About the Play
Last season’s Off-Broadway hit, becomes this season’s holiday sensation. The Ensemble Theatre presents the Houston premiere of A Pure Gospel Christmas, a festive musical entertainment celebrating the holidays. In the play, a Baptist church discovers the true meaning of Christmas and gets the audience in the act of a ‘pure’ crowd-pleaser, which features a score of gospel music and other holiday favorites. Guest directors, Leslie Dockery and David A. Tobin, bring their New York sensation to Houston with a dynamic cast of favorites headed by Tony Glover and Willie Sharpe. Audiences will get swept into the hand-clapping and outpouring of joy from The Ensemble Mainstage.

A Conversation with the Creators
Leslie Dockery & David A. Tobin

Q: What is ‘A Pure Gospel Christmas’?

David: ‘Pure Gospel’ is what so many people already know! The church, the people, the songs and spirit are things you know and I was blessed to experience growing up in a church family.

Leslie: In ‘Pure Gospel’ the challenge is great! How to fuse ‘traditional theatre’ with the improvisational nature of gospel music.

Q: What inspired the creation?

David: This labor of love poured out of me and onto paper, seemingly overnight.

Leslie: I had a new task at hand to meld these two worlds together. The show had
to have rhythm, but it had to be true to the music. I had to go inside my soul for
the answers.

Q: What can audiences expect?

David: Music…the reason for the show is music. With almost 20 songs arranged with a gospel twist, the music takes you back to a time where family and traditions were our way of life.

Leslie: I found myself looking for realness. That was it! The show must live in the church house and be built on a foundation of musical theatre.

David: These characters are family and friends we all know. The story is told with humor and a great deal of musical zest.

Leslie: As a dancer, I have counted “5-6-7-8” a million times, but this show I count “5-6-7-8 LIVE!” This is not playing church — this is church!

David: More than what you see and hear — we hope you’ll FEEL, A ‘Pure’ Gospel Christmas.

Download Playbill
(PDF format, 644 K)