Russian city cancels ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ after protest

MOSCOW – A theatre in one of Russia’s largest cities has cancelled a planned performance of the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” following protests by an organization of conservative Orthodox Christians.

The show, by a troupe from St. Petersburg, was to have been staged Nov. 1 in Omsk, Russia’s seventh-most-populous city. But a local group called “Family, Love, and Fatherland” filed a complaint that the musical mocked religious faith, according to Russian news reports.

State television reported Tuesday that the performance had been called off.

The decision comes amid growing conservative sentiment and resistance to Western popular culture in Russia.

In a statement, Amnesty International says the cancellation was “an affront to freedom of expression and the latest example of interference in Russian cultural life by nationalist ‘activists.’”