Bryson Battle and Joaquina Kalukango Are Finding The Community In SATURDAY CHURCH

We all know that lots of things can happen on the New York City subway, but can you find God? Or family? 

When Ulysses, a New York City kid, is introduced to the world of Saturday Church, an LGBTQ+ youth sanctuary, he is caught between two worlds. The musical, which plays at New York Theatre Workshop this fall, asks, “is faith only for the Holy?” and, more importantly, “are there any queens in the house?!”

Theatrely caught up with Bryson Battle, who plays Ulysses, and Tony Award winner Joaquina Kalukango, to talk about the production, Battle’s time at the Jimmy Awards, and the importance of developing original work. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Theatrely: To kick things off. I guess how have your summers been? Tell me everything.

Battle: Oh my goodness, summer has been kind of a whirlwind. I just graduated from Berklee in Boston, so to have just freshly graduated and to be moving to the city to start this show, it's been kind of crazy. Being in the swing of rehearsals and all of that, it's been a whirlwind, but in the best way.

Kalukango: For me, it's been really fun. My son graduated, well, he finished second grade. And so as a gift, because he got straight As, I allowed him to perform with me at 54 below.

Battle: Aww!

Kalukango: And so he made his little 54 Below debut in New York, and it was the cutest thing ever. Then of course we started this beautiful process of the show, Saturday Church. And it has been such a light and joy to rehearse and figure out this material with such incredible human beings every day. In light of everything that's happening in the world, it’s just been a really beautiful, loving space to be in this summer.

Battle: What did y'all sing?

Kalukango: We sang “I’ll Be There” as a duet.

Battle: That’s so cute! 

That’s absolutely perfect, I love it. For the show, tell me about how you each got involved in this project.

Battle: I have been doing the workshops for this show for almost two years. I went in for the first time, I think my junior year, and they just kept asking me to come back. One time they were like, “can you record some of the demos for the music?” I just kept being asked to come and I was like, “oh, I think they like me.” I got my formal offer to do this show, the first production of it, and here we are.

Kalukango: For me, I got an email from my agents with the script and some of the tracks and I read the script, and I was like, “oh, this could be interesting.” I'm really excited about developing new work, so reading the script I was like, “this is a beautiful show, let's see what we are working with these characters.” And then my first experience, and this happened this year, was the workshop with everybody. And I was like, “what did I just get into?” Everybody was singing their faces off, acting their faces off! It was just such a beautiful experience. So I was, like, oh, I'm in, let's go. Let's do this. Let's figure out this show and let's share it with the world.

Why do you find developing original work so important, especially these days?

Kalukango: For me, honestly, it's putting your stamp on something. Nobody's ever touched it. It’s the most collaborative, I feel like it's the most freeing experience I have as an artist, because you're really in there, in the trenches every day, pulling from the air, trying to form a life that is human, that is real, that is truthful in these moments. And we need everybody — every single person in the room — to make it happen. For me, the joy comes in the collaborative process of creating new work where you really feel involved and you really have ownership over these characters and these people and these lives.

Battle: I love that. Echoing everything that Joaquina said, but in addition to, I think developing new work gives you so much opportunity for interpretation and for all of these individuals to bring themselves to these characters and for that to be what becomes the standard for a show. That is so impactful, especially when we talk about representation in theatre and this show specifically being such a beautiful range of people and that being who we're collaborating with in the creation of these characters and the development of these songs and just the overall creation of this piece. I think in the origination of this show being able to create the representation that we want to see is what makes it super duper impactful for me.

Bryson, you've mentioned coming straight out of school. We at Theatrely are, of course, big fans of the Jimmys. Can you talk about this journey for you from Jimmy's to Berklee to this?

Battle: It’s wild. I think after I won the Jimmy Award, I kind of expected a lot and. It was a really hard time because I had the COVID year of the Jimmy Awards, so it was virtual. I didn't really get the full full experience of the Jimmy Awards, so all of my all the things that I kind of expected to come post the Jimmy Awards were kind of skewed in a way. But in a way I wouldn't change that experience because I think it's made me the performer that I am today. And I'm so grateful to be where I'm today. Even just going back to the question you asked us earlier, I don't know if I would be in a room as loving and supportive and as open if things had gone a different way. To be at the helm of this show and to be leading the show, it’s wild. I don't know where I would be without my Jimmy Awards experience, without my college experience, getting to learn all that I did. My journey has just been, it's not what I expected, but I'm so grateful for it. 

While we're in a reflective space, when each of you look back on this process, say five, 10, 20 years from now, what do you most hope that you'll remember about this particular experience?

Battle: I really hope to remember the freedom that I associate with this project. I think when I first came in, I was really nervous because I saw all of the names attached to this project and I was like, “oh my goodness, this is a very high profile piece of theatre that I could be a part of.” As soon as I walked in, Whitney White — our fabulous, wonderful, amazing director — just made me feel like I was at home and made me feel like I couldn't make a wrong choice. Jason Michael Webb, who alongside Luke Solomon is doing our music, as someone who identifies really strongly as being a singer, they made me feel like there were no wrong choices. I think that feeling of being comfortable and being able to just be and allow your artistry to flourish, that is something that I hope I remember and keep with me always. I think that is super duper important and a huge lesson that I've learned from this project and this space.

Kalukango: I think for me, it’s the sense of community and family that feels really strong. I think that's a part of this story as well: finding the spaces that feel like family, that feel love, where people accept you and love you. That’s very strong here. It's so hard in this industry to take that in; every room is not like that. I'm gonna hold that dear to my heart.

I'm curious when young folks come out to see the show, what do you hope that they will take away from it?

Kalukango: That's for you, Bryce.

Battle: No, girl, you can answer too.

Kalukango: I’m not young!

Battle: Haha no! I hope the young people coming to see this show feel represented. I hope that they walk away feeling like theatre is moving in a positive direction. I think this show is doing a lot in terms of the messaging that it's trying to tell and who is on stage and what stories each of the individuals on stage is trying to tell. It's wild in just the conversations that our director has. She's like, “no one is doing this. No one is putting these stories on stage.” And to be a part of Gen. Z and to be leading this story, I really hope that it resonates that theatre is moving in the right direction.

Kalukango: That's the answer.

If you guys have a rogue day off, is there anything else this fall season that you're looking forward to seeing?

Battle: Maybe Happy Ending. I love seeing a show on my day off, but our day off is Monday, so most of the other shows are dark. 

Kalukango: I'm excited about Oh, Happy Day at the Public coming up. And I want to see Ragtime because I missed it at New York City Center. So those are my two that I have to see at some point.

Theatrely’s 2025 Fall Preview is sponsored by Stage Door Pass. Track the shows you see and share your experience. To learn more, visit here.