Sara Bareilles to play Mary Magdalene in NBC's 'Jesus Christ Superstar'

Jan. 6 (UPI) -- NBC has announced who will play the female lead to John Legend's titular messiah in this spring's televised staging of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.

"Everything's alright because @SaraBareilles will play Mary Magdalene in #JesusChristSuperstar LIVE in concert, coming this April to NBC!" the network tweeted Saturday.

"It's an absolute thrill to have a Tony-nominated composer as our Mary Magdalene," Andrew Lloyd Webber, the musical's composer and a producer on the television adaptation, said in his own Twitter post.

Bareilles, who is also a singer-songwriter, recently earned rave reviews for her performance in Broadway's Waitress.