Mar 26 - 28 2021
SOPHIA, OUR BELOVED: A Virtual Reading of a New Musical Drama by Joriah Kwamé

SOPHIA, OUR BELOVED: A Virtual Reading of a New Musical Drama by Joriah Kwamé

Presented by Farmers Alley Theatre at Farmers Alley Theatre

Farmers Alley Theatre’s CREATOR STUDIO premieres with a virtual reading of the new musical drama called SOPHIA, OUR BELOVED - Streaming March 26th - 28th via Ludus Anywhere Seat

From the mind of award-winning local composer Joriah Kwamé, SOPHIA, OUR BELOVED  is the inaugural event of the Farmers Alley Theatre Creators Studio and will stream digitally on Ludus Anywhere Seat on Friday March 26th & Saturday March 27th at 8pm and Sunday March 28th at 2pm. Tickets will be free to the public but do require registration online.

The mission of the Farmers Alley Theatre Creators Studio Series is to find, cultivate and develop new works, particularly from Michigan artists. From staged readings to recordings to workshops, we are proud to help foster the next generation of artists and arts makers now and for years to come.

SOPHIA, OUR BELOVED is an intense musical drama that tells the story of Leigh, an orphaned teen who longs to know where she comes from. Leigh unexpectedly lands in the strange small town of Mosby, Arkansas, where she is mistaken to be a girl named Sophia Cartwright: the long lost daughter of a local and well known family. "Sophia" becomes a mask that grants Leigh a life she's only ever dreamt of, at the cost of the ultimate lie. Along the way, she slowly discovers that she’s not the only one in Mosby pretending to be someone she's not…

SOPHIA, OUR BELOVED uses a fast paced, exhilarating plot, an eclectic contemporary score, and explores themes of morality, identity, family and love that make it a perfect first entry in this new Creator Studio Series.

Composer, Lyricist and Librettist Joriah Kwamé is a WMU graduate from the Kalamazoo area, who was seen as Gary Coleman in our production of Avenue Q in the summer of 2019.  He is most well-known as the composer of "Little Miss Perfect" (sung by Taylor Louderman and viewed over 4.2 million times on YouTube). Joriah was a winner of her 2019 Write Out Loud Contest. Joriah’s musical of the same name was recently featured as part of the New York Theatre Barn’s New Work Series.

Most recently, he participated in the 2020 Johnny Mercer Songwriting Project and got to learn from master teachers Andrew Lippa, Stephen Bray, Lindy Robbins, and Craig Carnelia.

This online presentation will be directed by Arizsia Staton with visual direction by Teresa Thome, and features a cast including Allie Grace, Denene Mulay Koch, Rachael Cell, Julianne Howe-Bouwens, Marcus Jordan, Jason Koch, Frankie Gonzalez, Amanda Najor and Farmers Alley Theatre Artistic Director, Jeremy Koch.

SOPHIA, OUR BELOVED runs online on Fri. and Sat. March 26th & 27th at 8pm and Sun. March 28th at 2pm.This production is sponsored by Jeff K. Ross Financial Services and The Kalamazoo Promise. 

Free Digital Tickets can be reserved starting March 12 by visiting our website at www.farmersalleytheatre.com

If you have any questions, please contact Farmers Alley Theatre at info@farmersalleytheatre.com.

Admission Info

"Free Admission" - Online only! Free virtual tickets available starting March 12th on our website: www.farmersalleytheatre.com

Phone: 2693432727

Email: info@farmersalleytheatre.com

Dates & Times

2021/03/26 - 2021/03/28

Location Info

Farmers Alley Theatre

221 Farmers Alley, Kalamazoo, MI 49007