John Lydon cast as King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar arena tour

The North American leg of Jesus Christ Superstar will feature a selection of castings from the music world, most notably John Lydon, who will play the part of King Herod. “I'm here to sing with the King of the Jews, who could ask for anything more?” he said in a statement.

The performance is described as a show "reimagined for the 21st century as an arena rock spectacular," and will be the biggest ever North American arena tour of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s creation.

Aside from the punk icon, the cast also includes *NSYNC's JC Chasez as Pontius Pilate, Destiny Child's Michelle Williams as Mary Magdalene and Incubus frontman and long time fan, Brandon Boyd, who has been cast as Judas Iscariot. "I am so thrilled to be a part of this amazing production!” said Boyd. “I grew up on Andrew Lloyd Webber's classics and never imagined I would be playing a role in one, let alone with such an incredibly diverse cast of players."

The role of Jesus will be Ben Forster, the British actor and singer who won ITV's Superstar competition in 2012. The British leg of the tour included Mel C as Mary Magdalene and Tim Minchin as Judas.

Written by Lloyd Webber when he was 21 with lyricist Tim Rice, the show began life as a concept album and a US arena tour before Jesus conquered Broadway in 1971 in the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh. "Of course JCS subsequently became a legit theatre stalwart, but I, personally, have always hankered after seeing it again in the arenas where it started," said Andrew Lloyd Webber in a statement.

Stopping by at over fifty dates, the tour kicks off in New Orleans at the Lakefront Arena on 9 June, and stops in Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, before culminating in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Arena on 17 August.

Tickets go on sale on 11 April from jesuschristsuperstar.com.