster, the 33-year-old British actor who got cast as Jesus Christ, also couldn't help but express his sadness over the cancellation of the show that was said to be the biggest break of his career. "For me, it was the American dream about to happen," Forster told the New York Times. "What's that Miley Cyrus song, 'Wrecking Ball'? I feel like someone just came in and took a big wrecking ball to the 'Jesus Christ Superstar' tour."
The official statement about the cancellation and the refund of the 'Jesus Christ Superstar' tour tickets was posted on the tour's Web site, it read: "Options Clause Entertainment LLC, an affiliate of S2BN Entertainment, announced today the cancellation of the 'Jesus Christ Superstar Arena Spectacular Tour. The tour was scheduled to kick off in New Orleans on June 9. All purchased tickets will be refunded. Tickets purchased online and via telephone will be automatically refunded. Tickets purchased from outlets/venue box office must be returned to that location for refund."
The Broadway version of the rock opera tour was nominated for five Tony Awards, according to Nola.com. Ben Vereen, who played Judas Iscariot got a nomination. In the film version, Josh Mostel played King Herod.
