A contemporary ensemble musical.
True sanctuary isn’t a place—it’s the courage to care for one another.
Sanctuary is a contemporary ensemble musical about a group of unhoused strangers who take refuge in an abandoned church in East Harlem, only to form an unexpected family as they confront their pasts, challenge each other’s beliefs, and discover that true sanctuary isn’t a place—it’s the courage to care for one another.
“Sanctuary” illuminates the common humanity of us all, and the often unfortunate circumstances that can lead to homelessness, such that we can learn to not “other” those we can’t initially understand. It is meant to open hearts and minds.
A group of homeless individuals take temporary refuge in an abandoned church in East Harlem that’s up for sale. After the NYPD officer Trek discovers them, he calls in Angie, who works for Homeless Services, beginning a conflict between them, with his demanding sense of legality vs. her sense of compassion. Angie initiates a therapy circle, where the residents learn about each others paths, as they strive to find both shelter and community. The unhoused include an abandoned gay teen (Joey), a US military Vet with PTSD (Johnny), a trans black female (Zariah), a former truck driver and current drug addict (Adam), a frustrated musician (Chip), a nursing student/domestic abuse survivor (Sara), a pregnant, undocumented Salvadorian refugee (Maria) and a former teacher with mental health challenges (Eric), who was already in the church when they entered. As they start the therapy process, we see certain characters bond while others are more excluded, most significantly, Eric.
After starting the therapy process and beginning to bond, they eventually learn that the church has been sold and they will have to find an alternate living situation. Eventually, after the concurrent birth of Maria’s child along with the loss of Eric from a fatal asthma attack, they learn that Eric had purchased the church and left it for the residents for their continued sense of “home.” The person most excluded turns out to be their “savior.”