When I was young, my Catholic church told me salvation wasn’t something I had to earn—if I accepted Jesus, He would forgive me no matter who I was. Looking back, that message feels coded. The people who didn’t accept my queerness were safe from any wrath I willed into existence, and I had to believe in a church that didn’t believe in me. The kingdom of heaven awaited me only under a specific circumstance; unconditional love hinged on one condition. Still, there was a soothing quality to the message. All I had to do was surrender my anger with the world, my anger for myself, and I would be blessed.
I no longer attend the Catholic church, but I do attend the theater, where similar but different rituals are staged. From Tennessee Williams to today, the American theatre has long been a place for queer men like myself to grapple with their repressed pasts. But I’m not sure I’ve seen a play alternate so fluidly between religious fervor and repressed past like in Jordan E. Cooper’s play Oh Happy Day! now making its world premiere at Baltimore Center Stage, presented in association with New York’s Public Theater. Across two acts, Cooper wrestles with Christian faith, critiquing the church while still trying to surrender his anger with the world. It’s an earnest attempt to see how a queer man might achieve salvation within the church’s doctrine.
Oh Happy Day! begins with a chorus of three Black women (Latrice Pace, Tiya Askia, Courtney Monet) introducing themselves as The Divines. In sparkly fabulous outfits, they’re the “doulas of the afterlife,” there to guide the lost soul who’s recently been murdered. The Divines recede and we’re dropped into Laurel, Mississippi, where Niecy (Tamika Lawrence) is outside an aging house and cooking, much to the literal distaste of her son Kevin (Justin Sturgis) and her recently-unemployed father Lewis (James T. Alfred).
After some playful banter, the family grows silent when Keyshawn (played by Cooper himself) arrives in name brand, expensive clothes. To the family, their prodigal son has returned; for Keyshawn, he’s returning to the people who rejected him and broke his spirit. A confrontation occurs—but the Divines intervene with song, prompting Keyshawn to reconsider his actions and fight for a better relationship with his family. The show then unfolds in a liminal space between life and death, with Keyshawn struggling to make amends.
Cooper’s introduction to many theater audiences was Ain’t No Mo’, which had a short-lived but Tony-nominated run on Broadway in 2022. That show went all-in on a sketch comedy genre, filling it in with strange and specific details. Cooper now turns to the gospel musical genre, collaborating with composer Donald Lawrence to create musical show-stoppers. Director Stevie Walker-Webb embraces a flexible staging that’ll be familiar to Black Circuit audiences. Profane jokes go directly into Christian musings, songs wind their way from background music to belting, and cultural references abound. Even those not used to Black Circuit performances (or who don’t get the references) will feel the enveloping warmth the ensemble creates for itself.
Though Oh Happy Day! embraces some of the best qualities of gospel musicals, it also carries their pitfalls. The show loses track of its supporting cast, not giving sustained dramatic arcs for anyone beyond Keyshawn. Sturgis’ Kevin has hardly anything to do plot-wise, and The Divines’ presence onstage sometimes feels unmotivated, like they’re filling time before the next song.
This exacerbates a bigger problem with the show. Even though Keyshawn offers a surrogate for Cooper to grapple with faith and the Black community, we rarely feel completely on his side. It’s Keyshawn against the world, and onstage it’s a one vs. six person argument. Keyshawn would appreciate a character fighting on his side, and the show would be more compelling for it.
In performance, Cooper still commands the stage, and is great at displaying Keyshawn’s masked vulnerability. In key scenes, you can watch shame and pride wrestle across Cooper’s fluttering eyelids. The best section in the show is between Cooper and Lawrence, which shrewdly acknowledges the violent world of its characters without staging violence. Instead, we’re let in on a satisfyingly low-key sibling reunion. The beauty of the show’s naturalistic hangout made me wonder if Oh Happy Day! would benefit from less plot reveals, less supernatural intervention.
Watching Oh Happy Day! I was reminded of the other Black playwrights who’ve turned to somewhat autobiographical theatre when struggling with Black family. Two of them have won the Pulitzer Prize recently. In Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop, a queer Black man Usher weaponizes the gospel musical, staging a humiliating, homophobic choir; in James Ijames’ Fat Ham, a queer Black man Juicy enacts a Shakespearean drama, embodying Hamlet’s tortured soul at a barbecue.
Both A Strange Loop and Fat Ham embed their well-crafted family dramas in a subversive dramaturgy. Something similar occurs with Oh Happy Day!, but Cooper allows the family drama to take center stage. Perhaps what’s most subversive about the play is how closely it unironically mirrors a gospel musical. I bet Usher and Juicy’s families would feel the most at home watching Oh Happy Day! out of these three shows.
Oh Happy Day! might not be a full endorsement of Christian faith or the gospel musical—while the show is certainly religious, it’s too layered and conflicted to simply communicate one message. What I appreciate about Cooper's new play is that the show argues that grappling with your belief system is necessary for some kind of salvation (religious or not).
It was particularly moving when, like the Bible’s Job, Keyshawn starts ruthlessly criticizing God, asking why he’s caused so much suffering. “HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW THE GOD I’M TALKING ABOUT?” Cooper asked the audience. “CAN I GET AN AMEN?” An audience member behind me did actually say “Amen.” Cooper gave a critique of God that audiences could engage with on gospel musical terms.
It was affirming to know that even though I might not believe in the church anymore, the people around me in that theater believed in a character who was like me. The affirmation didn’t save me, but I did surrender to it anyway.
