Posted: 9/1/25 at 11:36pm
RUkiddingme said: "i bet the marketing team didn't think the discussion on this show would dissolve to earplugs one week into the run! LOL"
LOL plus a cue to Patti LuPone
Posted: 9/2/25 at 9:10am
RUkiddingme said: "i bet the marketing team didn't think the discussion on this show would dissolve to earplugs one week into the run! LOL"
I assure you that the producers care more than the marketing team lollll.
Posted: 9/2/25 at 9:18am
uncageg said: "iluvtheatertrash said: "Thanks for the tip. I’ve always worried it would mean I couldnt make out lyrics, but I’ll give it a try."
There are so many types and brands to choose from. My job offers the 3M 1100 foam plugs. A lot of people don't like them. They keep popping out. However they still allow you to hear everything, just muted.
"
I’d also really recommend Loops; they’re designed to sit in your ear pretty comfortably, nothing at all like the foam plugs. Unless you’re swinging your head around, they should stay put with minimal effort.
Posted: 9/2/25 at 1:46pm
spicemonkey said: "RUkiddingme said: "i bet the marketing team didn't think the discussion on this show would dissolve to earplugs one week into the run! LOL"
LOL plus a cue to Patti LuPone"
LOL 😂 Sorry!!!! I am not meaning to sound like Patti though promise! Let it be loud, I just need to prepare :)
Posted: 9/2/25 at 1:47pm
thanks for the tips, all! Loops ordered.
Posted: 9/2/25 at 10:10pm
Listen. If they scrap the book and the score, they might have something…
I like the original movie, but this is bad. It’s just bad. I think we CAN still have coming out stories. Especially when they center perspectives different than the ones that have been most covered. But the writing is inept, and the music doesn’t move the plot forward even a millimeter.
Joaquina Kalukango acts her face off as Aunt Rose, the only character to have what can even be considered to be a narrative arc, but you can’t spin gold out of nothing.
So many people involved have done great work elsewhere, but this is unsalvageable.
Posted: 9/2/25 at 10:22pm
It also lacks pizzazz. The audience was hungry for more big numbers, more ballroom, more sassy one lines. If they can get Michael R Jackson to do that book and lyrics, I think they’d have something. And a new director of course
Posted: 9/2/25 at 11:45pm
Has potential. Needs a LOT of work. Pretty much everything I think has already been mentioned. One book thing that drove me nuts:
I kept expecting there to be some connection between Sasha (Ebony's dead friend) and Ulysses's dad. The book is screaming that there's some big reveal. But it never goes anywhere.
I don't actually want there to be a connection -- that would be even more trivial that the current state. But the book structure kept me trying to find parallels between Saturday Church and Sunday Church.
Posted: 9/2/25 at 11:54pm
Birdie Boy said: "If they can get Michael R Jackson to do that book and lyrics, I think they’d have something. And a new director of course"
So you're suggesting that they should completely start from scratch with only the melodies and the general storyline from the film in place...?
The theatre world does not work like that, 99.5 percent of the time. And the .5% of the time when that does happen, the end results usually aren't that good...FINDING NEVERLAND, LITTLE WOMEN, BEACHES, etc.
Posted: 9/3/25 at 12:08am
Yes that is exactly what I’m suggesting. I mean, maybe they can salvage it, but it’s all just so amateur, horrible book, no depth whatsoever. Maybe James Ijames can fix it, but Whitney White has proven herself to be really bad at musicals. Bare minimum, they need a new director for sure.
Kurtal, I think the connection between the two churches was the idea of grievance and family. We see Ebony and Kristolyn Lloyd characters both mothers and both dealing with loss.
Posted: 9/5/25 at 10:12pm
I saw this tonight and it was enjoyable. The cast is just phenomenal. All of them. The book has its issues but the show is a fun night out.
