Will Liverman and DJ King Rico to Premiere FACTOTUM: GROOM & GLOW LOUNGE at Wells Theatre

GRAMMY Award-winning baritone and composer Will Liverman and producer and artist DJ King Rico will present the world premiere of FACTOTUM: GROOM & GLOW LOUNGE on May 1 and 2, 2026 at the Wells Theatre in Norfolk, Virginia.

Created for students at The Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA), the production reimagines the creators’ acclaimed soul opera The Factotum for a new generation of performers.

Liverman and Rico, both alumni of GSA, first premiered The Factotum at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2023. Inspired by Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, the work sets the story inside a contemporary Black barbershop and beauty salon while blending opera with hip-hop, gospel, funk, neo-soul, and R&B.

The new version, FACTOTUM: GROOM & GLOW LOUNGE, was developed specifically for GSA students and expands the opera’s casting possibilities to include a broader range of gender expressions and vocal styles. Liverman and Rico collaborated with the school’s Vocal Music students throughout the 2025–2026 academic year, guiding auditions, rehearsals, and an in-person residency that culminates in the performances at the Wells Theatre.

Set in a barbershop and beauty salon on Chicago’s West Side, the story centers on Chantel, a single mother who has spent years balancing survival and responsibility while raising her daughter Brandy. As Brandy begins pursuing a career as a performer, their relationship reveals tensions around ambition, protection, and generational expectations. Chantel’s sister Monica introduces a different perspective, encouraging creativity and freedom while challenging established ideas about leadership and success.

The new adaptation narrows the focus of the original work to a more character-driven story designed for student performers. The production emphasizes themes of family, burnout, communication, and shared responsibility while offering opportunities for ensemble performance and contemporary musical storytelling.

“The Governor's School for the Arts changed the entire course of my life,” said Liverman. “It was the first place where I truly saw myself as an artist and where I was introduced to opera. Meeting Alan Fischer and Robert Brown was transformative. They were two of the most integral teachers in my life and the first people who made me believe that singing could be more than a passion.”

Liverman added that returning to create a new work for the school represents a “full-circle moment” in his career and dedicated the experience to the memory of GSA educator Robert Brown and alum Ira Harris.

Rico also reflected on the significance of returning to the institution where his artistic development began.

“Coming back to GSA, the place that first exposed me to the scale, discipline, and power of full opera productions, feels incredibly full-circle,” Rico said. “My hope is that this work expands their understanding of what opera can be — not as something distant or outdated, but as a living, flexible form that can hold their voices, their stories, and their futures.”

Liverman has performed internationally with companies including English National Opera, Dutch National Opera, LA Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Washington National Opera. At the Metropolitan Opera, he became the first Black performer to sing the role of Papageno in The Magic Flute and appeared in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, which won a 2023 GRAMMY Award. His recent recording projects include Show Me The Way and Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers, both nominated for GRAMMY Awards.

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