Oh Happy Day! is in performance at Baltimore, MD’s Baltimore Center Stage through October 20. For tickets and more information, visit here.
You might not know the name Michael Uslan but the work he has created has inspired multiple generations of comic book lovers. Adapted from Uslan’s memoir, Asa Somers has created The Boy Who Loved Batman which is now in performance at The Straz Center down in Tampa, Florida.
Directed by Jeff Calhoun, Dan Fogler leads the company as Uslan where we follow his live story from the streets of New Jersey to the Hollywood Hills. I recently caught up with Fogler to chat about how this story came to be, returning to the stage, and his hopes for the project.
Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Theatrely: So to start, tell me how you got involved with this project.
Fogler: Long story short, Michael Uslan came onto my podcast and I was interviewing him and he told me about this project and that they were developing his novel for the stage. I basically planted the seeds then and was like: hey man, if you ever, you know, put this on its feet, I would love to have a shot at maybe playing you or playing someone in it. And then a couple of months later, he called me up and said: Hey, we're actually doing this. Would you like to be a part of it?
That's amazing. Were you always a fan of Batman and comic books growing up?
Oh, yeah. I always loved comic books and drawing, and Batman specifically. I had so many Batman toys as a kid as well. Pictures of me as a kid with, like, Batman Underoos. And the TV show, the reruns are playing all the time. And then in my formative years, the movie came out, the Michael Keaton one, which had such a huge effect on me. And the animated series I loved. So yeah, Batman was just a huge part of my childhood.
What has that collaboration with Michael been like?
Michael's great. I mean, he's a teacher, you know, so we've been around and doing the press circuit and you see that he's good at the gift of gab. And he's been selling himself and Batman for decades now — so he's an expert at it. We went to Tampa Comic-Con to announce it and it was like the American dream come true. You know, a guy from New Jersey does okay for himself. And so we have a lot in common. I grew up in Brooklyn. I obviously love comic books as well. And so we got along pretty well. It has been a great fit.
Have you been wanting to get back to the stage?
Yeah, I miss it. I love it. That's where I come from, the theater. And I went to acting school for theater and I got my big break from Spelling Bee on Broadway. And I've had little moments where I was able to come back and do it, like I did Encores! A New Brain. I've been itching and I was like I hope something comes along that's right up my alley and this couldn't be more up my alley. I'm really excited to be a part of it and help it get to where it's going. Hopefully to Broadway or the West End. That's the plan!
Speaking of Spelling Bee for a minute, there is a new production at the Kennedy Center right now. What are your thoughts on this new life for this show?
Man, that's my American dream right there. Like, a bunch of kids; a ragtag crew got together and created this improv show about this spelling bee and we all created our characters. And so, you know, Mr. Barfée is this crazy 13 year old kid that I created and has gone on to live on. It just warms my heart, like being a kid who used to go to the theater growing up, my parents would take me and we would collect the Playbills. And, you know, it's like I'm part of that history now. It is so wonderful. I love all the different shapes and sizes of the interpretations of all the characters, wild it has been 20 years. I hope they break legs and I can't wait to see what they do with it.
Talk to me a little bit about collaborating with Jeff Calhoun and him as the director.
Jeff is great. He basically just got right into it so we were up on our feet day one. And he's got a real sense of the staging because I never leave the stage, really. So I'm basically just nonstop. And he's made it really fun to watch, it flows so nicely. This one act just zooms on by. I mean, it's like you're going to laugh, you're going to cry. You're going to root for Batman, you know? And. The fun part about Jeff is that he's just so musically sensed. So his timing is really funny and he has such an amazing vision.
When young folks come to see the show, what do you hope they take away?
Well, I think everyone knows who has a connection to Batman. In the zeitgeist, it's just there, you know? However they approach it, whether they're approaching it for the first time, they're going to learn this rich history of how this iconic character got and transformed and evolved over time to become this pervasive character that has almost, you know, surpassed Superman. It’s a really interesting and fascinating story, and there is a lot of pop culture in there. So if you are a Marvel fan or a Star Wars fan, or just in general, you are going to love it. I really hope people realize that this man, he should be up there with the greats. I hope this helps get his face on that Mount Rushmore of pop culture.
The Boy Who Loved Batman is now in performance at the Straz Center in Tampa, Florida. For tickets and more information, visit here.
It seems this Spring we will be in very good hands. Theatrely31 alum Kimberly Belflower will make her Broadway debut when her play John Proctor is the Villain premieres at the Booth Theatre directed by Danya Taymor. Sadie Sink, Broadway alum and star of Stranger Things will lead the cast of the new play which begins performances Thursday, March 20, 2025 at the Booth Theatre with an official opening night set for Monday, April 14.
At a high school in a rural town in Georgia, an English class is studying The Crucible, but the students are more preoccupied with navigating young love, sex ed, and a few school scandals. As they delve into the American classic, the students begin to question the play’s perspective and the validity of naming John Proctor the show’s hero. With deep wells of passion and biting humor, John Proctor is the Villain is a new comedy from a major new American voice, capturing a generation in mid-transformation, running on pop music, optimism, and fury, and discovering that their future is not bound by the past.
The creative team for John Proctor is the Villain will include scenic design by AMP featuring Teresa Williams, costume design by Sarah Laux, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Palmer Hefferan, projection design by Hannah Wasileski, movement direction by Tilly Evans-Krueger, intimacy coordination by Ann James, voice / dialect coaching by Gigi Buffington, and casting by Taylor Williams.
For more information, please visit www.johnproctoristhevillain.com.