Ballroom culture is definitely having a moment. It’s the central element of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, heading to Broadway after its acclaimed downtown run last year. And it provides the impetus for the rousing finale of Saturday Church, the new musical adapted from the acclaimed 2017 indie film.
This theatrical version, co-written by the film’s screenwriter/director Damon Cardasis and Pulitzer Prize winner James Ijames (Fat Ham), has a lot of talent involved. The dance/house/gospel score features songs by Sia, either previously unrecorded or reworked versions of some of her album cuts, with additional music by Grammy winner Honey Dijon. There are no less than two Tony winners in the cast, J. Harrison Ghee and Joaquina Kalukango. And director Whitney White has staged such recent successes as Liberation, soon arriving on Broadway, and Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. (Although the less said about her most recent effort, the Broadway revival of The Last Five Years, the better).
Unfortunately, the musical adds up to less than the sum of its impressive parts. Ironically, considering the screenwriter was involved, the book turns out to be the weakest element. It revolves around the central character, Ulysses (Bryson Battle, a contestant on The Voice, who has one hell of one), who yearns to sing in his church choir. Unfortunately, his effeminate mannerisms and flamboyant gestures don’t fit in with the rest of the choristers. His Aunt Rose (Kalukango) advises him, “Cool it with the flouncing!” But his natural exuberance gets the best of him, and the conservative Pastor Lewis (Ghee) makes it clear that he doesn’t fit in.
But he does fit in at Saturday Church, a refuge for L.G.B.T.Q. people to worship their own way, where a large sign on the wall proclaims “Black Trans Lives Matter.” Ulysses learns about it from Raymond (Jackson Kanawha Perry), whom he meets on the subway. “It’s a place where people like us can be ourselves,” he tells him.
“I’m not…” Ulysses begins to say, before Raymond interrupts him: “Oh, you don’t know yet?”
When Ulysses first shows up at Saturday Church, he’s wearing a suit and tie, much to the amusement of its more outlandishly outfitted parishioners (costumes by Qween Jean). But the friendly members welcome him with open arms, and it isn’t long before he’s given an extensive make-up makeover. Ulysses also begins a romantic relationship with Raymond and begins the difficult process of coming out to his supportive widowed mother Amara (Kristolyn Lloyd) and his stern, homophobic aunt. Along the way, he’s finally allowed to showcase his impressive musical chops, delivered with the abandon that wouldn’t have been accepted at his former church.
The story feels familiar, in no small part due to the procession of similarly themed shows in recent years. Not to mention dialogue like, “Find your shoe, okay?” delivered as advice to Ulysses by Ebony (B Noel Thomas), the big-hearted Saturday Church leader who’s moving on after suffering a personal loss. Ulysses does eventually find his shoe, a glorious pair of high heels, which causes Aunt Rose no small amount of consternation.
But the musical proves entertaining anyway, thanks to the propulsive score, frequently accompanied by Darrell Grand Moultrie’s energetic choreography. While the lyrics are too obviously pop driven, often repetitive and failing to advance the story, it’s hard to mind too much because the music is so damn catchy.
Ghee’s character provides the most fun. No, not the serious-minded Pastor Lewis, but rather the actor’s other role, Black Jesus, who serves as the flamboyant host and narrator and who can only be described as “fabulous” and who provides the opportunity for the performer’s charisma and talent to be on full display.
Kalukango and Lloyd offer solid support, although their characters aren’t given much depth. And Battle, fresh from the Boston Conservatory and making his stage debut, displays such a powerful, emotive voice that you can overlook his tremulous performance.
There’s still work to be done, especially in terms of tightening and focusing, on the show which clearly has aspirations beyond off-Broadway. And if Cardasis and Ijames can reduce the material of some of its feel-good cliches, Saturday Church just might get there.
Saturday Church opened September 15, 2025, at New York Theatre Workshop and runs through October 19. Tickets and information: nytw.org
