Saturday Church @ New York Theatre Workshop

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The Play: Saturday Church; a jukebox musical adaptation of the 2017 indie film about a teen torn between his devotion to the traditional church he grew up in and his desire to explore his gay identity in a weekly support group for LGBTQ+ youth 

Book & Additional Lyrics by: Damon Cardasis and James Ijames  Music by: Sia, with additional music by Honey Dijon        Directed by: Whitney White

One good thing: Newcomer Bryson Battle, a recent finalist on TV’s “The Voice,”  brings great vocals and an appealing sweetness to the role of the conflicted teen but the show’s MVP is J. Harrison Ghee, who even more than in their Tony-winning performance in Some Like it Hot radiates true star power in the dual roles of a conservative minister and the boy’s high-heeled and fabulously-dressed guardian angel whom the show calls Black Jesus

One not-so-great thing: In its effort to celebrate queer joy and to be inclusive, the sketchy book tries to cram in far too many storylines and fails to fully develop its most essential characters

 

 


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