Review: BELOVED KING: A QUEER BIBLE MUSICAL at Oberon

I had the pleasure of joining a few colleagues of writer/creator/scholar, Jade Sylvan, in a live streaming of the final dress rehearsal for the self-produced workshop of their queer/Biblical/musical/burlesque thesis for Harvard Divinity School, Beloved King: A Queer Bible Musical. "I have mixed feelings about a lot of the virtual theatre we are seeing right now. Most of them are negative," Sylvan began. They extrapolated upon the ways the recording we were about to view may fall short of their original intentions. Displaying a charming wit which is reflected in the humor of the script, they continued with a content warning; "There's war, familial violence, and an instance of attempted sexual coercion- I mean, it's the Bible."

The score is catchy, folksy, and declamatory in a way that fuses rock sounds with medieval sensibilities, and Kaedon Gray as the prophet, Samuel, begins the show with an expository narration worthy of a mystery play. The stage is set and we launch into the familiar story of King Saul, Jonathan, David, and Goliath from the Book of Samuel. Newsflash for anyone familiar with this story from a truncated version geared toward children, the verse by Leonard Cohen, or an animated retelling enacted by vegetables: there is a lot more to unpack in this narrative than you may be aware. As Sylvan notated in the chat feature throughout the show, "this is straight from the book".

The plot, filtered through Sylvan's analytical eye and informed by the book Jacob's Wound by Theodore W Jennings, is erotic, gay, and filled with high tensions. Certainly, a sweeping story that fits the reputation of the Old Testament and certainly approached in a way that captures the imagination of a modern audience-- successfully translating David's lyre into the mesmeric sounds of a lightly plucked electric guitar. There are dismissive mentions of the dowries of daughters to maintain peace which land with a cool, intentional misogyny. (The dowry in question ends up being a collection of 100 Philistine foreskins, a silly if macabre visual when poured on the stage of the Oberon.) Sequences of violence, betrayal, and assault carry appropriate weight to give audiences a sense of vulnerability without tripping into melodrama. The best parts of the piece feature the songs and live electronic accompaniment inspired by anime underscoring. There are heightened moments of recitative which keep the evening moving, but there are also times where it feels like we could take a breather from this complicated narrative. As someone unfamiliar with the text of the story, and not in any personal rush to read it, I question how much of the plot is necessary to include in the piece. Full-disclosure, this was an early workshop that I was privy to and Sylvan is actively seeking ways to expound upon this work in the future. Any play in its early stages might have excess information- Faulknerian genealogies of irrelevant characters and inserted explanations of finer points for those of us not finishing up at Divinity School. This piece was no exception, but there is a clean through-line beneath the Biblical jargon that I would certainly engage with in a future iteration. In my opinion, what the piece needs most at this stage is the hand of someone with a more conventional theatrical background. The script has heart, and a boatload of dramaturgical background. Sylvan provides the refreshing perspectives they've gathered from a world of burlesque and slam poetry. Now this unique work and all of the possibilities it poses need to be taken on by someone who can coordinate the visual world it needs to bring it to life. I also feel it needs to be passed through the hands of a few trusted colleagues with less Biblical knowledge.

With a motley ensemble clad in linen garments befitting a children's nativity pageant, the show is intercut with burlesque sequences which expose flashy spandex briefs otherwise hidden from view. Though certainly gratuitous and right at home in the nightclub-inspired space, each of these sequences feels entirely supported by the narrative it upholds. The small-statured David casts aside his cumbersome armor before battle with the giant- a plot detail which explains why Michelangelo's famous statue is entirely nude. Here, Felton Sparks' flashy, gold shorts seem to embrace the homoeroticism implicit when Jonathan offers the young warrior his cloak upon his victory. Later, Sparks delivers a passionate rock ballad in these shorts after dancing and strutting around the audience. His powerful voice cuts into piercing falsetto and sets him apart as the apparent star of the show.

The staging is straightforward if lackluster- forgivable in a workshop- but thankfully makes use of the possibilities of the Oberon layout, placing scenes on balconies and circling the audience. The ensemble, when featured, is effective. An early full cast number left me wanting more, but that later showstopping number never came.

I hesitate to slap that overused word "timeless" on narratives from the Bible, but this piece delivers subversiveness along with reality TV family drama in even doses as the spoonful of sugar that helps the Scripture go down. A very smart concept show with a bright future. As a variety show? Cabaret? Concept album? Conventional musical? I cannot guess. But I certainly am invested in hearing what will happen next for Beloved King.

Photo credit: Jonathan Beckley

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