On religion I’m definitely someone who has faith and a belief in God and the workings of the universe at large, but I don’t subscribe to a particular doctrine. I grew up Catholic, and I went to Catholic school, so the story of Jesus and the crucifixion are very near and dear to my heart. I still go to Catholic Mass with my parents when I go home. The ritual and the familiarity and the comfort of our church community growing up is something I look back on really fondly now, even though I don’t go to church any more.

On musicals It’s this medium that exists somewhere between feet-on-the-ground and lifting off. It’s sort of elevated reality, where you get to tell really beautiful stories, but everything is slightly surreal, and I really love what unlocks emotionally for people.

On Mary Magdalene She’s actually a very powerful figure, and she is really motivated by her love for Jesus and his message. Historically, she was definitely a disciple and a believer and a champion of his message. She’s got laser focus on her support of Jesus, in my interpretation, and that’s how I’m coming to it, with a pure sense of the ultimate kind of love for someone.

On ‘Superstar’ I rented the film — I was probably 12 or 13 and I was really into a lot of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals at the time, and I was listening to everything I could get my hands on. I remember just being really emotional about the music. What was so avant-garde and so revolutionary about Tim and Andrew’s approach was that they really emphasized the humanity of these figures that have become so mythologized for us over the years. For someone who grew up in the church, as intimate as your relationship to Jesus can be, it’s really interesting and nuanced to look at him as a human and to look at Mary as a human and Judas as a human.