Following his casting news as King Herod in the Hollywood Bowl‘s upcoming Jesus Christ Superstar concert, Josh Gad has dropped out of the show after coming down with Covid.
With opening night on Friday, the Tony-nominated actor announced his diagnosis with a statement Wednesday on Instagram while praising the show as “one of the greatest things you will ever see.”
“It is with enormous heartbreak that I inform you all that unfortunately, I have contracted a virus known as COVID (remember that little bastard from season one of ‘Earth really sucks right now’?)” he wrote in the statement shared on Instagram.
“Anyway, out of an abundance of caution and respect for my cast, I will not be performing in Jesus Christ Superstar this weekend (unless I test negative),” added Gad. “It truly breaks my heart, but I can assure you all that the show is going to be one of the greatest things you will ever see. I hope at some point you get to see me wear the crown and show you what we’ve been up to, because it was quite something, but for now, sadly, I will not be able to grace the Hollywood Bowl.”
Sharing Gad’s statement, the Hollywood Bowl wished him “a speedy recovery,” adding that they “will announce a new performer for the role of King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar soon.”
Gad was cast as King Herod this month in the Sergio Trujillo-directed production, alongside Phillipa Soo as Mary Magdalene.
Cynthia Erivo was cast in the eponymous biblical role back in February, when the staging of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice‘s musical was announced, running Aug. 1-3. Adam Lambert was later cast as Judas, with Milo Manheim and Raúl Esparza also joining the cast as Peter and Pontius Pilate.
Directed and choreographed by Tony winner Trujillo, the Hollywood Bowl’s Jesus Christ Superstar will be conducted and music-directed by Stephen Oremus (who worked on both the Broadway and film versions of Wicked). The show is being produced in association with Neil Meron and Robert Greenblatt.
