Video: First Look at MONSOON WEDDING, THE MUSICAL Coming to St. Ann's Warehouse in May

Beginning May 6, 2023, St. Ann's Warehouse will present Mira Nair's musical theater vision of her endlessly resonant and romantic love story, welcoming audiences inside the frenzied leadup to an arranged marriage beset by modern tensions. Monsoon Wedding, the Musical is Nair's joyful and triumphant love song to family, Punjabi culture, and her home city of Delhi.

Get a first look at the trailer below!

Two families converge on Delhi for an arranged marriage and what promises to be a glorious union. As festivities unfurl in song and dance, expectation and reality collide. The bride and groom are not who they appear to be, and dark family secrets begin to surface. Chaos ensues, and as the nuptials draw closer, so do the wedding planner and the house maid. Together they find love over a simple marigold flower. As the city pulses with the promise of relief from the heat, the ancient and unbroken ties of family are further tested, asking the question: how do we redefine love in a rapidly evolving world?

Monsoon Wedding, the Musical is conceived and directed by Mira Nair, with a book by Arpita Mukherjee and Sabrina Dhawan, music by Vishal Bhardwaj and lyrics by Masi Asare and Susan Birkenhead. Monsoon Wedding, The Musical finds the perfect home at St. Ann's Warehouse for a resplendent Delhi wedding, teeming with endlessly complex characters, tangled relationships, unforgettable music, and exhilarating spectacle. Nair has engaged a dream team of collaborators to realize an authentic, layered vision of Delhi life among the rich and the working class. The story unfolds on Jason Ardizzone-West's concrete split-level set, which is enhanced by lighting from Bradley King and projections by David Bengali. Costume designer Arjun Bhasin is creating 250 spectacular costumes. Vishal Bhardwaj's luscious score-drawing on the many genres of Indian music, from classical to pop-comes to life with orchestrations by Jamshied Sharifi, music produced by Sunny Jain, and sound design by David Schnirman. Emily Whitaker serves as music director, conductor and keyboard player. Choreographer Shampa Gopikrishna and movement director Carrie-Anne Ingrouille are creating a staging both intimate and exuberant.

Monsoon Wedding, the Musical features an international cast of 22, including numerous actors traveling from India. They play roles spanning generations, class, and more. Casting will be announced soon.

Susan Feldman, Founding Artistic Director of St. Ann's Warehouse, said, "In the wake of years of struggle-and the closures of the world's stages-St. Ann's Warehouse this season has focused on the transformative magic of live and international performance. With Little Amal Walks NYC, New York streets became our stage for urgent large-scale public art. With the return of The Jungle, our theater reconstructed the now-demolished refugee camp where people crossed borders and defied danger in search of safety and home. Now, for Mira Nair's glorious celebration, it becomes a wedding. We extend a festive welcome into the intricate and expansive web of characters Mira Nair has created."

Nair says, "People see themselves in the story of this family that does not want to split, that does not want to break despite the vicissitudes of life. In Monsoon Wedding, the story of this family is told in a combination of great truth and great fun. Fun is critical, but cannot mask darker things. We strive for a beautiful balance between silence and music, darkness and real joy. That is what I hope to create onstage-a feeling of masti, of a kind of intoxication with life."

Monsoon Wedding, the Musical is produced by St. Ann's Warehouse in conjunction with Mira Nair, Ruth and Stephen Hendel, and Rahul V. Chittella. Hypokrit Live Arts is associate producer. The world premiere of Monsoon Wedding, the Musical was produced in May 2017 by Berkeley Repertory Theatre (Tony Taccone, Artistic Director; Susan Medak, Managing Director). Monsoon Wedding, the Musical then played in Delhi, India at Black Box Okhla (Nikhil Mehta, Founder and Director) in January 2019. At the invitation of Qatar's Ministry of Culture and Her Royal Highness Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Monsoon Wedding, the Musical was staged at the Abdul Aziz Nasser Theatre, Souq Waqif in November 2022 as part of Qatar Creates for the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Tickets and Additional Information

Performances of Monsoon Wedding take place May 6 - June 4 at St. Ann's Warehouse (45 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201). The production officially opens on May 22.

Tickets, starting at $49, are on sale to American Express Card Members now and go on sale to the general public on March 7, at stannswarehouse.org and 718.254.8779.

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