The Story

Beloved King follows the young shepherd David as he is thrust from rural fields into the royal court. After his sudden rise to prominence, David finds himself the object of affection of both the heir to the throne, idealistic Prince Jonathan, and his father, the domineering King Saul, forcing David to re-navigate his relationship to love and power as he tries to follow the path laid out for him by a mysterious entity called God.

Read the full play on New Play Exchange.

Watch the Behind the Scenes Documentary on the making of “Adoni”

The first-ever staged readings of Beloved King, complete with all songs and live accompaniment, were scheduled for March 12th and March 13th, 2020 at Oberon, the second stage of the American Repertory Theater, in Harvard Square. Both events sold out well in advanced, but they wound up being cancelled the day before opening due to COVID-19. However, the team rallied and quickly pivoted to film a dress rehearsal in an empty theater just before lockdown.

Beloved King has received Cambridge Arts grants and a Live Arts Boston grant from the Boston Foundation, and we are honored to be supported by a small but growing coterie of patrons on Patreon. In 2021 we released a 6-song teaser EP, Songs from Beloved King: A Queer Bible Musical, streaming now on all platforms. We are now working to fully arrange the other 17 songs in the show and will soon begin seeking out production partners.

In the meantime, read about the show, and follow us on Instagram @BelovedKingMusical, Facebook /BelovedKingMusical, or sign up for our mailing list.

Cover photo by Jonathan Beckley, featuring Felton Sparks at David and Ben Freeman as Jonathan.