No Greater Love

NO GREATER LOVE- THE PASSION OF CHRIST MUSICAL
Videographer: Rawad Akhand @batman_ara

DIRECTOR AND CHOREOGRAPHER: CAROL FERRONE
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: GERARD DEMAN, JR.
PLAYWRIGHT: JANEEN STEVENS

FEATURING: Pasqualino Beltempo, *Nikki Casseri, Benjamin Culpepper,
Dorothy Dobkowski, *Leo Grinberg, Annie Lewis, *Rebekah Rawhouser, *Brandon Schraml
Tony Bartoli, Percussionist; Additional Choreography: Rhonda Denise Reid
*Courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association
contact: https://thexaviercompany.org/

“No Greater Love” will return to the Cathedral in 2024, please contact the Cathedral for more information, newarkbasilica.org/nogreaterlove .

Article from Jersrycitycatholic.org
Archdiocese of Newark has a long history with the Passion play – now it’s back
Jaimie Julia Winters March 24, 2023

The Archdiocese of Newark was once home to the longest-running Passion play in the U.S., which ran in Union City from 1914 to 2018. Now, that Lenten tradition is returning to the Archdiocese – albeit in a more modern form.

“No Greater Love” — a vibrant musical drama that celebrates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – will be performed on April 2 at 4 p.m. in Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart. The play is a production of the Xavier Company, a unique group of performing artists in residence at St. Francis Xavier Church in New York City who perform original works focused on themes of faith and social justice. Pasqualino Beltempo and Nikki Casseri play the roles of Jesus and Mary, respectively.

“The story [“No Greater Love”] is told through drama, song, and dance,” said Father Bismarck Chau, rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart. “...it’s their mission to bring this story that changed the world alive.”

Father Chau is no stranger to Passion plays, having performed in the Archdiocese’s original Union City production as well as his own parish’s play growing up in Brooklyn. After seeing “No Greater Love” in Montclair at the start of Lent this year, he booked it for the Cathedral for the last week of Lent, saying it was “powerfully inspiring.”

“The Church has always used art to reflect God’s love for us. The Passion play dramatizes the Gospels and brings them alive for us,” Father Chau said. “Our main goal for the audience is that they enter deeper into Holy Week [after seeing ‘No Greater Love’].”

“No Greater Love” has received positive reviews from critics, too. Writing for The Ecumenist, Father John Kelly called it “an impressive and moving rendition of the passion which qualifies as a hymn of reconciliation.” Father Kelly, who has reviewed over 30 Passion plays around the world, also lauded “No Greater Love” for its multicultural cast while noting that the play is free of the anti-Semitic overtones found in some other Passion plays.

The Xavier Company was founded in 1982 and is a unique group of performing artists in residence at St. Francis Xavier Church in New York City. The professionally trained actors, singers, and dancers perform original works focused on themes of faith and social justice. “No Greater Love” will return to the Cathedral in 2024, please contact the Cathedral for more information, newarkbasilica.org/nogreaterlove.