Sabrina Shah, Michael Miliakel & More to Star in MĀYĀ Concert

Prospect Musicals and National Asian Artists Project have revealed the complete casting for their upcoming one night only concert presentation of Māyā: The Musical, presented Thursday, November 21st at 7:00pm at Peter Norton Symphony Space.

Leading the cast as Maya is Sabrina Shah (Kimberly Akimbo), joined by principal performers Meetu Chilana (Monsoon Wedding), Ruchir Khazanchi (Once, Syracuse Stage), Michael Maliakel (Aladdin), Yamuna Meleth (The Secret Garden, Center Theatre Group), and Sorab Wadia (Life of Pi, National Tour), and featured ensemble members Deven Kolluri (Monsoon Wedding), Jonathan Raviv (The Band's Visit), Sushma Saha (1776), and Jasmine Sharma (The Wolves, McCarter Theatre).

They are joined by a chorus comprised of Emily Ballou, Martin Richard Borromeo, Kimberly Chatterjee, Andrew Cheng, Sarah Chiu, Andrew Cristi, Andy Danh, Arjun Dhawan, Patricia Jane, Brian Jose, Mel S. Maghuyop, Cameron Miya, Vaibu Mohan, Rishi Mutalik, Anu Mysore, Mio Nakanishi, Maile Oravitz, Yuki Ozeki, Nasir Ali Panjwani, Mukta Phatak, Jazz Sunpanich, Vikas Venuthurupalli, and Viet Vo.

"This special one night only event features an extraordinary ensemble of voices representing the immense talent within the South Asian American and AAPI communities. NAAP is thrilled to be involved in a show that speaks to the incredible stories that the Asian diaspora holds," said Steven Eng. Cara Reichel added, “Prospect is honored to once again partner with NAAP to share a compelling tale grounded in history, and bring to life a powerful musical score.”

The music team consists of Alexander Tom (Music Supervisor), Anthony Lucca (Orchestrator) and Greg Paladino (Music Director). Sierra Lancaster is the Associate Producer, and Devi Peot provided additional casting support.

As previously announced, Māyā features book & music by Cheeyang Ng, book & lyrics by Eric Sorrels, with direction by J. Mehr Kaur.

In the twilight of the British Empire, an aspiring poet named Maya Mehta sets out to make her mark on the world. When Mahatma Gandhi's famous Salt March passes through her hometown, Maya is torn between duty to her family and the passionate ideals of her freedom-fighting friends in the Indian Independence Movement. Ultimately, through the power of words and actions, she defies the Empire and joins the legacy of India's quest for sovereignty. Told through a contemporary score that fuses Indian classical music with Western pop, Māyā is the story of how one poet, one dreamer, one person can make a lasting mark on a movement.

Māyā was recently developed at Musical Theatre West and at ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop with Stephen Schwartz, and is currently preparing for a developmental production in London. It has previously been developed at AMAS Musical Theatre, National Alliance for Musical Theatre, Eugene O'Neill National Musical Theatre Conference, Hypokrit Theatre, Pace New Musicals, ASCAP Foundation, Live & In Color, Johnny Mercer's Songwriters Project, New York City Center, and was conceived at New York University's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.

Māyā is a co-presentation as part of the National Asian Artists Project's Discover: New Musicals Series and Prospect Musicals' IGNITE Series. Reflecting Prospect's dedication to fostering and producing work by emerging artists, IGNITE Series programming includes songwriter showcase evenings; cutting-edge creations from Prospect's annual Musical Theater Lab; and concert presentations of work-in-process musicals. National Asian Artists Project (NAAP) exists to celebrate the exceptional work of musical theatre artists of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) descent. NAAP's Discover: New Musicals Series features performances of new musicals as readings, concerts, and workshop presentations of full-length works.

Single tickets are $39 and $59 (prices include a $5/ticket facility fee) and may be obtained through online purchase at www.ProspectMusicals.org or www.NAAProject.org. Student tickets are available (with ID) for $30 (incl. fee).

This concert is made possible in part by a project support from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

For more information, please visit www.ProspectMusicals.org or www.NAAProject.org.

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