The critically acclaimed team behind the 2021 Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Merry Wives returns to The Public with the New York premiere of a new musical conceived and directed by Associate Artistic Director/Resident Director Saheem Ali, featuring music and lyrics by Michael Thurber and a book by Tony Award nominee Jocelyn Bioh. A mysterious singer arrives at Moto Moto, a steamy Afro-jazz club in Mombasa, Kenya. She casts an entrancing spell on everyone, including a young man who has returned home from studying in 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, the Goddess who created beautiful songs from her heartbreak, this is a rousing tale of romance, the supernatural, and the quest towards one’s truest self.
Its humans are a lot less interesting than its god, but it relies on them to generate its plot. That’s no offense to Scott, who sings well and is charming enough to hold the stage. It’s more that, outside of its portrayal of Nadira, the show’s book... is made up of a series of generic complications... This makes Goddess less a musical about a goddess and more ‘What if Fiorello! were about Zohran Mamdani?’
If ‘Goddess’ is a vehicle for Iman’s talent, there’s LOTS of other traffic. The musical is lively, long and busy. The staging, set and costumes are sometimes so vibrant it’s hard to know where to look. Composer Michael Thurber has created an eclectic score of some two dozen musical numbers, some from Kenya, where the show is set, but also jazz and pop and soul – and at least one percussion-heavy number that felt borrowed from Buena Vista Social Club.
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
Public Theater New York Premiere Off-Broadway |
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