Glenn Close will close the London season of Jesus Christ Superstar as King Herod, taking the role for the final week at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 4-9 January 2027 as the last of nine guest stars to play it.
Glenn Close plays King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar from Monday 4 to Saturday 9 January 2027, the closing week of the production's run at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Producer Michael Harrison, for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, confirmed the casting this morning.
She comes to the part with a long history in Andrew Lloyd Webber's work: her Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard won her one of her three Tony Awards, the others coming for The Real Thing and Death and the Maiden. Her Broadway debut was in Love for Love, and she has also won three Emmys and three Golden Globes. Screen audiences know her as Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction, the Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons, Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians and Patty Hewes in the television drama Damages.
Harrison said: “I am thrilled that we will welcome such an esteemed actor as Glenn Close in the final week that audiences will have to experience Tim Sheader’s spectacular production in London. After a run of magnificent Herods, I am certain Glenn will bring the season at Theatre Royal Drury Lane to a triumphant close, following our London Palladium run where there wasn't a single empty seat or standing place in the house.”
Director Tim Sheader added: “Wow, what a blast to have Glenn Close Superstar in the house for our final week in London. I can’t wait for her artistry and imagination to meet the show.”
Sam Ryder leads the company as Jesus. The production sold out a summer season at the London Palladium before moving to Drury Lane for 12 weeks, from Friday 16 October 2026 to Saturday 9 January 2027. Close is the ninth name in its rotating line-up of Herods, following:
- Matt Bomer: 16-31 October
- Rob Brydon: 2-7 November
- Reece Shearsmith: 9-14 November
- Bob The Drag Queen: 16-21 November
- Michael Ball: 23 November - 5 December
- Simon Russell Beale: 7-12 December
- Omid Djalili: 14-19 December
- Layton Williams: 21 December 2026 - 2 January 2027
Tyrone Huntley is Judas Iscariot, except on Thursdays, when Matty J moves across from Annas to play the part. Desmonda Cathabel is Mary Magdalene, David Thaxton is Pontius Pilate and Bob Harms is Caiaphas, with Phil King as Peter, Eric Lewis as Simon and Matthew Harvey as standby Jesus. Completing the company are Koko Alexandra, Jasmine Jules Andrews, Courtney Arango, Amy Barker, Alistair Beattie, Daniel Bowskill, Jahlil M Burke, Martha Burton, Marcelo Cervone, Sarah Freer, Sebastian Goffin, Alexander Kranz, Owen Lloyd, Milo McCarthy, Dan Moore, Cherece Richards, Kyle Richardson, Olivia Saunders, Toyan Thomas-Browne, Charley Warburton and Lillie-Pearl Wildman.
Tim Sheader's staging reunites the team behind the Olivier-winning 2016 production at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, with choreography by Drew McOnie and design by Tom Scutt, ten years on. Tim Rice and Lloyd Webber's rock score, which takes in I Don't Know How to Love Him, Gethsemane and the title song Superstar, tells the story of the last days of Jesus with Judas as its witness. Lloyd Webber also wrote the orchestrations; Tom Deering is musical supervisor, with lighting by Lee Curran, sound by Adam Fisher, wigs, hair and make-up by Sam Cox and Maria Johal, fight direction by Kate Waters and casting by Grindrod Burton Casting.
Once the London run ends, Ryder takes the show on a UK tour that opens at the Palace Theatre Manchester on 11 February 2027 and continues until 30 October 2027, with the rest of the touring cast still to be named.
At Drury Lane, evening performances are Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm, with matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays at 2.30pm, and the gala night falls on Tuesday 27 October 2026. Tickets for Jesus Christ Superstar are on sale now.
