Fox's 'The Passion' Live Musical to air on Palm Sunday
Fox's "The Passion," a modern-day retelling of the passion of Jesus Christ before he was crucified, will be aired live on Palm Sunday, featuring contemporary musical performances. It was announced that the show will be hosted and narrated by Tyler Perry.
"The Passion is about love, inclusion and compassion for all mankind... It's for believers and also nonbelievers. It's for all faiths and all backgrounds. This story doesn't just belong to one group, it belongs to humanity. Love, forgiveness and compassion, those are things that are universal to us all," Perry said in his Facebook post where he describes the upcoming religious live musical.
The story of "The Passion" will revolve around Jesus, from the time that he was presiding over the Last Supper, to becoming betrayed by Judas, put on trial and convicted by Pontius Pilate, his death after being crucified, and resurrection three days after his death. The religious tale will be given a new color as it will be told through the music of Whitney Houston, Imagine Dragons, among other well-known pop songs. The live performance will take place for over two hours using some of New Orlean's most iconic places as backdrop.
Included in the ensemble cast of "The Passion" are Trisha Yearwood as Mary, Seal as Pontius Pilate, "American Idol" Season 5 finalist Chris Daughtry as Judas, Prince Royce as Peter, and Jencarlos Canela as Jesus Christ. Yolanda Adams will also be in the show for the opening song.
In an interview with Billboard, Canela told his reason for accepting the role. "My generation pictures this Jesus that's so judgmental... We forget he was flesh and bone," said Canela.
"Jesus knew what it was to work his butt off... He felt anger; he felt the deepest fear anyone could feel. I want to portray him as more human than we've ever seen."
