Evita
Let’s start with the most direct successor. Created by the same powerhouse duo of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Evita also began life as a hit concept album before conquering the stage. Like JCS, it’s a sung-through political drama that charts the meteoric
rise and tragic end of a controversial historical figure: Eva Perón, the wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The show replaces the rock-and-roll guitars of first-century Galilee with a mix of Latin, pop, and rock stylings in 20th-century Argentina. But the core DNA is identical: a complex, charismatic protagonist who is simultaneously seen as a savior by the masses and a manipulator by critics. The narrator, Che, serves a similar role to Judas, questioning the protagonist’s motives and guiding the audience through a story of power, fame, and cult of personality. If you loved the epic scope and moral ambiguity of Superstar, Evita is its natural, brilliant sibling.
Hamilton
At first glance, a hip-hop musical about an American Founding Father might seem worlds away from a rock opera about Jesus. But the spirit is the same. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton did for a new generation what JCS did for the 1970s: it used contemporary music to blow the dust off a historical narrative, making it urgent, accessible, and electrifying. Both shows take larger-than-life figures—Jesus, Judas, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr—and dive deep into their psychology, ambition, and personal failings. Hamilton is also largely sung-through, using rap, R&B, and pop to tell a dense, complex story of revolution and political maneuvering. The rivalry between Hamilton and Burr mirrors the central conflict between Jesus and Judas, exploring how friendship can curdle into opposition. For those who appreciate a story that revolutionizes both its subject matter and the sound of Broadway, Hamilton is an essential experience.
Hadestown
If you were drawn to the mythological weight and tragic romance of JCS, meet Hadestown. This Tony Award-winning musical by Anaïs Mitchell began, much like Superstar, as a concept album. It reimagines the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, setting it in a gritty, Depression-era world with a New Orleans-style jazz, folk, and blues score. The story follows the gifted musician Orpheus on his quest to rescue his love, Eurydice, from the industrial underworld ruled by the god-like factory boss, Hades. The show is entirely sung-through and wrestles with major themes of faith versus doubt, love against impossible odds, and an artist’s power to change the world. Its blend of ancient myth, modern social commentary on labor and climate, and a soul-stirring score makes it a powerful modern counterpart to the epic, questioning nature of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical
Before Jesus Christ Superstar solidified the rock opera, Hair defined the rock musical. Premiering in 1967, it captured the zeitgeist of the hippie counter-culture, the sexual revolution, and the anti-Vietnam War movement. While its plot is looser than JCS’s, its spirit of rebellion, its questioning of authority, and its raw, anthemic rock score are deeply simpatico. Hair tells the story of a “tribe” of young bohemians in New York City as one of their own, Claude, faces being drafted. The show famously broke new ground with its integrated cast and controversial content, just as JCS would later do with its portrayal of biblical figures. If what you loved about Superstar was its ability to channel the sound and fury of its era into a theatrical explosion, Hair is its direct ancestor and a must-see piece of musical history.
Les Misérables
While its musical style is more classical than rock, Les Misérables shares the same epic, operatic scale as Jesus Christ Superstar. Based on Victor Hugo's monumental novel, this sung-through behemoth tells a sprawling story of justice, redemption, and revolution in 19th-century France. At its heart is Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who breaks parole to start a new life, and his relentless pursuer, the unyielding Inspector Javert. Their decades-long cat-and-mouse game provides the same kind of central, philosophical conflict that defines the relationship between Jesus and Judas. Both musicals are completely carried by their scores, using powerful, recurring musical themes to build emotion and tell a grand story. If you crave a show with immense emotional weight, unforgettable anthems of struggle and hope, and a story that feels both historical and timeless, Les Misérables delivers an experience of comparable power and scope.
