STRATFORD, Ont. - There will be a second coming for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival's production of "Jesus Christ Superstar."
The festival says its hit revival of the epic rock opera will run at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego from Nov. 18 to Dec. 31.
Paul Nolan stars as Jesus, Chilina Kennedy plays Mary and Josh Young is in the role of Judas in the production that's been packing the house at the festival's Avon Theatre.
Helming the show is Des McAnuff, the festival's Tony Award-winning artistic director who is also director emeritus of La Jolla Playhouse.
Andrew Lloyd Webber scored the music and Tim Rice wrote the lyrics for the musical, which began as a concept album and debuted on Broadway in 1971.
Webber and Rice both gave the Stratford production high praise after seeing it last month, fuelling rumours that the show will eventually head to Broadway.
"Given my long, happy and fruitful history with La Jolla Playhouse, I am naturally thrilled by the prospect of this collaboration between our two great theatres," McAnuff -- who was artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse from 1983 to 1994 and 2001 to 2007 -- said Monday in a news release.
"The pride I take in the magnificent work being done by our Festival artists in 'Jesus Christ Superstar' is matched by my deep appreciation to La Jolla for giving us this wonderful opportunity to showcase that work to an audience of which I am very fond -- an audience that, like Stratford's, is accustomed to enjoying some of the finest theatre in the world."
Other cast members in the production include Tony winner Brent Carver, who plays Pontius Pilate, and Bruce Dow as King Herod.