Posted: 9/7/25 at 11:28pm
Apparently yesterday's show was canceled because Bryson Battle is sick--i dont know if there was a matinee today, so I dont know if I saw Fernell Hogan's first or second performance tonight. He was a standout ensemble member in Kimberly Akimbo because he has such a sweet charisma to him, and that served him very well tonight- a beautiful performance that was shaky only at the very end when he came out with a mini binder in hand for the last scenes with his mom at the ball. A huge kudos to him for such what seems like a semi last minute lead turn. He did great (and got no recognition at the end, just a warning at the beginning- seems unfair). If Battle struggled with the acting (and the role calls for quite a bit), Hogan definitely did not.
I obviously dont know Battle's performance, and I assume his vocals are other worldly, where as Hogan's are just damn good. That hurts the show- because His Voice is a plot point, but tonight I thought the actors around Hogan (Jackson Perry and B Noel Thomas especially) sang just as magically, and more powerfully than he did. So the opening scenes with Hogan were beautiful, for lack of a better word, but as it became clear that Ulysses has The Voice of A Generation or something, it made a bit less sense.
But thats ok, because the show makes no sense. As others have pointed out, the music is real solid, lots of bangers, well sung and well danced and well mixed. Lots of moments-- J Harrison Ghee can do no wrong, and they are in top form again here. But the show makes no sense, i dont know how else to put it. I dont think any of this can be considered spoilers since you all know the plot already: a kid wants to come out but his family (just one family member really) is religious. he finds family in at some sort of community center run by lovable queer archetypes. not a single twist or turn.
but along the way, the writers were high, apparently. i could list a slew of scenes that make no sense but my favorite is that B Noel Thomas' character spends the entire show "leaving" the Saturday Church, but is in every single, and i mean every single, scene there. They have no paying job but pop up on the subway with Bergdorf bags full of new swag. Ulysses' mom takes a total back seat to her sister in law in raising her son for reasons not explored, so the main tension is between a sexually struggling teen and his....stern aunt? Theres a completely undeveloped sexual encounter that comes out of nowhere and then is dropped almost immediately. Ulysses runs away from home, fine, but no one knows where he is for days--not only do WE not know where he goes, there is no explanation as to why he doesnt run to the community center that he found his second family in?
And the wacky book is ALSO poorly written with uncomfortably leaden dialogue and minimal spoken build-up to get into the =songs. Kristollyn Lloyd is a busy mom who misses her husband. Kalukango is a stern church lady who gives up decades of closemindedness in 3 minutes. There are sassy trans sidekicks. A bland pastor and Black Jesus (and again, Ghee is magnificent as the latter, all THOSE scenes pop).
But kudos to Sia and the production team because just as the shows about to collapse they bring out some awesome numbers--i loved the texting between Ulysses and his love interest, I loved the boy band with Ghee joining in. Those early poignant numbers for Ulysses grab you and theres a song in the first act (which is much stronger than the second) that B Noel Thomas sends to the heavens. I had fun, and found myself gobsmacked that they couldnt find someone to write/direct some core material coherently.
Updated On: 9/7/25 at 11:28 PM
Posted: 9/7/25 at 11:33pm
Bought a ticket to this based on the online raves for the first previews. Saw it today and understand both the raves and the pans, even though my response wasn't as extreme on either end. I'm not sorry I saw it, but also think I could have easily missed it, at least in its current form.
An understudy, Fernell Hogan, was on for the younger male lead, and I thought he was excellent. For the most part I completely forgot he was the understudy and wouldn't have suspected. In the later scenes when he returned home from living on the streets for a week, I noticed he was carrying a notebook and did wonder why he'd held on to it when he'd lost everything else. It took far too long (until the next/final scene when he was in his gown and still carrying it) to realize, "Oh right. That's not the character's. That's so the understudy has the lines."
