SUPERSTAR

Audiences perusing their programs before the performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar” this weekend at the Orange County Performing Artscenter would know the story is told in two acts.

But actor Ted Neeley, who portrays Jesus, said it is the “third act” that takes place after the show that is the most fulfilling for him.

Audience members approach to thank him for his performance and share how the show’s message has influenced and comforted them.

“I’m really lucky that I’ve been chosen [to play this role]; to be able to step into those sandals so many times, be accepted as that guy, and then be able to look into the eyes of those people.”

Neeley understudied as Jesus in the original Broadway production of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” when it opened in 1971, and he was cast as Jesus in the first national touring company of the show in 1972. He was director Norman Jewison’s choice for the lead when the film version shot in Israel in 1973.

The powerful story, written more than 30 years ago by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, depicts the last seven days in the life of Jesus. It was told from a more humanistic, objective perspective by the people who shared those last seven days with him, Neeley said.

Watching as the simple carpenter makes his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, accepted and then vilified for the message he preaches, betrayed by Judas, brought before Pontius Pilate and condemned, then ultimately crucified, Neeley believes audiences can relate to the passion, pain, sorrow and anguish every character exhibits.

“The last seven days in the life of Jesus is a story about what we know biblically and dogmatically, but few people discuss what the human side was to all these characters,” Neeley said.

The play has also communicated a spiritual message that even churchgoers may not be getting from their Sunday morning sermons, Neeley said, adding that he is honored and proud to be in a position to do something that gives people some comfort.

Corey Glover, the Grammy Award-winning singer and actor portraying Judas, was 8 when he saw Neeley as Jesus on the big screen. He said that was all the inspiration he needed to pursue his career path.

“Ted’s impact on me is part of the reason I wanted to be a rock star,” Glover said. It reinforced the idea for him that he could be an actor and a singer.

This is Glover’s theatrical debut, and he said getting to work with one of his idols has been an amazing experience.

As a musician, Glover said he’s familiar with how an audience can set the mood for a performance on any given evening, and that live theater is much the same.

“It’s always different, things change from moment to moment, and you get overall vibes from the room.”

Stepping into the role of Judas, one of the more unsympathetic characters in the story, wasn’t difficult at all for Glover.

“Judas always seemed very misunderstood to me,” he said, adding if Judas was so evil, what was he doing hanging around with Jesus in the first place?

What people can relate to in this story, Glover said, are all the elements that play into a rags-to-riches, rise and fall and rise again-type of story.

“Things come up, things come down, things always change,” he said.

Neeley, a Southern Baptist all his life, said he has always had the ultimate respect for the concept behind the character — Jesus — he has played.

Audiences who have seen and heard the show, movie and music keep coming back, he said.

The show transcends all religious backgrounds, and the message for today’s generation is the same as it’s been for past generations, which is why families are coming to see it together, Neeley said.

“Where we were in the ’70s, with Haight Ashbury and the antiwar protests, is exactly where we are this many years later. We have not learned anything; war does nothing but begat more war.”

Glover described it as a lasting story, with a universal message.

“The human side of the story is really what needs to be told. That the world lives on hope, revolves around hope, and that there is a need for that to continue.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Jesus Christ Superstar

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Orange County Performing Artscenter’s Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

COST: $18.25 to $68.25

INFO: Call (714) 556-2787 or go to www.ocpac.org

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at sue.thoensen@latimes.com.