Upline, A New Musical at Eastwood Performing Arts Center

Upline is a satirical musical about the stories we’re sold--and the ones we sell ourselves. When Kenzie, an overwhelmed stay-at-home mom, is invited to a girls’ night hosted by the radiant Madison, she’s swept into Lumaplex: a multi-level marketing empire. Alongside her best friend Alex and fellow recruit Vic, Kenzie begins to climb the pyramid, rewriting her identity in the language of hustle, empowerment, and success.

But the higher she rises, the more her relationships fracture, and the self-help slogans that once gave her purpose begin to sound more like commands. As Kenzie climbs the upline, she must choose between her integrity and her ambition, ultimately confronting the true cost of the American Dream in a system designed to exploit women’s vulnerabilities and friendships.

Upline uses the tools of contemporary capitalism including motivational rhetoric, personal branding, and weaponized storytelling, to expose how personal development becomes a product, and how systems built on “freedom” so often demand total submission.