But most of the performances were terrific, and the show is generally very likeable. I get why some have responded to it, because it is a crowd pleaser in a lot of ways. But it's also very rough and very much a work in progress...that needs a lot of work. As has been said, the book is the biggest problem. The secondary plotline with the character whose friend ended her life kind of lurches along and is not well-integrated with the main one. There's a least one stretch that went a long time between songs and I thought, "This is a musical, right?" I didn't think it was clear what Saturday Church really was--just a group of people getting together in this space on a Saturday night? There's nothing else in that space the rest of the time, or is it like a community center where there are people there on other days (and if so...why couldn't he go there for help during the homelessness section)? But everything when the story took its dark turn felt messy--the prostitution section felt poorly motivated, weirdly staged, and lasted about a minute so seemed weirdly insignificant. (Also weirdly staged: the early beating in the subway (I guess?) where he's praying...while being beaten? And they're all just kind of flailing around? There was another choreographed group number late, I think during the homelessness section, where I was like, "This is a mess." ) Aunt Rose's turnaround also felt too pat and easy, forced to get a feel-good ending when it would have been just as feel good if she hadn't changed, the characters had told her off and said they didn't give an f what she thought, and she went the hell away, with no one giving a damn about her anymore.
That likely sounds more negative than I intended. I did enjoy most of the cast, the show passed easily enough, the musical numbers were fun, and it is very likeable. It just needs a lot of work to get to actually being good. (Not that other not-very-good-but-very-likeable shows haven't succeeded just fine before...)
Updated On: 9/7/25 at 11:33 PM
Posted: 9/8/25 at 8:00am
Having seen the second preview, and then last night, I can attest there have been A LOT of changes to both the book, blocking, some new costumes, and score - mostly for the better.
Fernell was actually pretty fantastic given that he only had a put in yesterday. His acting was remarkably more believable than Bryson (although I saw Bryson when the show was still early in the run and therefore fundamentally different) and he was perfectly in sync with both Kristolyn as his mother and Joaquina as his aunt - which was a plot line that needed some fixing - as well as B. Noel as Ebony. He only needed the book for a little segment at the end, but considering how vocally and physically complicated the show can be, he slayed. Also, J. Harrison Ghee is a damn National treasure.
The book remains an issue and, while quite a few plot lines were fixed and the flow was somewhat better, the fixes are primarily bandages when they need sutures. Overall, it feels like it hovers in the space between KINKY BOOTS and season one of POSE. It’s not quite as family-friendly as the former, but never quite as gritty/dark as the latter could be.
FYI - for those who want to see it on a budget, there is an active discount code from The Phluid Project valid for the 30% off the entire run - the code is PHLUID
Posted: 9/8/25 at 9:54am
Also, I had to shush a group of people behind me last night because they were talking through almost the entire show, including during the quieter, more serious moments. I got called a “stupid ass ho”.
Come to find out later that it was ballroom House of Juicy Couture who came out to support some of their house members in the cast, but seemed to act like it was the JELLICLE BALL the whole time.
Posted: 9/8/25 at 10:29am
quizking101 said: "Also, I had to shush a group of people behind me last night because they were talking through almost the entire show, including during the quieter, more serious moments. I got called a “stupid ass ho”.
Come to find out later that it was ballroom House of Juicy Couture who came out to support some of their house members in the cast, but seemed to act like it was the JELLICLE BALL the whole time."
I thought that was you in the front row, but thought it was the woman beside you who shushed them and was called the stupid ass ho. This...kind of makes it funnier. 😂 (Sorry.)
Posted: 9/8/25 at 11:51am
MemorableUserName said: "quizking101 said: "Also, I had to shush a group of people behind me last night because they were talking through almost the entire show, including during the quieter, more serious moments. I got called a “stupid ass ho”.
Come to find out later that it was ballroom House of Juicy Couture who came out to support some of their house members in the cast, but seemed to act like it was the JELLICLE BALL the whole time."
I thought that was you in the front row, but thought it was the woman beside you who shushed them and was called the stupid ass ho. This...kind of makes it funnier. 😂 (Sorry.)
