‘The Passion’ Live Musical: Here’s The Modern Day Music That Will Help Tell The Story Of Jesus Christ’s Last Days

The Passion live musical won’t air on Fox until Sunday, but the soundtrack is already making noise. On the heels of Fox’s highly successful Grease: Live production, producers are hoping for a big musical moment as they recreate the story of Jesus Christ’s last days. Think Vanessa Hudgens’ “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” moment in the ’50’s themed musical that aired in January, the day after the actress’s father died.

The Passion Live should have no problem getting people moved. Christians will surely be passionate about the topic, although there will likely be mixed reviews over the decision to present Christ’s crucifixion in the present day (in New Orleans, no less) with a soundtrack full of modern music.

In an interview with Variety, The Passion Live music producer Adam Anders (Glee), said he’s not sure The Passion should be labeled a musical.

“To call it a musical is maybe not the best fit. It’s more of a beautiful event that has never been done before.”

While The Passion won’t feature overly choreographed musical numbers like Grease: Live and The Wiz Live, it will have a lot of musical performances, including a mix of original songs and radio favorites that take on new meaning when paired with the Biblical story. With famous songs originally performed by Whitney Houston, Katy Perry, and Celine Dion, Anders says viewers will see the music in a whole new light.

“It’s unbelievable how many No. 1 songs have religious messages. That’s the magic of this show. We’re taking [songs] you know and love, and putting them in a completely new context. So it’s like, ‘Wow, I know this song, but I’ve never heard it done this way before.'”

Gospel singer Yolanda Adams will open The Passion live musical, and the A-list talent keeps on coming after that. Country legend Trisha Yearwood will play Mary, and Jencarlos Canela is Jesus. In addition, Seal plays Pontius Pilate, and American Idol alum Chris Daughtry makes his TV musical debut as Judas. Tyler Perry will narrate the story.

Anders told Variety it was very important for him to cast big names with big voices. The Passion music director was especially happy to land Yearwood as Mary, the mother of Jesus.

“Trisha was so important because she’s the anchor of the show. If we had somebody that was [only] a good singer, I don’t know if it would work — we needed a great singer. She’s a legend, and she has a world-class voice.”

While The Passion will play as a live musical production, a few of the scenes were pre-taped due to the massive scale of the production. But a key scene that will play out live and is totally dependent on good weather is the procession of 1,000 people walking the streets of New Orleans, carrying Jesus’s cross.

The Passion live soundtrack drops ahead of the Palm Sunday production, on March 18. Entertainment Weekly posted the entire list of songs that will help to tell the story of Jesus Christ’s final hours on Earth. After Yolanda Adams opens The Passion with “When Love Takes Over,” the rest of the cast members each take on multiple songs. Yearwood will sing familiar hits like Houston’s “My Love Is Your Love,” as well as original songs written for The Passion like “Broken,” which Mary sings after the Cruxifiction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJrf-HDJNwc

Chris Daughtry, who was Anders’ very first pick to play Judas, will sing “Bring Me To Life” and a duet of “Demons” with Jencarlos Canela. And as Jesus, Canela will belt out the Creed anthem “With Arms Wide Open” and the songs ‘Home” and “Unconditionally.” Another highlight will be Seal performing the Tears for Fears classic “Mad World.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTvZyFkC8y8

The Passion airs March 20 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

Take a look at the video below for a first look at The Passion live event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owOr6zDP8rM

[Photo by Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images]