In tonight’s header, the song that’s been stuck in my head for the past week. In Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar, the priests Caiaphas (bass) and Annas (countertenor) have a recurring theme. The first time it appears, it’s titled “This Jesus Must Die; the priests (along with other, nameless high priests played by ensemble members) discuss the fate of Jesus. (Spoiler alert, it doesn’t go well for Jesus.) Like many villain songs, it’s arguably the catchiest and most memorable song from the musical. I chose the 1992 Australian cast to embed, both because it’s a favorite of Webber and Rice and because the costumes for the priests are baffling.

The version from NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert is very good too, featuring Broadway legend Norm Lewis as Caiaphas and recent Aaron Burr portrayer Jin Ha as Annas. And this all-woman version the algorithm blessed me with is incredibly well done.

Fun(?) fact, there is an official alternate lyric in this song. The original Caiaphas lyric “one thing I’ll say for him / Jesus is cool” is replaced with “infantile sermons / the multitude drools” in more recent productions.

Have fun posting!