<P> The musical opened on Broadway on 12 October 1971 , directed by Tom O'Horgan , at the Mark Hellinger Theatre . It starred Jeff Fenholt as Jesus , Ben Vereen as Judas and Bob Bingham as Caiaphas . Dennen and Elliman played the roles that they had sung on the album . Kurt Yaghjian was Annas . Anderson replaced Vereen when he fell ill , and the two performers later took turns playing the role . The show closed on 30 June 1973 after 711 performances . The production received mixed reviews ; the bold casting of African - Americans as Judas was lauded , but reviewer Clive Barnes from The New York Times said , `` the real disappointment was not in the music ... but in the conception . '' The show was nominated for five Tony Awards , including Best Score , but won none . Lloyd Webber won a Drama Desk Award as `` Most Promising Composer '' , and Vereen won a Theatre World Award . </P>
<P> The musical opened on Broadway on 12 October 1971 , directed by Tom O'Horgan , at the Mark Hellinger Theatre . It starred Jeff Fenholt as Jesus , Ben Vereen as Judas and Bob Bingham as Caiaphas . Dennen and Elliman played the roles that they had sung on the album . Kurt Yaghjian was Annas . Anderson replaced Vereen when he fell ill , and the two performers later took turns playing the role . The show closed on 30 June 1973 after 711 performances . The production received mixed reviews ; the bold casting of African - Americans as Judas was lauded , but reviewer Clive Barnes from The New York Times said , `` the real disappointment was not in the music ... but in the conception . '' The show was nominated for five Tony Awards , including Best Score , but won none . Lloyd Webber won a Drama Desk Award as `` Most Promising Composer '' , and Vereen won a Theatre World Award . </P>
when did jesus christ superstar open on broadway
when did jesus christ superstar open on broadway
12 October 1971
12 October 1971