Jesus Christ Superstar, which began its life as a concept album, has always been more fun to listen to than actually watch. But the new Broadway revival--imported from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival by way of the La Jolla Playhouse—is a galvanizing rendition that grips from first moment to last. Staged in propulsive fashion by Des McAnuff, who has no small experience with this sort of material (Jersey Boys, The Who’s Tommy), the production is something to shout hallelujah about.

Short of the bloated, high-concept gimmickry that afflicted the show’s last Broadway outing, this is a lean and mean, stripped-down version that eschews camp. It concentrates appropriately and thrillingly on the sung-through pop/rock score by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice which is more and more beginning to seem their best.

There’s an appropriate pre-show announcement that gets a laugh. It informs people to feel free to open their wrapped hard candies at any point, since the music will drown out the sound. And so it does under Rick Fox’s musical direction, which features both the volume and the high energy to put across the score with maximum impact. Steve Canyon Kennedy’s sound design, which at several points employs surround-sound effects that have audience members swiveling in their seats, is another plus.  

The action is staged on a simple set (designed by Robert Brill) that largely consists of metal scaffolding; movable stairways and ladders; and ticker-tape style LCD displays. It’s a cliché, sure, but it works perfectly here, keeping the focus on the actors and instilling the proceedings with a suitably timeless feel.

The performers infuse their vocals with a powerful urgency, and their acting is impressive as well. Paul Nolan is an intriguingly ambiguous, complex Jesus; Chilina Kennedy a sympathetic and appealing Mary Magdalene; and Tom Hewitt a properly sinister but not cartoonishly villainous Pontius Pilate. At the reviewed performance, understudy Jeremy Kushnier played Judas (filling in for Josh Young), but there was absolutely no tentativeness evident in his riveting, dynamically sung portrayal.

Also terrific are Bruce Dow, bringing a welcome edge to the usually comic King Herod, and Marcus Nance, whose deep-voiced Caiaphas is spine-tingling.

Lisa Shriver’s energetic choreography keeps the proceedings moving at a fever pitch, while McAnuff’s uncommonly lucid staging is consistently striking, especially in the climactic Crucifixion sequence in which Judas returns as a shiny-suited, Evangelical-style preacher.

To quote one of the show’s more memorable numbers, “Hosanna” to this revival which stirs the sort of excitement that must have been felt upon its 1971 Broadway premiere.

Neil Simon Theatre, 250 W. 52nd St. 877-250-2929. www.ticketmaster.com.