The Passion, a modern day telling of the Passion of Christ will air live on FOX Palm Sunday. Maybe an American Idol or Glee alum will be cast in the project. Executive Producer, Adam Anders, was the musical director on Glee. The event will be hosted live from New Orleans by multi-hyphenate star, Tyler Perry. Check out the press release below:
On Palm Sunday, March 20, 2016 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), FOX will present The Passion, a two-hour musical event, airing LIVE from New Orleans, that tells the 2000-year-old story of the last hours of Jesus Christ’s life on earth. Hosted and narrated by actor, writer, producer, director and New Orleans native Tyler Perry (“The Haves and The Have Nots,” “Gone Girl”), the special will feature a cast of today’s biggest stars (to be announced) performing a variety of popular music, arranged by executive producer and hit music producer Adam Anders (Glee, Rock of Ages).
Set in modern day, The Passion will follow the dramatic and inspirational story of Jesus of Nazareth, as he presides over the Last Supper, and then is betrayed by Judas, put on trial by Pontius Pilate, convicted, crucified and resurrected. The story will unfold live at some of New Orleans’ most iconic locations, while featuring a procession of hundreds of people carrying a 20-foot, illuminated cross from Champion Square outside the Superdome to the live stage at Woldenburg Park on the banks of the Mississippi River.
FOX has teamed with dick clark productions, the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming, Eye2Eye Media and Anders Media Inc. to produce the event.
“The Passion is both wonderfully entertaining and genuinely inspirational,” said David Madden, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “We are so thrilled to have the multi-talented Tyler Perry join us for this epic music production. He is the perfect host to lead the cast – and viewers – through the streets of New Orleans in this contemporary re-telling of a timeless story.”
“This Palm Sunday television event is a modern-day production of the most famous story of all time, full of universal themes, which we hope provides a unifying experience, bringing the sacred and secular together,” said Mark Bracco, EVP of Programming and Development for dick clark productions.
“The Passion is one of the most exciting and compelling projects that I have ever been involved with,” said Anders. “I cannot wait to bring the greatest-story-ever-told to life through music, in a way that has never been heard before. To be able to create new arrangements of some of the biggest songs of all time to create a live ‘film score’ is a creative dream for me.”
“We are excited that New Orleans has been chosen as the location for THE PASSION,” said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “Year after year, our city continues to prove to be one of the best places for major motion pictures and world class productions. One of the reasons our economy continues to grow is due to our continued focus on creating opportunities for our cultural economy to thrive and this production announcement is another example of our success.”
THE PASSION is a format originally created in the Netherlands by Eye2Eye Media’s Jacco Doornbos. The Dutch version of THE PASSION has been produced annually since 2011 and has aired for the last five consecutive years, becoming a pop culture phenomenon as it built on its audience each year and commanded more than 46% market share in 2015.
