The new off-Broadway musical, “The Church…A Hospital?” received such rave reviews after its Brooklyn preview, the producers have decided to do a second performance. Writer / producer / director John Andrews is pleased to announce that the play will have a reprise showing at the York College Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017 at 5 pm.
The play which is based on a book of the same name, also written by Andrews, is about the drama and issues that the modern church experiences. Nearly 20 cast members from Brooklyn and as far as Jamaica and Florida took part in the musical that showed a church member who was just diagnosed with cancer, the effects of gossip on the church, coping with infidelity in marriage and having children out of wedlock. Some stage enthusiasts have given it an eight out of 10. Others say it has fringes of an unplugged version of “The Book of Mormon.”
“I enjoyed the play tremendously,” said Judith Douglas, a real estate agent and a church member from Brooklyn.
“The gossiping [in the play] shows a side of reality in the church. I’ve learned that we as Christians cannot allow the issues within the church to overtake our relationship with God. If you want to stop the gossiping, you can, just like the character did. When she Sister Bev realized how far God has brought her, she sang ‘I Won’t Move’ and she made a change for the better. A lot of people can relate to that.”
Andrews said the premise of the play is to show that we all make mistakes; but, he wants the play to inspire Christians to focus on building up one another and establish a genuine relationship with Jesus.
“I believe if people were trying to create a little heaven down here. People would just flock to church. People tend to shy away from church folks … who are not of service to the local community and to others. We [church folk] tend to tell people how much we know, instead of how much we care.”
Andrews, who lives in Brooklyn and is originally from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has been working in the entertainment industry since 1996. His acting credits include the film “John Q” starring Denzel Washington and several national commercials and music videos. He also has multiple novels which are headed to the big screen.
The first run of the play was performed at Tigna’s Hall of Cornerstone Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brooklyn on May 7 to a crowd of over 125 people. Companies such as Golden Krust Bakery, Barone Funeral Home, clothing store MOSHOOD and other Brooklyn businesses sponsored the event.
Andrews and co-producer Michael W. Reid could be on their way to becoming the next Tyler Perry with this musical that will make you laugh, cry and most of all get your praise on.
For more information about this play and sponsorship opportunities you can contact, John Andrews via e-mail: John@
