The secret to writing a good musical
Jesus Christ Superstar is returning to the West End at the Palladium, the theatre owned by its composer. It probably wasn’t too difficult for the show to obtain the booking, but I’m glad to say that the work has continued to be performed all around the world in myriad versions, in many languages, even in venues Andrew does not own, since he and I wrote it in 1969-70. It was our first real success and, like many artistic endeavours, was initially rejected out of hand by almost everyone of any importance in the theatre world. Christianity is 2.5 per cent older now than it was when we finished writing it, and almost 5 per cent older than it was when I first became intrigued by the roles mere mortals played in the Jesus story, courtesy of Eagle, the revolutionary postwar comic for boys.
