On Palm Sunday, Fox will broadcast Tyler Perry's live musical event, "The Passion," filming across the city of New Orleans. The musical will tell the 2000-year-old story of Jesus Christ's final hours on Earth through passages from the Bible and a variety of contemporary popular music.
Perry will narrate the event set in modern day and starring Jencarlos Canela as Jesus of Nazareth, who presided over the Last Supper, was betrayed by Judas, put on trial by Pontius Pilate, convicted, crucified and resurrected. "American Idol" winner Chris Daughtry will play Judas and Seal will star as Pontius Pilate.
The event will take place at some of New Orleans' most iconic locations and feature a procession of a thousand people carrying a 20-foot, illuminated cross from outside the Mercedes Benz Superdome to the live stage at Woldenberg Park.
Prince Royce will star as the disciple Peter and Trisha Yearwoood will play the Son of God's mother, Mary. Shane Harper, Gabriel Conte, Michael W. Smith will play Jesus' disciples, and Yolanda Adams will also perform.
Eye2Eye Media originally created "The Passion" in the Netherlands in 2011. The Fox production was written by Peter Barsocchini. Executive producer Adam Anders arranged the music, which will be performed live by the cast.
"'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."
"The Passion" will begin tonight, March 20 at 8 p.m. on Fox. It will stream online a Fox.com and on FOX Now mobile apps. Netflix has obtained the worldwide streaming rights for the event and will make the special available internationally on March 22 except in the Netherlands, where it will air on March 25.
Date & Time: Sunday, March 20 at 8 p.m.
TV Channel: Fox
Location: New Orleans
Live Stream: In select markets, viewers can stream the event live on Fox.com or FOX NOW mobile apps, starting at 7:30 p.m. with an exclusive pre-show.
Narrator: Tyler Perry
Cast: Jencarlos Canela (Jesus Christ), Chris Daughtry (Judas), Seal (Pontius Pilate), Trisha Yearwood (Mary, the mother of Jesus), Prince Royce (disciple Peter), Gabriel Conte (disciple), Shane Harper (disciple), Michael W. Smith (disciple) and Yolanda Adams (performer)
