Saturday Church – 14 September 2025

Saturday Church is a thrilling new musical about unapologetically being your authentic self. Unlike many solely uplifting artistic renderings of a coming out story, Saturday Church presents both sides of the coin and realistically includes turning tricks, running away from home, and the difficulty of wanting to survive in the wake of great loss. Despite the seriousness of some of its content, Saturday Church maintains an upbeat vibe that pulsates through the audience as it celebrates queer identities—even in the face of adversity and pain.

One of the most magnetic elements of this show were the new voices gracing the stage, particularly in Bryson Battle (playing Ulysses) and B Noel Thomas (playing Ebony), who rounded out a star studded cast including theatre giants like Joaquina Kalukango (playing Aunt Rose), J. Harrison Ghee (playing Black Jesus/Pastor Lewis), and Kristolyn Lloyd (playing Amara). Each of these performers can command a room in a fierce leading role—it was truly special to see them all share center stage instead of fight for it. They each had their truly magnificent solo moments, but there was no attempt to upstage each other. The importance of this story was steeped in all of them, and it was really beautiful to see the deep collaboration taking place in real time.

Design elements met if not exceeded the high bar set by performances—in particular, Qween Jean’s costume designs were inspired and inspiring. Every costume contained something personal to the character and was tailored to make each unique body look flawless onstage. Adam Honore’s lighting was beautiful, particularly in moments where it pulsated with the beat of the music in looks where half of someone’s body was lit from one direction and the other half lit from another direction. Lighting was a key factor not only in scenes with characters who were onstage, but also in moments of transition. David Zinn’s set was understandably simple given the space, and having lighting be such a large part of transitions was helpful to keep the momentum of the show going. Gareth Owen created sound that you can feel coursing through your seats, particularly in moments with heavy choreography (Darrell Grand Moultrie).

Saturday Church had one of the best books (Damon Cardasis, James Ijames) of any show I’ve seen in a while, and the book interwove its way between the songs with flawless dignity and grace. The continuity was beautiful—and so rare in a production with so many high profile collaborators. The story flowed seamlessly through the entire production in one of director Whitney White’s best moments since Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. There was one unanswered question that left me puzzled, however. How old was the protagonist, Ulysses, supposed to be? They called him a “boy” and a “child” but Bryson Battle carried himself with a maturity that seemed older than high school. I was also disappointed that he was never seen in a choir robe, as that would have truly been the ultimate symbol of Aunt Rose’s acceptance. I also felt that there might have been an implication that Sasha, the deceased partner Ebony was mourning and the father who Ulysses lost around the same time might have been the same person, and, though I understand it would have been hard for that not to feel contrived, I was surprised that Saturday Church never fully went there to bridge the gap between both of Ulysses’s families. On the other hand, not having that link connected shows a willingness from both sides to do the work to support Ulysses and a willingness to put in effort to understand life styles that are as different as different can be.

Sia’s music was quite moving and, at times, haunting in the moment, yet after the show I struggled to distinguish one song from another. The music played it safe for the sake of continuity and to add a murkiness to the passage of time; the lyrics were bold and beautiful—at times literal, at times metaphorical, and, at all times, breathtaking. Everyone’s voices uplifted this production in ways that transcend words. Saturday Church is a beautiful reminder that this world is ephemeral—do not underestimate the importance of loving one another in the time we have here.

I attended this performance on a press pass from Print Shop PR.