'Expect the unexpected': Gospel musical to return to Salt Lake after 26 years

SALT LAKE CITY — When Delilah Rashell Williams wrote the gospel musical "God's Trying To Tell You Something" in 1985, she had no idea that it would one day go on to perform in close to 40 states, for more than 1.5 million people at some of the best theaters in America.

The play first came to Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City on Oct. 12, 1997. Almost 26 years later, the play is returning to the same venue on Aug. 5. Williams says the play is "bigger and better than before."

"We had a packed house and the crowd was just wonderful," she said of the 1997 performance. "I'm hoping that we will have the same enthusiastic, wonderful audience. They're going to take away a message of hope, faith, resilience, deliverance and love from the show."

Told through vignettes and featuring original music, the show sheds light on the untold stories of the Underground Railroad and the collaborations that led to liberation. It also pays tribute to Black entertainers including Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.

"It's all about how God delivered people — and if he can do that, he can do anything," Williams said. "He's such a loving God, and it's an honor to be able to put him on stage."

Salt Lake City is the eighth stop on the "God's Trying To Tell You Something" tour. In each city, Williams finds the best local gospel choir to serve as a pit choir for the show. For this stop, she chose the Salt Lake City Mass Choir, started in 2010 by former Ute basketball player Tim Drisdom.

Drisdom called the play "timely" because of the historical content and uplifting messages it provides.

"We're excited about what bringing this play to Utah will mean and what it means for the culture," Drisdom said. "It's an opportunity to expose our community to something that's different, something that we've grown up doing for a long time and something that we've obviously found a ton of hope and a ton of joy and faith in."

He said he and the choir are helping Utahns experience history and gospel music in a new way.

"These are some heavier topics that people kind of shy away from talking about Utah, mainly because of underexposure," Drisdom said. "It's very rare that you get the type of exposure this play brings. I think there's going to be a lot of joy, a lot of love."

'God opened a door for us'

Williams never intended to write a hit musical. In fact, she insists it's "God's show" and she is just the "vehicle" to get it here.

"I just pray and then he just gives it to me," she said.

Williams was living in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1985 when a woman from the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church asked her to write a musical program to be performed at their church.

Williams was a member of another congregation, the Greater Friendly Temple Church of God in Christ. But she said all congregations in Anchorage supported each other, regardless of denomination — a theme of religious community Delilah would go on to capture in her play.

Around 200 people attended that first performance of "God's Trying To Tell You Something." Afterward, audience members told her she should bring the play to the lower 48 states. But she didn't think much of it.

Williams moved to Los Angeles in about 1989 and gathered a cast to start a series of local performances, with mixed reception. One night, just three people were in the audience.

"I was actually going to quit," Williams said. But the cast convinced her to stay.

"We played to three people, a two-and–a-half hour show," Williams said. "How embarrassing is that! But how faithful, as well."

Just a year later, "God's Trying To Tell You Something" began to take off, and they performed to over 3,000 people in Houston, Texas.

"God opened a door for us," Williams said. Her cast toured for around three years before she took a break to write four other plays. Then, by popular demand, and with financial donations to fund the show, Williams got it back on the road.

The show has been performed at venues including Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., Beacon Theatre in New York City and Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California. Williams even brought it back to Anchorage years after writing the play, performing at the Alaska Performing Arts Center.

'When you think of Salt Lake, you don't typically think of gospel'

Drisdom came to Utah to play basketball for the University of Utah. After leaving the Utes, he was playing basketball in China when he felt inspired by God to change his course and pursue music. He started the Salt Lake City Mass Choir in 2010, and went on to host worship nights to bring the Salt Lake community together across denominations.

"It really didn't matter what church you went to. People came together with one focus, and that is to just be together and worship Jesus," Drisdom said. "When you think of Salt Lake, you don't typically think of gospel. So, we're really excited that we get to carry that mantle a little bit."

He said he's excited to share the message of "God's Trying To Tell You Something," as his choir's slogan is: "Make God famous."

"I just think that it's important for us to continue to shine the light of Jesus in whatever opportunity that we get to do it," Drisdom said. "To package it in a play that's emotionally charged, that has great music, that has great actors and actresses — it allows us to put the God of the universe who created us all on display."

As for what audiences should know going into the performance, Drisdom said, "Expect the unexpected. I just think it'll be a life-changing experience."

The show comes to Utah for one night — Saturday, Aug. 5 — at 5 p.m. More information can be found on the Salt Lake County Arts website.

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