Goddess
CREATIVE TEAM
Conceived by Saheem Ali
Music and Lyrics by Michael Thurber
Book by Jocelyn Bioh
Additional Material by Mkhululi Z. Mabija
Choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultrie
Directed by Saheem Ali
Project Description
A mysterious singer arrives at Moto Moto, a steamy afro-jazz club in Mombasa, Kenya. She casts an entrancing presence on everyone at the club, including a young man who has returned home from America. Will the big plans for his life–stepping into a political legacy and marrying his fiancée–be upended? Inspired by the myth of Marimba, who created beautiful songs from her heartbreak, GODDESS is a rousing tale of romance, the supernatural, and the quest of stepping into one’s true identity.
Development & Production Timeline
Development at Theatre Latte Da (MN), 2017
Workshop presented by NYSAF & Vassar at the Powerhouse Theatre (NY), 2019
Development as part of MCC Theatre’s Song Lab Series (NYC), 2019
Creative Team
Saheem Ali
Saheem Ali (Director/Conveiver) is a proud immigrant from Kenya. He is the Associate Artistic Director/Resident Director of the Public Theater. Recent productions include Merry Wives (The Delacorte), Romeo y Julieta, Shipwreck and Richard II (audio productions at The Public). Others: Fires in The Mirror (Signature Theater), The Rolling Stone (Lincoln Center Theater), The New Englanders (MTC), Passage (Soho Rep), Fireflies (Atlantic Theater Company), Dangerous House (Williamstown Theater Festival), Sugar in Our Wounds (MTC), Tartuffe (Playmakers Rep), Where Storms Are Born (WTF), Twelfth Night (The Public), Kill Move Paradise (National Black Theater), Nollywood Dreams (Cherry Lane) and Dot (Detroit Public Theater). He has workshopped new plays at Playwrights Horizons, Playwrights Realm, MCC, New York Stage & Film, Page 73 and The Lark. He is a Usual Suspect at New York Theater Workshop, Sir John Gielgud SDCF Fellow and a Shubert Fellow.
Michael Thurber
Michael Thurber (Music & Lyrics) is an NYC-based composer of musical theater, popular song and concert music. As a theater composer & lyricist, Thurber made his international debut with his score for Antony and Cleopatra, a co-production between The Royal Shakespeare Company and The Public Theater directed by Academy Award winner Tarell McCraney. He has since composed scores for numerous Public Theater productions, including the 2021 Shakespeare In The Park adaptation of Merry Wives; and Romeo Y Julieta, a radio play starring Lupita Nyong'o. He has developed original musicals with New York Stage & Film, The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Joe’s Pub, The Kimmel Center, Williamstown Theater Festival and SPACE At Ryder Farm. In 2020, Michael won the Bryan Gallace Fellowship, a grant awarded annually via SPACE at Ryder Farm. Michael serves on the Board Of Directors for NPR’s From The Top. He teaches at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute. He studied music at The Juilliard School.
Jocelyn Bioh
Jocelyn Bioh (Book Writer) is a 1st generation Ghanaian-American award winning writer/performer from New York City. She has her B.A. in English and Theatre from The Ohio State University and MFA in Theatre-Playwriting from Columbia University School of the Arts. Jocelyn is a commissioned playwright with Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage Theatre, Williamstown Theatre and the Atlantic Theater Company, and was a former Resident Playwright at Lincoln Center and a Tow Playwriting Fellow in 2018/19. She is currently MCC’s Burnt Umber Playwright in Residence and is a 2020 Steinberg Playwriting Award Recipient. Her plays include: the multi-award winning School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play which had two celebrated runs at MCC Theater in New York City and has since been produced at over 20 regional theatres all over the country. Nollywood Dreams (Upcoming: MCC Theater, PowerHouse 2016, Kilroy's List 2015,) as well as, the new musical GODDESS of which she is the book writer, will make its World Premiere at Berkeley Rep Theater in 2022. As a TV writer, Jocelyn has worked on the Emmy Nominated Russian Doll (Netflix 2019,) as well as being a staff writer on the final season of Spike Lee’s acclaimed series She’s Gotta Have It (May 2019.) She recently worked as a writer and co-producer of the upcoming limited series adaptation of AMERICANAH (HBO-MAX.) She is also adapting the acclaimed Broadway musical Once On This Island into a film for Disney+. As an actress, Jocelyn's stage credits include: In The Blood (Drama Desk Nomination,) Everybody (Signature Theatre, Lucille Lortel nomination) Men on Boats (Playwrights Horizons,) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time(Broadway; Tony Award Winner for Best Play, 2015), An Octoroon (Soho Rep, Obie Award Winner for Best Play, 2014), Booty Candy (Wilma Theater), Seed (Classical Theater of Harlem, Audelco Award Nominee), and Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet (City Theatre). She also originated the role of "Topsy" in the world premiere of Neighbors (The Public Theater, Audelco Award Nominee). TV: Former Cover Girl spokesmodel, “Russian Doll” (Netflix) “Crashing” (HBO), “Blue Bloods” (CBS), “The Detour” (TBS), “The Characters” (Netflix), “Louie” (FX), and “One Life to Live” (ABC). Film: “Ben Is Back”.
Darrell Grand Moultrie
Darrell Grand Moultrie (Choreography) has quickly emerged as one of America’s most sought after choreographers and master teachers. Not one to be pigeonholed into any particular genre, Moultrie has carved out an impressive career that seamlessly weaves his choreographic talents through multiple genres. Most recently Grammy Award winning artist Beyonce selected Darrell as one of her choreographers for her Mrs. Carter World Tour and Tony Award winning director Diane Paulus tapped Darrell to choreograph the original musical Witness Uganda at American Repertory Theater that she directed.
A proud recipient of the 2007 Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Award, Darrell’s work has been performed by Ailey 2, The Juilliard School, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Colorado Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, BalletMet Columbus, Milwaukee Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Rasta Thomas and his Bad Boys of Dance, Tulsa Ballet, Ballet X, Ballet Arkansas, and. Smuin Ballet. This year he will set World Premieres for Dance Theatre of Harlem, Richmond Ballet, The Boston Conservatory, and The Oregon Ballet Theater.
