Your hands may feel a little raw after all the clapping you’re likely to do during “How I Got Over: A Gospel Revue” at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe.

There’s the applause that follows each bravura singing and dancing performance to a range of music from power ballads to rousing numbers. But your hands will stay busy during the songs themselves as the infectious melodies and the enthusiasm of the cast get you into the spirit of the music.

The revue that WBTT founder and artistic director Nate Jacobs first created in 2013 is back in a new production with a mostly new cast. It features more than three dozen songs that mix the wildly popular with numbers that might be known best only to those who grew up singing them in church.

At the Feb. 21 opening performance, understudy James Randolph filled in for Brian L. Boyd as the narrator, who provides some historical context. The script traces the roots of gospel to the music sung by slaves in church drawn from melodies and rhythms of Africa and the call and response aspects that have become such an integral element in the genre.

The style, religious fervor and tenor of the music shifts over time, eventually encompassing rap and hip hop in songs like Kurt Franklin’s “Stomp.” The narrative touches on some of the greats including Thomas Dorsey and singer Mahalia Jackson.

Jacobs has put together a bountiful assortment of songs, though, as is occasionally the case in some of his original revues, it feels overstuffed. The music is often big and loud, as if the performers and the offstage band are trying to blast you to heaven, which can be overwhelming at times. But there’s also a contagious joy in the performances, particularly in the more balanced second act.

The cast is led by the sultry, soul-stirring sounds of Mzuri Moyo Aimbaye, who sings with a voice that seems to build from the ground beneath her feet. She makes you feel each emotion from the “I’ve Been ‘Buked and I’ve been Scorned” to “Down by the Riverside” and the finale of “Move On Up a Little Higher.”

But there are also vibrant solos performed by both professional cast members and some younger artists who have been developing in the theater’s Stage of Discovery training program. You might feel a bit of pride hearing Riley Aparcio-Jerro gain confidence while singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and Amillia Lorraine leading a scorching “His Eye is on the Sparrow” or CJ Melton performing “Be Grateful.”

Aimbaye plays the Church Mother, joined by Sieglinda Fox, Stephanie Zandra and Deidra Grace as fellow leaders who each get a couple of turns in the spotlight. Grace and Fox also engage in a bit of a rivalry over who prays best or hardest. Raleigh Mosely II reveals new strength singing “Center of My Joy,” and Sheldon Rhoden makes connections with the audience on “He’s So Wonderful.” Maicy Powell is a delight leading “Travelin’ Shoes.”

The first half is set inside a church service, and the second act takes things outside for a picnic, where the cast members are costumed by Andrea “LadyBugg” Coleman and Meg Ferguson in outfits that trace the history of the music, from days of slavery to today.

Choreographer Donald Frison keeps the cast almost constantly on the move. At one moment they may be thrusting their hands into the air, and the next they’re jumping for joy, spinning and shimmying.

The cast is accompanied by a live band led by music director Matthew McKinnon that keeps the sound lively and spirits high.

“How I Got Over: A Gospel Revue,” created, adapted and directed by Nate Jacobs. Presented by the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota . Reviewed Feb. 21. Through March 29. Tickets are $54, $24 for students 25 and younger and active military. westcoastblacktheatre.org; 941-361-1505