IT IS brave of any artist to tackle the broad sweep of the Bible. Other musical-theatre writers have taken sections, but the ambition of Richard Haley and Tabitha Webb in Love Beyond is to start at the very beginning.
The Cadogan Hall was packed for a concert performance of this piece last month. Its origins stretch back almost 30 years, to when Haley first had the idea for an evangelistic musical. Halfway through that period, he met the actor Webb (appearing in Phantom at the time), and the work started to take shape. The score was aired at venues in Brighton and Wembley, and some of its numbers were performed at Spring Harvest 2024.
This is a divine love story, opening with the Trinity voicing a united hope for the world. Rodney Earl Clarke (Father), Joanna Ampil (Spirit), and Shane O’Riordan (Jesus) gave it the full treatment. Dancers portrayed Adam and Eve on a central platform. “We must protect them from this broken state,” the Prologue ends.
What ensued was perfectly enjoyable and scripturally fluent. Mary (Katy Hanna) sang yearningly at the baptism of Christ: “There’s an open heaven above him, I can see the Holy Spirit rest on him.” The more percussive “The Invitation” had a rhythmic beat with “open up your heart, let fullness of life pour in (the kingdom of heaven is here).” When Zacchaeus appeared, he was told “get out of that tree, I’m coming to your house for tea.” There were miracles, a string of testimonies, and narrative returns for the Trinity, somewhat reminiscent of the novel The Shack.
The international star David Bedella was the saturnine Satan, who stalked on to sing lines of menace and threat, along with doubt: “Did he really say . . . ?” The lighting went dark and red. There were power ballads, including Mary Magdalene’s “You changed everything in me”, sung with moving force by Alice Fearn in the second half; and the ensemble work was always well drilled. Everyone sang to an expertly recorded track, which brought Matthew Brind’s orchestral arrangements out in lush detail.
This intense, cosmic drama has a lot to take in, told as it is with the emotional fever-pitch of a musical. Haley’s hope is that “other producers pick it up for stage or screen and keep sharing this story”. Like the first disciples, he wants to get the good news out there.
lovebeyondmusical.com