Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Released as a double-album in 1970, it highlights the political and interpersonal struggles of Judas Iscariot and Jesus. The musical is based on the canonical gospels' accounts of the last weeks of Jesus' life, beginning with Jesus and his followers arriving in Jerusalem and ending with the Crucifixion. Twentieth-century attitude and sensibilities as well as contemporary slang pervade the lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the political depiction of the events. Stage and film productions accordingly feature many intentional anachronisms.

A large part of the plot focuses on the character of Judas who is depicted as a confused, tragic figure who is not satisfied with what he views as Jesus's lack of planning, and alarmed by the relatively recent claims of his divinity.

The opera was first heard as an album before being staged on Broadway and later in London's West End. On the original album, the part of Jesus was sung by Ian Gillan, the lead singer of Deep Purple who later also worked with Black Sabbath and others, and that of Judas by Murray Head. The future Gary Glitter had a one-liner as a priest and Michael d'Abo appeared as King Herod. The title song, "Superstar", sung by Judas, and "I Don't Know How to Love Him", sung by Mary Magdalene (Yvonne Elliman) about her relationship with Jesus, were both big hits. A cover of the latter song, recorded by singer Helen Reddy, would also reach the top 15 on the U.S. pop singles charts in early 1971.

The original album has a strong and often very aggressive rock flavor that is very different from Webber's later work. This is in part due to the emotive singing of Murray Head and Ian Gillan and the playing of well-known rock session musicians such as guitarists Neil Hubbard and Chris Spedding, bassist Alan Spenner and drummer Bruce Rowland. The musical arrangements are often multi-layered, featuring rock and classical elements, and contain many abruptly shifting dynamics and time signatures.
 
The North American touring revival of "Superstar" in 1992, titled the AD Anniversary Tour, starred Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson reprising their 1973 film roles as Jesus and Judas and getting rave reviews for their performances. This production also starred both Dennis DeYoung of Styx and James O'Neil (Founding Artistic Director of the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, CA) as Pontius Pilate, and Syreeta, Irene Cara, and Christine Rea as Mary Magdalene. Originally expected to run for three to four months, the tour ended up running for five years.

A 1992 Australian concert cast, starred John Farnham as Jesus, Jon Stevens as Judas and Kate Ceberano as Mary Magdalene. The Australian production was produced by the entrepreneur Harry M. Miller Garry Van Egmond and International Management Group.

A concert version was performed on November 15 and 16, 1998 to launch the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, California. Three performances were given, starring Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson and the company from the AD Anniversary Tour. All three shows were sold out, and RTC is now in its 9th Season as a theatre company in Ventura, CA.

In 1994, a New Zealand production (also produced by Harry M. Miller Garry Van Egmond and International Management Group) saw changes in production style, such as the rock guitar solo introducing the show played by a guitarist on a spotlighted, elevated platform, and costuming which included a complete lack of sandals. Jesus was played by Darryl Lovegrove; Caiaphas by Frankie Stevens, elder brother of Jon Stevens (the two played together on stage when the production toured Australia, with Jon in his previous role as Judas); and Judas by the stage, television and cinema star Jay Laga'aia. Red laser was used to represent the whip during the scourging; similarly lasers were used for the wounds of the crucifixion. The show closed with an expanding cone of green laser, centered on Jesus' crucified corpse, shining through mist to eventually envelop the whole audience.

Also in 1994, a stage version titled Jesus Christ Superstar: A Resurrection was produced and performed in Atlanta, Austin and Seattle. This version featured many musicians from the Atlanta alternative scene, including the Indigo Girls members Amy Ray as Jesus and Emily Saliers as Mary Magdalene, and fellow guitarist Michael Lorant as Judas.

In 1996, Superstar was revived in London. Directed by Gale Edwards, this version of Superstar was updated to appeal to a new generation of fans. It starred Steve Balsamo and Zubin Varla as Jesus and Judas. Referred to as the "Lyceum Production," it was relatively successful. This eventually led Gale Edwards to restage the show for a UK tour, followed by a video starring Glenn Carter as Jesus and Jerome Pradon as Judas. This "new" interpretation of the show was revived on Broadway in 2000 again starring Carter, but a last minute change made Tony Vincent, who had played Simon in the video, step into the role of Judas. It opened to mixed reviews and closed quickly. It was more popular in its UK/European run; it opened in 1998 and closed around 2001.

In 2002, a national tour was begun with ex-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach as Jesus and Carl Anderson once again as Judas. Bach received mixed reviews, while Anderson was again praised. In April 2003, following a disagreement with the director, Bach was replaced with the Broadway star Eric Kunze. Carl Anderson eventually left the show after being diagnosed with leukemia and died in 2004. He was replaced by Lawrence Clayton, who had appeared as Simon and understudied the part of Judas in the previous national tour.

In August 2004 a new national UK tour began, directed by Bill Kenwright. Originally scheduled to end in December, the tour's success resulted in a longer run, and it continued through August 2005. Glenn Carter reprised his role as Jesus and British pop singer James Fox played Judas, with Emma Dears as Mary Magdalene.

A live-in-concert, one-night only, performance of JCS took place at The Ricardo Montalban Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on August 13, 2006, reuniting Ted Neeley, Yvonne Elliman and Barry Dennen from the 1973 film, Broadway and Los Angeles productions of the show, as well as Ben Vereen (the original Judas on Broadway), and Jack Black as Herod. The performance also featured Larry Friedman as Annas, Chris Carey as Caiaphas, and Chuck DiMaria as one of the priests. All three were featured performers in the AD Anniversary Tour between 1993 and 1997, as well as the world-famous[citation needed] Agape Choir. The performance benefitted YouTHeatre-America!, and The Ricardo Montalban Theatre.

Also in 2006, a tour (originally billed as "The Ted Neeley Farewell Tour", now billed as the new "A.D. Tour") starring Ted Neeley reprising his role as Jesus and Corey Glover (of rock band Living Colour) as Judas, began in September and has played over 120 venues to date. The tour is slated to run through 2009, but now is set to run indefinitely depending upon audience and critical reception. Carl Anderson was set to reprise his role as Judas before his death.

On the 20th and 21st of March 2008, Drew Sarich, who had previously done several performances of the show (as Jesus and Judas), reprised his role as Jesus opposite former castmate Serkan Kaya as Judas in Vienna, Austria.

The show has become a cultural phenomenon and has been produced many times, including productions in Ireland, Hungary, India, New Zealand, Italy, France, Mexico, Chile, Bulgaria, South Africa, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Czech republic, Greece, Australia, The Philippines, Panama, Colombia (Misi Group), Croatia (Theater Komedija), Bolivia (where it was also released as a TV movie) and many more. Two notable Jesuses were Takeshi Kaga of Iron Chef fame in the 1976 Japanese version, and the singer Camilo Blanes Cortés aka Camilo Sesto in the 1975 Spanish one. In Germany, the show can be seen every year in different productions by a number of the country's repertory theaters.

On 22 April 2008, the song "Superstar" was performed on American Idol by contestant Carly Smithson, before getting eliminated the following day.