Diverse ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ cast includes Colleen Clark in lead role

Portland Players Bring “Jesus Christ Superstar” to South Portland, Staging an Inclusive Rock‑Opera

South Portland, Maine – The Portland Players have opened a new season with a local interpretation of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s classic rock‑opera, Jesus Christ Superstar. The show opened Friday and will run through September 27, with performances every Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m. Tickets start at $28, with discounted rates of $23 for seniors and patrons 17 and under.

The production is staged at the Portland Players’ home theater on Cottage Road in South Portland. The company has assembled an all‑Maine cast, with Portland native Colleen Clark taking on the title role. Clark, a mother of a young child, has long been involved in community theater and brings her own experience of faith, identity, and music to the part.

“Jesus is not about gender or sexuality for me,” Clark said in a recent interview. “If you believe in Jesus as God or the Son of God, then his sexuality and his gender doesn’t matter. It’s pointless. And if you start to say that it matters, then you’re quickly kind of tripping into sexism. I believe that the best things about Jesus are kindness, acceptance and inclusion.”

Clark grew up in an Episcopalian church that “is like a liberal chapter of Catholicism.” She describes herself as “kind of recovering from religion” and notes that her early musical experience came from the church choir. “There’s still a part of me that feels a lot of pain of not being part of that community,” she said, adding that theater has become her new spiritual outlet. “I find community in theater.”

Other key roles in the Portland Players’ cast include Becky Rinaldi as Judas, Kelly Mosher as Mary Magdalene, Ben Carling as Caiaphas, Caleb Eugley as Pontius Pilate, and Jessica Libby as King Herod. The company has emphasized the inclusive nature of the production, with a diverse ensemble that mirrors the audience it hopes to reach.

“People might think they’re not interested in a musical about a religious figure, but it’s really about humanity,” Clark said. “This isn’t a show about religion. This is a show about humanity, raw, cathartic, dark, moving. If you go in expecting to see some humanity, you can see that in spades, and we need that right now.”

The original 1971 rock‑opera tells the story of the final week of Jesus of Nazareth, told through the perspective of Judas Iscariot. The score was first recorded a year before the Broadway debut, with the iconic “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” sung by Yvonne Elliman becoming a cultural touchstone. In the original album, English heavy‑metal singer Ian Gillan of Deep Purple performed the role of Jesus.

Clark’s favorite number from the score, she revealed, is “Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say).” “I love doing that,” she said. “The big, intense part of it is vocally challenging and has been a personal challenge to continue working on. The opening section, when Jesus is sitting alone saying, ‘Will no one stay awake with me?’ is raw. It’s about being open, also closed, part of everything, yet alone, brave, yet scared.”

She hopes audiences will leave with a sense of belonging and resilience. “I hope that regardless of what people’s faith is going in, that it is about somebody really believing in something, and staying true to what they believe, while also really wanting to protect people that are being marginalized and people that are being hurt,” Clark said. “If anyone has been hurt by religion or how they grew up, I hope this inclusive cast and the stories on stage might be healing.”

The Portland Players are aiming to bring the musical’s timeless themes to a contemporary audience. The production’s director, Michael Donovan, worked closely with Clark to capture the complexity of the character. “Being Jesus means you have to be really open but also very closed,” Donovan explained. “You have to be part of everything but also very alone. And you have to be very brave, but also very scared.”

The show is scheduled to close on September 27, with the last performance taking place at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday night. Tickets can be purchased online at the Portland Players’ website or by calling the box office. The company is offering a discounted rate of $23 for seniors and those 17 and under.

With a cast that reflects the community it serves and a focus on universal themes of love, courage, and social justice, the Portland Players’ Jesus Christ Superstar offers a fresh, humanized take on a classic rock‑opera. Whether you’re a longtime fan of the original score or new to the story, the production invites you to experience the music and message from a local perspective.