Get Out This Weekend: Jesus Christ Superstar @ the Paramount

For our money, the timing of the arrival of the Jesus Christ Superstar tour at the Paramount couldn't be better -- a day or two before Christmas, the Nativity, the whole frankincensed hoopla, you can skip to the end and see how Jesus turned out. What's the competition: the film about the musical about cannibal serial killers? Ho ho ho.

For the tour, Ted Neeley is Jesus, as he was in the 1973 film. That means he's been playing Jesus for longer than Jesus did -- and, no disrespect intended, with more of a vocal range. (We don't recall any of the Gospels remarking on Jesus's top notes.) He's matched up against Corey Glover's Judas, who knows all about cults of personality.

This should be one of the great death matches in musical history. We'll be relying on Craig Sculli's Pontius Pilate to keep it a clean fight. Here's the show's hit song, with the line ("And I've had so many men before in very many ways") that keeps Capitol Hill audiences coming back for more.

3pm & 8pm Saturday, 1pm Sunday // the Paramount // Tickets $20-$55 (plus TM fees)