Jesus Christ Superstar (film) who had played Jesus is missing. A shepherd and his flock cross the hillside beneath the empty cross ("John Nineteen Forty-One"). During filming of "Fiddler on the Roof", Barry Dennen, who played Pilate on the concept album, suggested to Norman Jewison that he should direct "Jesus Christ Superstar" as a film. After hearing the album, Jewison agreed. The cast consisted mostly of actors from the Broadway show, with Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson starring as Jesus and Judas respectively. Neeley had played a reporter and a leper in the Broadway version, and understudied the role of Jesus. Likewise, Anderson understudied
Jesus Christ Superstar under his jurisdiction and sends him to King Herod ("Pilate and Christ"). As Jesus is dragged away, the chorus asks where Jesus's power has gone. The decadent and flamboyant King Herod attempts to persuade Jesus into proving his divinity by performing miracles, offering to free him if he complies ("King Herod's Song (Try It And See)"), but Jesus ignores him. Herod decides that Jesus is just another phony messiah and angrily sends him back to Pilate. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the apostles remember when they first began following Jesus, and wish that they could return to a time of