The irony isn’t lost on Corey Glover. The man who co-wrote and sang “Cult of Personality” with the band Living Colour is playing Judas in the touring production of Jesus Christ Superstaris about, as Glover says, “the ultimate cult of personality.” Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s hippie-era musical about Jesus marks the first time Glover — who had a role in Platoon and served as a VH1 VJ in the mid-’90s — has performed musical theater on such a wide scale (he’s done a few plays in his native New York). “He’s a conflicted, multilayered character,” Glover says of playing Judas. “It’s a good start for me.”

Still, in a way, the production isn’t that much of a stretch from the days when Glover fronted Living Colour. “Though the guitars aren’t as loud here,” he jokes. Plus, Glover says Jesus Christ Superstar is the perfect production for him to test out his stage legs. “It’s a rock opera, and I’m a rock singer,” he says. “I just slide into [the role] and try to make it work as best as I can.”
Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 9, 1:30 & 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 10, 1:30 & 6:30 p.m.

This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2006.