Laura Reed and Esse Belle Johnson, two attractive Harlem tenement women with time on their hands and no jobs, decide to start their own gospel church on a street corner. Laura wishes to make money. Essie honestly desires to help people. The result of their desires and decisions is a lesson for all ages.

Tambourines To Glory is the forerunner of today's popular gospel musical trend. "It highlights the age old battle between good and evil, God and the Devil, with the Devil wearing diamond rings and driving a Cadillac car." "On another level," Unity Theatre Ensemble's Artistic Director, Ralph Greene said, "it is the story of temptation of the flesh and unbridled passion, and what they lead to. It is a candid look at commercial evangelism of the past, which also finds its parallels today."

The cast for Tambourines To Glory included Mardra Y. Thomas as Laura Reed, Ricki Connor as Big Eyed Buddy Lomax, Bonnie M. Harmon as Essie Belle Johnson, Don McClendon as Deacon Crow for Day, Tann Moore as Birdie Lee, Sophia Stephens as Marietta, Joel King as C.J., Kine' Brown as Gloria Dawn, Keven Adams as Windus, Shante Schuler as Mattie Morningside, Shelley Miller as Lucy Mae Hobbs, Theodore Jamison as Brother Bud, dancers Samoria Austin, Jay Sanford, Kent Powell, vocalists Herman Gordon, Renee Matkins, Toni Stubblefield, and Sheila Forrest. The set designed by Scott Sanders; lights designed by Mark Schilling and costumes by Gregory Horton.