Cynthia Erivo is Jesus: Here’s the Hollywood Bowl 2025 lineup, led by ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’

From wicked to saintly, Cynthia Erivo seems to do it all. The singer and actor has been tapped to play Jesus in the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Hollywood Bowl — part of the 2025 season lineup announced Tuesday by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Erivo, who is nominated for an Oscar for her powerhouse lead performance in “Wicked,” will star in a production directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo.

This “Superstar” marks the return of a summer musical at the Bowl after a hiatus sparked by the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020.

“We missed the musicals for a few years, and I think that one is a good one to return with,” said L.A. Phil President and Chief Executive Kim Noltemy, adding that it took a while for the organization to regain its sea legs after the pandemic. “Whether it be staffing or psychological transition, we needed time to get back up to running like the machine we can be when everything’s going well.”

This summer will be Gustavo Dudamel’s 16th and penultimate season at the Bowl before he passes his baton and leaves to become music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic in 2026. Noltemy said that much of the season is organized to highlight Dudamel’s work, including performances featuring composers, musicians and music close to his heart.

“We’re really trying to make sure that everything he’s doing is really special, unique and incredible,” Noltemy said. “Because we don’t have that many more chances to work with him in this big way.”

Dudamel will conduct eight performances in August with the L.A. Phil and Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. Of special note is Dudamel’s return to Mahler’s First Symphony, which he performed in 2009 during his debut as music director. This time around, the symphony will be performed along with Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto featuring Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang.

Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers performs a concerto by Mexico’s Arturo Márquez, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl in 2021 in Los Angeles.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

This season will mark the Bolívar’s first return to Los Angeles since 2018, as the orchestra joins Dudamel in a program of dances from around the world, including Maurice Ravel’s “Boléro.” That night, pianist Yuja Wang will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

The Bolívar also will join Dudamel and the L.A. Phil for Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. Two L.A. Phil commissions will open that night: Ricardo Lorenz’s “Todo Terreno” and the world premiere of Arturo Márquez’s Concerto for Trumpet No. 2 featuring Pacho Flores.

Another evening of note finds Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho performing alongside Dudamel and the L.A. Phil for an evening devoted to the compositions of Ravel and Duke Ellington.

Actor and singer Hugh Jackman is slated to kick off the season with performances of hits from “The Greatest Showman,” “The Music Man” and more. The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra will join Jackman along with conductor Thomas Wilkins and members of Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, better known as YOLA. The gala will raise funds for music education initiatives at the L.A. Phil.

The Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival will be replaced this year by the Blue Note Jazz Festival. Late last year, the venerable New York venue said it would open a branch in Hollywood, and Blue Note announced a partnership with the L.A. Phil. Its inaugural festival will feature headliners Grace Jones, Willow and De La Soul.

No Bowl season would be complete without the movies, and this year finds another celebration of legendary film composer John Williams, 93. “Jaws” in concert with the L.A. Phil will be conducted by David Newman and coincides with the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s summer blockbuster. Dudamel will lead the orchestra in “Jurassic Park” live in concert, marking another of Williams’ iconic scores.

The Bowl lineup has plenty of headliners to picnic with, including John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, John Fogerty, Josh Groban, Charlie Wilson, the Alabama Shakes, Rick Springfield and Diana Ross.

“Everyone wants to support Gustavo,” Noltemy said of the lineup. “He’s so beloved. And being part of his last years here, I think, moves a lot of the artists.”