What happens when a black church losing its older congregation needs to recruit new members? “Sanctified,” a new gospel musical comedy by Javon Johnson with original music by Rollo A. Dilworth, tells about the happy merger of a traditional choir and young recruits steeped in R&B and hip-hop. The show sets Lincoln Theatre afire through mid-November.
“I found the struggle between the older generation’s gospel tradition and youths who listen to current hits quite compelling and one many churchgoers can relate to,” Dilworth said, speaking from Philadelphia, where he is associate professor of choral music education at Temple University. “The first performance of the show was last year as part of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and it was repeated in Chicago early this year. I came aboard after that to compose new songs for slots in the script where music had to be inserted to make a comment on what just happened or what is about to occur.”
Dilworth, who is a member of ASCAP, MENC, ACDA and numerous other organizations for composers, choral directors and educators, recently premiered “Freedom’s Plow,” a commission from the St. Louis Symphony and In Unison Chorus. He based the choral-orchestral work on a Langston Hughes poem of the same title. His many musical scores of original works or arrangements of others are favorites of school, community and professional choirs. Composing the new songs for “Sanctified” was for him an exciting opportunity to blend the old with the new and to speak to the young generation sitting at his doorstep.
The traditional gospel songs in the show are familiar to churchgoers who learn at an early age to maintain the beat by stomping their feet, clapping or patting their hands at their sides. Dilworth believes the audiences will find his song “Sanctified” infectious, and he expects them to leave the theatre humming it. “A Miracle in Your Eyes” is another he is certain will reverberate in their heads long after the curtain falls.
The cast of 11 extraordinary area singers was discovered during an open casting call in August. The two leads, John McClure Jr. as Pastor Harold P. Jones and Mary Millben as Sister Pauletta Denise Jones, have performed professionally. McClure was a top five finalist on the second season of BET’s “Sunday Best,” and Millben has been a featured soloist at the White House and appeared locally in musicals at Arena Stage, Washington Savoyards and the Kennedy Center.
“The Lincoln Theatre is a wonderful venue for this musical because the atmosphere feels almost like a church with the pit in front and the small balcony,” Dilworth said. “I want the audience to go home excited by the blend of traditional and contemporary styles and the way the story shows the role of music in church and greater society. No matter what kind of style it is, music is a precious gift.”
