What would Jesus do…in Pittsburgh?

He'd have his "superstar" world premiere, of course. On July 12, 1971, the first authorized production of the Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" was staged in my fair city, Pittsburgh, PA. Quite appropriate, actually, considering it's the birthplace of the man who coined the term superstar: Andy Warhol! The musical starred Jeff Fenholt as a laid-back, hippiefied Jesus, Carl Anderson as a prescient, forewarning Judas, and Yvonne Elliman as a sexy Mary Magdalene. A crowd of 13,000 people turned out to see the play at the city's domed, space-age Civic Arena, the world's first major sports/entertainment venue to feature a retractable roof.

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