Rock musicals that started on a surprising note

“Lizzie,” the rock musical exploration of the Lizzie Borden legend, is the latest in a line of seemingly unlikely subjects being given the rock musical treatment. Here are a few others.

“Jesus Christ Superstar”

(1970): The Bible rocks! Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice based their breakout hit on the Gospels’ account of the last week in the life of Jesus.

Here’s “Everything’s All Right” from the 1973 movie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkje4FiH9Qc.

“Carrie” (1988): Stephen King’s debut novel became a memorable horror movie, but the big-budget musical version produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company was memorable only for being an epic disaster.

Here’s the opening number from the 2012 revival: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYgRMHv68W4.

“Rent” (1996): Sure, it seems like a recipe for success now, with its Tony Awards and Pulitzer Prize, but nearly 20 years ago, the idea of turning Puccini’s “La Bohème” into a rock musical set in the world of performance art and AIDS seemed iffy at best.

Here’s the “Rent” original cast performance from the 1996 Tony Awards: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vVnzD0itSE.

“Spring Awakening”

(2006): Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play about teenagers and sexual repression was banned after its American premiere in 1917. Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater build on that by giving the play a modern rock concert spin. The show is already being revived on Broadway in a production featuring deaf and hearing actors.

Here’s an assortment of clips from the original production: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NprKfVNpKA. “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson” (2008): Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers turned our controversial seventh president into an emo rock antihero.

Here are clips from the 2011 Broadway production (language is NSFW): www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRSlBjNhqjY.

“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” (2011): Even the rock score by U2’s Bono and the Edge couldn’t save this multimilliondollar disaster from dimming all the goodwill Spidey had built up in his leap from comic book pages to the big screen.

Here’s a peek at the original production: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBHpv0yuUGo. “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” (2012): Dave Malloy (the creative force behind Shotgun Players’ 2008 production of “Beowulf”) adapted Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” or part of it anyway, into a well-received, immersive piece of musical theater complete with a vodka bar.

Here’s a preview: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmj8WKSf0qw.

“Hamilton” (2015): Our founding fathers get a hip-hop reinvention in this mightily acclaimed new show by Lin-Manuel Miranda that is expected to win every award there is. Miranda plays Hamilton, the guy on the $10 bill and our first secretary of the Treasury.

Here’s a quick peek at the current toast of Broadway: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBkI_9cr1Ws.

Joan Marcus / Associated Press 2007 “Spring Awakening,” banned after its 1917 U.S. premiere, was a Broadway smash in 2006.

Joan Marcus / Associated Press 2014 Paul Nolan (center left) and Josh Nolan onstage with the cast of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”