Two of the biggest behind-the-scenes names in entertainment are going to legal war.
The New York Times reports that the canceled production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which was originally scheduled to tour North America this summer, is now the subject of a lawsuit, brought against the show's promoter Michael Cohl by Andrew Lloyd Weber's production company the Really Useful Group. The lawsuit claims that the production's cancellation was solely the decision of Cohl, and resulted in a tremendous financial loss for the Really Useful Group, which is seeking payment to "satisfy outstanding payments."
This particular production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which tells the story of the last days of Jesus Christ, had the promise to be a completely bizarre spectacle, with cast members including JC Chasez of 'NSYNC as Pontius Pilate, Brandon Boyd of Incubus as Judas, Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child as Mary Magdalene, and John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon of the Sex Pistols as King Herod. However, the production's 51-date North American tour was abruptly canceled back in May before it began, with Cohl claiming "it just did not make business sense to continue," as tickets sales had reportedly been disappointing. As a result of costs incurred by such a late cancellation, the Really Useful Group decided to bring Cohl to court, claiming that it had "no option but to proceed with legal action to recover its costs associated with the project."
Cohl is no stranger to financial disasters, as he was the producer of the notorious Spider Man: Turn Off The Dark, as well as A Night With Janis Joplin, both of which are now closed. However, in a statement released on Tuesday, Cohl asserted, "The fact is that the show did not sell."
The Really Useful Group notes the success of previous Jesus Christ Superstar productions in recent years as evidence that Cohl's cancelation was unwarranted, saying, "We had a sell-out UK Arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar in 2012 and, in 2013, the same production toured Australia also playing to capacity audiences with unprecedented success."
