A stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar starring John Lydon has been cancelled at short notice.

Former Sex Pistols frontman Lydon was due to play King Herod in the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage show, which also had Incubus singer Brandon Boyd in its cast.

Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams was due to star as Mary Magdalene, while N'Sync's JC Chasez was cast as Pontius Pilate.

The show was lined up for 54 US cities, but the plug was pulled just 10 days before the scheduled opening show in New Orleans on June 9. Producers have given no explanation for the cancellation.

Boyd says via Twitter: "I got fired from #JesusChristSuperstar today....but so did the rest of the cast so we're all sad together."