A revival of "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Ontario's Stratford Shakespeare Festival is now the toast of Broadway after earning two nominations for this year's Tony Awards.

The production helmed by Stratford Artistic Director Des McAnuff is up for best revival of a musical and will face stiff competition from "Evita," "Follies" and the Gershwins' "Porgy and Bess."

Stratford leading man Josh Young, "Superstar's" striking Judas Iscariot, is also in the running for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical.

"We're very, very pleased," McAnuff said on Wednesday in an interview with CTV News Channel.

"We have about 30 Canadian actors on 52nd Street and they're elated," said McAnuff, 59.

Actors Kristin Chenoweth and Jim Parsons announced the nominees for the coveted theatre prize on Tuesday.

The nominations are a vindication for the Canadian production, which struggled with cast illnesses and mixed reviews after its debut in March at New York City's Neil Simon Theatre.

That was not the case in June of 2011, when McAnuff's revival of the 1971 rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber opened to critics' praises at Stratford.

After seeing that powerful production, British theatrical impresario Webber encouraged McAnuff to take "Superstar" to Broadway.

"He was the first to mention the B-word," said McAnuff.

With Webber as his sounding board, McAnuff and cast travelled to California in November of 2011 for a pre-Broadway run at the La Jolla Playhouse.

"That's where we honed the show," said McAnuff.

The show's Broadway debut followed, with a lacklustre performance at the box office.

Despite that shaky start, McAnuff has credited "Superstar's" timeless themes for its continued appeal in today's age of Occupy Wall Street protests and political unrest across the globe.

"The show seems very current with the events in the world," said McAnuff.

"It's also a love story. We've managed to catch that on stage," he said.

The Stratford production is the least-nominated show in contention for this year's Tony Awards, which will be handed out on June 10.

Diane Paulus's revamp of "Porgy and Bess" boasts 10 nominations. "Follies" has seven Tony nods, while "Evita" has three.

Win or lose, "Jesus Christ Superstar" stands to benefit from this lofty honour.

Since hitting a high of US$904,660 during Easter week, the show's weekly gross has been declining.

The Tony nominations could renew box office interest and give investors a chance to recoup the US$7 million that it reportedly took to bring the Stratford production to Broadway.

Young's nomination could also turn the 31-year-old actor into one of Broadway's brightest up-and-comers.

In a statement issued to the press, Young credited his cast members for helping him achieve such notoriety on Broadway.

"A lot of my time spent onstage is with Chilina Kennedy and Paul Nolan, who by the way I absolutely would not have this honour if I weren't working with these two amazing actors," said Young.

Still, the sudden Broadway buzz hasn't altered McAnuff's opinion of "Jesus Christ Superstar" or the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

"There are 40 shows running on Broadway," said McAnuff.

"Stratford has the greatest theatrical complex," he said.