Andrew Lloyd Webber launches search for Jesus Christ Superstar

As already blogged, after five years with the BBC Lord Lloyd-Webber is moving to ITV1 for a new talent show searching for the lead of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar which will open at London’s O2 Arena.

The format will be similar to Lloyd Webber’s previous talent searches with BBC when he found a Maria (Connie Fisher) for  The Sound of Music, Joseph (Lee Mead) for the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Nancy (Jodie Prenger) forOliver! and Danielle Hope for Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. All of these winners have gone on to forge sucessful careers in musical theatre.

The new ITV series will feature a performance at the O2 Arena rather than in the West End with Lloyd Webber saying: “Presenting a new, 2012 version of Jesus Christ Superstar for arenas is truly exciting. Some of the best performances of this show have been in rock venues and I'm thrilled to see the show return to its roots. ITV is providing the perfect platform for us to find a new, British Superstar.It is the public who lead the casting process and they’ve got it absolutely right four times already. It’s been wonderful to see the careers of so many of the contestants blossom, so it will be especially fascinating to see who the public chooses as their Superstar".

Auditions will take place during February and March in London, Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff. It is yet to be revealed who the panel of judges are that will join ALW to choose the finalists but Steve Balsamo (his original West End Jesus) has been rumoured.