In SATURDAY CHURCH, We Are All Looking For Community — Review

A potent, powerful question of split identity sits at the heart of Saturday Church, the insistently joyous new musical opening tonight at New York Theatre Workshop. But to explore that question legibly, composer/lyricist Sia and a buzzy creative team will first need to resolve the confused identity of this fitfully successful production as a whole. 

Featuring music and lyrics by the Australian pop icon (best known for top ten hits “Chandelier” and “Cheap Thrills”), Saturday Church draws upon Damon Cardasis’ 2017 film of the same name about a West Village shelter and outreach program for LGBTQ+ youth. The story follows Ulysses (Bryson Battle), a talented young singer reeling from his father’s death, who finds himself caught between the queer-positive space of Saturday Church and his faith-based upbringing. 

A veritable dream team has been assembled to bring Church story to the stage, including Tony-nominated director Whitney White, Pulitzer-winning book writer James Ijames and skilled choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie. Additional music comes from legendary DJ and musician Honey Dijon, complementing work sourced from Sia’s catalog (much of it previously unreleased). 

The result is a mess, albeit a highly polished one. Saturday Church is gorgeously sung by a high-wattage cast packed with immense talent. Moultrie’s movement work is thrilling, and has been brought to life by a dazzling, take-no-prisoners ensemble. And as arranged and orchestrated by Jason Michael Webb & Luke Solomon, Sia and Dijon’s spirited score is frequently exhilarating. 

At no point, however, is that score narratively propulsive. This is probably because Sia wrote none of her music specifically for this show, instead providing existing material to be re-conceived around gospel and R&B inspirations. So, it’s no shocker that most numbers have a forced, jukebox-y feel—when the flirtations of Ulysses and his love interest Raymond (Jackson Kanawha Perry) segue directly into “House on Fire,” it’s hardly a natural transition. 

Ijames and Cardasis, who co-writes the book, also struggle to naturally transpose Cardasis’ screenplay to the stage. On Ulysses’ side of the story, his stifling Aunt Rose (Joaquina Kalukango) and distracted mother Amara (Kristolyn Lloyd) must share narrative real estate; Lloyd has little to do, and the two characters could reasonably be combined into one. At the church, three wonderful performers—B Noel Thomas, Caleb Quezon and Anania—all demand our attention, and each deserves more to work with. 

That trio, house mother Ebony and found children Dijon and Heaven, seem deserving of their own musical entirely. Which points to a larger issue with Saturday Church, and a tricky one: is it telling the right story? Battle is sweetly open-hearted as our protagonist, and his voice is astonishing. But Ulysses’ youthful coming out narrative feels like well-trod territory. And when the show does dig deeper, as when Ulysses stumbles down a darker path after running away from home, it does not ring true—Ulysses’ home life never feels harsh enough that he would resort to life on the street. 

Might the lives of the Saturday Church trio have made for a fresher, more surprising story? It’s hard, of course, to ask a show to be something that it’s not. Still, we're in a moment of unprecedented attack on trans and non-binary existence, worsening by the day. Certainly Saturday Church allows multiple trans and non-binary performers the opportunity to shine, and shine they do. But they are not centered in this narrative (in fact, the word “trans” is only uttered once in the whole evening). 

Then again, it’s not all about words. The invaluable J. Harrison Ghee embodies gender nonconforming excellence in the dual roles of Black Jesus and Pastor Lewis, two radically distinct characters both given warmth and soul. Quezon and Anania are a riotously funny duo, while Thomas is a quietly powerful presence. 

“Quiet” is not otherwise an apt descriptor for Saturday Church—nor should it be. The show is at its best as a loud and unapologetic celebration. Where it stumbles, ultimately, is in making room for the nuance and care its characters so palpably demand. Amidst it all, White has correctly identified Ulysses’ divided spiritual identity as the story’s beating heart. But a lot of pieces will need rearranging before his odyssey can sing clearly.

Saturday Church is now in performance through October 19, 2025 at New York Theatre Workshop on East 4th Street in New York City. For tickets and information, visit here.