Review Roundup: What Did Critics Think of WITNESS UGANDA at Wallis Annenberg Center For Performing Arts?

WITNESS UGANDA, a documentary musical, opened at The Wallis in Los Angeles on February 6 and is running through February 23, 2019.

Devastated when his New York City church kicks him out for being gay, Griffin escapes across the world to volunteer in a small village. His "good intentions" are tested against the backdrop of an incurable epidemic, corruption and a dangerous abduction that leaves him questioning everything he has ever known. Witness Uganda is a groundbreaking documentary journey that expands the possibilities of the American musical.

WITNESS UGANDA, A DOCUMENTARY MUSICAL
February 5 - March 3, 2019
Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts
Lovelace Studio Theater
9390 N. Santa Monica Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Tickets: 310.746.4000 or www.TheWallis.org/Witness

Let's see what the critics had to say

Dany Margolies, San Gabriel Valley Tribune: The superb group vocals are crisp and thrilling (Jai'len Josey and Thurzday complete the vocal and dance ensemble, choreographed by Abdur-Rahim Jackson). Not so for some of the solos, particularly that from Ledisi, playing Rain Lady/Church Lady, who on opening night shouted and pitched a bit too much (popular with some audience members).

Margaret Gray, Los Angeles Times: I was especially taken by Amber Iman as Joy, Griffin's foil in the Ugandan compound where he lives, an intensely guarded woman who exerts a powerful menace. Like all the characters in "Witness Uganda," Joy is more complicated than she seems, and the solo in which she tells her story is, for me, one of the highlights of the evening.

Jill Weinlein, Onstage Blog: Choreography by Abdur-Rahim Jackson and directing by Griffin Matthews keeps the cast rhythmically moving their bodies in numerous scenes, including my favorite colorful basket dance in the Marketplace, and when Jacob sings "You have to do, what you have to do to survive." The "Resurrect people, not buildings" song is a moving number where the entire cast dance, sing and hold signs that read "End Prison Slavery", "Rainbow is the new Black" and "Stop Shooting Us."

Ellen Dostal, BroadwayWorld: Gould's score is a tantalizing mix of pop rock, African rhythms, power ballads, and percussive beats, and he definitely knows how to write a memorable hook. The songs create an impact with their overall style and sound, and it's easy for a lover of beautiful music to get swept away by their pop sensibility but for theatre that isn't enough. They need lyrics that will advance the action or engage us in the story. Otherwise we sit back instead of lean into the show. And yet, the beating heart of the piece is never in question.

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