Get ‘Sanctified’ at Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre (Sun., 3/23/25)

SANCTIFIED (musical comedy). Book by Javon Johnson, music by Rollo A. Dilworth. Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company. Through March 30. 

An acclaimed musical comedy is getting its Pittsburgh premiere, and it’s not one of the big-name shows brought in by a touring company. Sanctified is being given a full-up local production by Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company. The musical has won delighted reviews in other cities, and it’s built around an unusual but fertile subject: what can happen when a struggling traditional church tries to change with the times. The setting is an African-American Baptist congregation that’s been losing members to glitzy megachurches. In comes a new pastor, who aims to ignite a revival. The plan includes updating the choir music. But that will mean changing how gospel hymns have always been sung. And it means dealing with characters who come across like a cross-section of the human comedy. They range from opinionated church ladies to the bourbon-pickled organist, a self-righteous deacon, teenagers with their own hippity-hop ideas, and more. Sanctified—by playwright Javon Johnson, with music by Rollo A. Dilworth—has been praised for two reasons. It’s a hoot-inducing but sensitive saga of people caught up in change. And, it delivers a rousing trip through the evolution of gospel music. Visit PPTCo on the web for tickets. In the company’s Madison Arts Center. 7:30 p.m. 3401 Milwaukee St., Upper Hill District. (M.V.)

Share on Social Media