A DRIVING BEAT World Premiere to Open at TheatreWorks This Fall
Performances will run from October 29 – November 23, 2025.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will debut Jordan Ramirez Puckett’s A Driving Beat in a rolling World Premiere with Flint Repertory Theatre.
A runaway hit from TheatreWorks’ 2024 New Works Festival, A Driving Beat follows a mother-son cross-country road trip peppered with the teen’s hip-hop music as a brown son and his white mother seek common ground in their uncommon pasts. Staged in an intimate production, this vibrant voyage explores identity, understanding, and the depths of love. Helmed by TheatreWorks Associate Producer of Casting & Literary Management Jeffrey Lo, A Driving Beat will perform October 29 – November 23, 2025 at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.
TheatreWorks is committed to creating an environment that is accessible for all audiences in its community. American Sign Language interpretation will be available at the performance of A Driving Beat at 7:30pm Thursday, November 13. TheatreWorks will include open captioning (a screen displaying all dialogue and a description of sound effects) for the performance 2pm Sunday, November 16. TheatreWorks is collaborating with Gravity Access Services in offering audio descriptions to assist patrons who are visually impaired. This service will be available 2pm Sunday, November 9 (To utilize audio description, patrons should pre-register at 877-662-8978 after purchasing tickets). Assistive listening devices are offered at every performance with no advance registration required.
TheatreWorks will host a pre-show artist talk at 6:30pm Thursday, October 30 and will hold post-show discussions with the cast following the Wednesday, November 5; Wednesday, November 12; and Wednesday, November 19 performances. TheatreWorks will require face masks to be worn for 2pm Sunday, November 16 performance.
Director Lo has assembled a gifted cast to bring this beloved story to life. Jon Viktor Corpuz makes his TheatreWorks debut as Mateo, a teen in search of answers about his past. Corpuz was seen on Broadway in Lincoln Center Theater’s production of The King and I and played John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the first National Tour of Hamilton. Corpuz also performed in Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and onstage in concerts at The White House, the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and 54 Below. Corpuz’s film and television credits include NBC’s “Manifest” and TBS’ “The Detour.”
Reprising her role from TheatreWorks’ 2024 New Works Festival, Lee Ann Payne returns to TheatreWorks as Diane, Mateo’s mom. Payne was seen in TheatreWorks’ Josephine, A…My Name is Still Alice, Heartland, and Emma, and was as an understudy for Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She was the movement coordinator for Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical and choreographed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Payne has also performed with San Francisco Playhouse, New York Musical Theatre Festival, Los Altos Stage Company, 42nd Street Moon, Jewel Theatre Company, Broadway By the Bay, and San Jose Repertory Theatre in addition to directing and choreographing productions throughout the Bay Area. Payne is also a member of TheatreWorks’ Board of Trustees.
Livia Gomes Demarchi makes her TheatreWorks debut as Reina and other characters. Demarchi has performed with American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco Playhouse, Aurora Theatre Company, Center Repertory Company, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Marin Shakespeare Company, and Theatre Rhinoceros. Demarchi is a company member with PlayGround and associate artist with AlterTheater.
A Driving Beat features scenic design by Christopher Fitzer, costume design by Lisa Misako Claybaugh, lighting design by Steven B. Mannshardt with Reina Ferrante as assistant lighting designer, and sound design by Cliff Caruthers and beat maker Carlos Aguirre. Nick Carvalho is stage manager and Judith Nihei is artist counselor.
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