"
I usually extend grace to a certain extent because everyone has the ability to react to art, but they were just running their mouths and cracking jokes and the final straw was that they were laughing at the “mashed potatoes and peas” that were served for dinner right as Joaquina was going into her emotional start of “Five Minutes Away”
Posted: 9/10/25 at 9:41am
How a Musical Put House, Gospel and ‘Noisy Singers’ Together
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/theater/saturday-church-off-broadway-sia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.k08.quaV.mf5rBKxqxAxf&smid=nytcore-android-share
Posted: 9/10/25 at 3:34pm
FYI - They’ve extended to October 19th
Posted: 9/10/25 at 11:01pm
quizking101 said: "Also, I had to shush a group of people behind me last night because they were talking through almost the entire show, including during the quieter, more serious moments. I got called a “stupid ass ho”.
Come to find out later that it was ballroom House of Juicy Couture who came out to support some of their house members in the cast, but seemed to act like it was the JELLICLE BALL the whole time."
They were insufferable on Sunday night. Held up huge phones to film various sections of the show and talked loudly throughout. I thought Joaquina was going to have to restart that number when they yelled at random words as she started to sing. There wasnt an usher in sight.
Posted: 9/12/25 at 11:22pm
I saw it tonight and overall thought it was fine. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. My friend looooved it and said “what’s wrong with you??” when I kind of shrugged at intermission. Cast here is all great - that Bryson Battle has one HELL of a voice!
But most of this script would have been cliche in 1995. If you’ve ever seen a queer movie or play from the 90s, you know exactly what’ll happen in this, there’s zero surprises. They do try to cover that up with a loud score (and i don’t mean that in a bad way, I really liked the club feel to a lot of it) and some good one-liners but the book is WEAK.
I’m glad I saw it though, I love Joaquina (please god get her a better role next time) and Ghee I got to discover the great Bryson Battle. And like I said, I had a decent enough time but it’s not something I’ll have a desire to see again.
Posted: 9/19/25 at 9:30pm
NY Stage Review
Saturday Church: A Reverent Musical of the Flamboyant Kind
By Frank Scheck
September 19, 2025
★★★☆☆ Tony winners J. Harrison Ghee and Joaquina Kalukango are among the ensemble of this musical adapted from the 2017 indie film, featuring music by pop star Sia.
"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. "
Vulture
It’s a Queen Thing, in Saturday Church and Galas
Productions that aim for queer inspiration and camp.
"The musical has its eye on the ecstatic, and the heavily amplified production directed by Whitney White certainly delivers vocal fireworks. But it’s missing what the genre of musical theater itself ought to provide, which is specificity — a sense of the universal by way of the particular. A song shouldn’t just stay on the register of the broadest possible emotion, and a character shouldn’t just stand in for a type."
Posted: 9/19/25 at 9:34pm
Daily Beast
The Fabulous ‘Black Jesus’ Taking New York by Storm
TAKE ME TO CHURCH
The first openly non-binary performer to win the Tony for Best Leading Actor in a Musical is back in a big way in “Saturday Church.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/saturday-church-review-the-fabulous-black-jesus-taking-new-york-by-storm
Updated On: 9/19/25 at 09:34 PM
Posted: 9/20/25 at 12:34am
PipingHotPiccolo said: "quizking101 said: "Also, I had to shush a group of people behind me last night because they were talking through almost the entire show, including during the quieter, more serious moments. I got called a “stupid ass ho”.
Come to find out later that it was ballroom House of Juicy Couture who came out to support some of their house members in the cast, but seemed to act like it was the JELLICLE BALL the whole time."
They were insufferable on Sunday night. Held up huge phones to film various sections of the show and talked loudly throughout. I thought Joaquina was going to have to restart that number when they yelled at random words as she started to sing. There wasnt an usher in sight."
Seriously!? With that said, this is so not for us. No thank you.
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