“Jesus Christ Superstar” takes you through a tale as old as time: good versus evil.

NKU’s School of the Arts final show of the year will gather talented musicians from all over the Greater Cincinnati area to produce a rock concert with drums, electric guitars, keyboards and more. Costume designers gathered post-apocalyptic costumes with a modern, hip-hop aesthetic.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, famously known for writing shows such as “Cats,” “Evita” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” wrote the musical retelling of the passion story in the late ’60s, early ’70s.

Ken Jones, director of NKU’s production, wonders how this new audience in 2025 will connect the show to the world today. “When it was originally written, it was the Vietnam War, and this was a statement about that—about war and military and how this biblical story can fit into that story.”

“Jesus Christ Superstar” tells the story of Jesus’ last week on Earth, leading to his crucifixion. It dives into the intricate, personal relationships between Jesus, Judas Iscariot, Mary Magdalene and others. Judas is envious of Jesus, but also confused of why Jesus is getting praise and attention. Is it blasphemy? Mary Magdalene, on the other hand, loves Jesus and truly feels that he is the son of God.

20 years ago, Jones directed the show for the first time on NKU’s campus in the Corbett Theatre.

Six of the actors from NKU’s 2004 performance went on to Broadway, including Aaron LaVigne, who played Jesus and then reprised the role in the Andrew Lloyd Webber Broadway Tour.

NKU’s first staging of the rock opera started a lifelong relationship and mentorship between Jones and one of his talented and successful alumni, Roderick Justice, the first Judas Jones he had ever directed.

Justice took away great value from the role of Judas because it forced him to break through his comfort zone. He had been in a groove of getting casted as the typical baritone-leading male role, and he was challenged with the role of being a tenor villain.

“NKU doesn’t try to squeeze you into one type. They encourage you to do as much as you can and be as versatile as possible because the more you know about theater, whether it’s the more roles you can play, the more duties you can do, the more you are going to work in theater,” Justice said.

Two years after the show, in which Justice soared into the upper register and practiced a serious and perplexed role, he headed for New York. In his two years between graduation and New York, Justice dipped his toe into the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati.

After some time, Justice was missing Cincinnati but fought the urge to stay in New York until an aha moment happened.

“After about seven callbacks for ‘Avenue Q,’ and I was walking down the street, and it was very ‘Sex and the City,’ and a car went by and just splashed me and water was all over me. Then my phone rang and it was Jack from Children’s Theatre,” Justice said.

Justice was home in Cincinnati within the month.

After coming back from New York, he accepted a full-time position with the Children’s Theatre as the company’s first associate artistic director, but he couldn’t stay away from the stage. He went on to play Judas again, with Ken Jones as a director, in 2008 at The Carnegie in Covington.

Since 2015, he has been the artistic director at the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati and has produced 72 main stage productions, becoming a Cincinnati theater legend.

Now, Justice is leading a new set of students and performers at NKU with Jones as the choreographer of NKU’s 2025 show.

Student Bodie Moore is stepping into Justice’s shoes as Judas, creating an interesting dynamic between the two, as mentor and mentee.

“It’s difficult because when you are singing a song like ‘Superstar’ and you are wailing and you’re riffing over top of choreography, and he’s like out of breath, I’m like, ‘Hey Bodie I choreographed this to my riffs, and I know you are probably not going to do the same riffs, so feel free to alter my choreography,’” Justice said.

The role of Judas and many other roles in “Jesus Christ Superstar” are expected to hit the highest and lowest of notes. Each role is up for tuning and tweaking to fit the actor and make it spectacular. Justice looks forward to seeing Moore take Judas and bring his own fire to the stage.

“I see the way he’s treating the role and it’s so honest,” Justice said, describing Moore’s performance in rehearsals. “Giving him those acting moments through dance has been great because he just absorbs it all. He’s fantastic.”

Moore never thought he’d have the opportunity to be in a show like “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and felt that it was too far away from anything that he could do. When the show was announced, he was determined to be in it.

Coming off a comedy role in NKU’s production of “When Pigs Fly,” Moore knew the directors were going to have to see him in a completely different light.

They did.

“I didn’t believe it. I didn’t believe it. I was gobsmacked. I was floored. All of the above,” Moore said. “It’s such an honor and such a privilege and to even be considered is such a miracle.”

When preparing for the role of Judas, Moore knew that singing in his car or light breath work was not going to be enough considering what he was about to face. Vocally, the role of Judas is challenging, but playing a person full of anger is as well.

Moore reflected on what it’s like to work with his castmate Isaiah Burton who plays Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Their roles have intense and heated exchanges throughout the show.

“Isaiah [Burton, who plays Jesus] is the kindest human being on Earth and when I have to look at him in the face and tell him he’s the worst, it hurts my soul a little bit and my heart cracks,” said Moore.

As rehearsals continued and the choreography came together, Moore was taken aback by how human Judas is and how the role is something that holds such a profound message.

“I leave rehearsal having to take a deep breath and sit in silence sometimes and reflect on everything we just went through,” Moore said.

Not only do the young actors feel pressure in their own roles, but they also realize the depth this show holds for many in the NKU theater community, raising the bar to a new level.

“I have so much weight on my shoulders, and I have so much to uphold with this show,” Moore said.

Similarly, sophomore Isaiah Burton is wowed by the realization of what this show has done for others, specifically at NKU.

“Not only did Aaron Lavigne go to this school, lives in Cincinnati, but he went on to tour around the world to play this influential character in history. He went on to play it several times, and I don’t want to say that it feels like a lot of pressure, it is new to experience the feeling of wanting to live up to this role,” Burton said.

Different from Moore, Burton was not very familiar with “Jesus Christ Superstar” and had never done a sung-through musical before.

After learning the show, he fell in love and was ready to take it on, preparing “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi to show off the range of his voice, which he would need to land a role.

Burton now plays the kind, forgiving Jesus…making his dreams come true.

Burton has similar feelings and challenges as Moore for his role as Jesus. Burton is new to exploring this area of his voice and will range to a G5, the highest note in the show.

“The music is some of the hardest to sing in the musical theatre world, both Judas and Jesus are singing in the stratosphere for singing so high,” said Jones. “It sounds almost like an Aerosmith type of band would be singing this.”

After four-and-a-half weeks of rehearsing to be able to hit high notes and dance fast-pace choreography, the cast of “Jesus Christ Superstar” is prepared to see how audiences interpret the show in this day in age.

The rock opera opened on the Corbett Theatre stage for the second time in NKU history on April 25 and will run until May 4.