A gay black NYU student heads off to Africa to help build a school only to come back transformed for life in Witness Uganda, Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews’ off-Broadway “Documentary Musical” thrillingly performed and excitingly restaged for L.A. audiences at Beverly Hills’ Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts.

 Don’t be put off by the adjective “documentary,” a term that calls up scholarly images far different from Witness Uganda’s exhilarating mix of drama, song, and dance.

“A Musical True Story” might better describe Matthews’ autobiographical tale, one that began fourteen years ago in New York City.

It was while pursuing a degree in Musical Theatre that Griffin (Jamar Williams) made the impulsive decision to head off for six weeks in Uganda, clueless to what awaited him in a land of rampant corruption and anti-gay violence.

 Then again, having been newly kicked out of his church choir when word of his sexuality got spread by a disgruntled ex (“A gay in the tenor section. Imagine!”) and despite the misgivings of his Caucasian roommate and childhood best friend Ryan (Emma Hunton), Griffin is in dire need of a life-outlook pick-me-up.

Perhaps not surprisingly, culture shock awaits Griffin from his arrival.

 Hunky village local Jacob (Kameron Richardson) seems more committed to having Jesus as his “lover” than in fulfilling that role for the instantly smitten Griffin.

Evem more disturbing are Jacob’s warnings not to trust the pastor for whom Griffin will be volunteering.

 And if that weren’t already enough to give the American pause, he soon finds himself “kidnapped” into to the hills by a quartet of youths (Jordan Barrow as Ronny, Dexter Darden as Ibrahim, NAÄRAI as Grace, and Sha’Leah Nikole Stubblefield as Eden) who offer him an unexpected path towards the salvation he’s come in search of.

As it becomes clear that the school Griffin has volunteered to help build may in fact be a front to put money into the pastor’s already presumably bulging pockets, our young hero comes in conflict with Jacob’s older sister Joy (Amber Iman), whose devotion to Pastor Jim may trump family loyalty where her brother is concerned.

More significantly, Griffin finds himself assuming the role of teacher to his four hitherto unschooled young friends, and before long Uganda Project begins to take shape.

 Witness Uganda doesn’t develop quite as satisfyingly as it would if it weren’t constrained by the truth, particularly where Griffin’s relationship with Jacob is concerned. Then again it wouldn’t have near the impact it achieves were it not a factual story with an ultimately uplifting ending.

Gould and Matthews’ dialog can at times prove more functional than inspired and their collaboration ends up stronger musically than lyrically, but what glorious songs they have created for Witness Uganda, a mix of pop and R&B and African rhythms and melodies, whether in powerhouse solos and duet or in full-cast harmonies that skyrocket to the heavens.

 Director Matthews (who played himself in the show’s earlier stagings) has wisely stripped Witness Uganda down to basics, eschewing the 2015 off-Broadway incarnation’s far more realistic proscenium set for an elongated, virtually bare black-box stage on either side of which the audience sits transfixed as his cast of thirteen (completed by triple-threat dynamos Antwone Barnes, Jai’Len Josey, ThurZday, and dance captain Keenan D. Washington along with power-piped, 12-times Grammy nominated Ledisi as The Rain Lady) work their magic, a staging that makes ingeniously mobile use of bare-bones set pieces (and even musical director Gould’s baby grand piano) and some colorful African props.

 Last but not least, Abdur-Rahim Jackson’s electrifying choreography may also be the most eclectic in town.

 Leading man Williams, who played Ibrahim in Witness Uganda’s earlier versions, makes for such an instantly likable, utterly real New Yorker (with the voice of an angel to boot) that it’s hard to imagine anyone else as Griffin, even Matthews himself.

 In the role she first created five years ago, Broadway vet Hunton shows off both the dramatic chops Angelinos discovered when Next To Normal played the Ahmanson and the vocal prowess of her recent wild-and-wacky turns at Rockwell.

Richardson’s dynamic, heartbreaking Jacob ignites abundant sparks opposite Williams, the stunning Iman takes Joy far beyond the villainess she initially appears to be, and Barrow, Darden, NAÄRAI, and Stubblefield create four absolutely distinct but equally charming Ugandan teens.

 Carlton Johnson’s colorful costumes, David Hernandez’s dramatic lighting, and Martín Carillo’s expert sound design complete Witness Uganda’s spare but striking production design, with Joel Alpers, Deon M. Hairston aka DeonThePocket, and Jonny Morrow joining keyboardist Gould in Witness Uganda’s bang-up band.

Sara Sahin is production stage manager and Shawna Voragen is assistant stage manager. Casting is by Binder Casting. Remy Kurs is music supervisor. Marc Jacob Chaitin is assistant director, CJ Tyson is assistant choreographer, and Cynthia Meng is assistant music director. Esther Nakamya is dialect coach and cultural consultant.

Inspiring and illuminating in equal measure, Witness Uganda proves there is light even in the darkest of places and hearts. Expect your spirit to soar.

Lovelace Studio Theatre, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills.
www.thewallis.org

–Steven Stanley
February 12, 2019
Photos: Kevin Parry

Tags: Griffin Matthews, Los Angeles Theater Review, Matt Gould, Wallis Annenberg Center For The Performing Arts