Welcome to Maya: The Musical

A person and person posing for a pictureDescription automatically generated Hi! We’re Cheeyang Ng & Eric Sorrels!

Along with Associate Producers Mehr Kaur and Devi Peot, we make up the Maya Development Team.

Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) calls Maya: The Musical "fresh and interesting. The heart of Māyā lies in the music."

Whether you’re a friend, a loved one, or just somebody who believes in this show, thank you for supporting Maya’s journey.

One of the show’s core beliefs is that when your heart is in the right place, no action is too small to make a difference.

In the same way, no amount of financial support is too small as we gear up for our London developmental workshop in February 2025. Your tax-deductible donation will go a long way toward Maya’s continued development and world premiere production.

If you want to learn a little more about the show’s history, and its growth from a seed to a large banyan tree, read on!

Seed: NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program

The first seed of Māyā: A New Musical was planted in 2018 with a text exchange:

Soon after, we wrote our first two songs for the show — one for our protagonist, Maya, and one for her best friend, Harini. Harini’s number was eventually replaced, but Maya’s became the Act One Finale:

Within this song are the major themes of the show: an individual asking how to make a difference when the world is falling apart; the power of collective action; and the notion that history repeats itself across time, space, and cultures.

A wooden wheel with text overlayDescription automatically generated

Originally titled “The Golden Threshold,” (inspired by Sarojini Naidu’s debut collection of poetry) We presented a first draft in April 2019 as our Thesis Presentation for NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.

Germination: Non-Profit Development

5 months later in September, we had our first developmental workshop with Live & In Color (Artistic Director: Devanand Janki), directed by Arpita Mukherjee where the cast and creative team got to live and work together full time for two weeks in Connecticut. At the end of the workshop, we had our first public staged reading.

In October 2019, we presented selections from Maya: The Musical at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. as a part of the BROADWAY: THE NEXT GENERATION series. We also won the ASCAP Foundation Lucille & Jack Yellen Award.

We continued development in 2020 with a student reading at Pace University in January, and presented our first Industry Reading in February by Hypokrit Live Arts (Artistic Director: Arpita Mukherjee). In early March, we received the Eric Weinberger Emerging Librettist award from Amas Theatre, which promised a grant and a reading in New York City later that year.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit!

When theatres across the country shut down, we continued development on opposite sides of the world (Cheeyang with their family in Singapore, Eric with his in Tennessee), and participated in a myriad of virtual and hybrid development and presentations, including: The Eugene O’Neill Incubator, Asolo Rep Ground Floor and were featured in the Festival of New Musicals at the National Alliance of New Musicals (NAMT) in 2021.

Post-pandemic, we finally presented Maya: The Musical in New York City publicly for the first time with Amas Musical Theatre (Artistic Director: Donna Trinkoff) in three invited presentations at the Off-Broadway Theatre Row.

Sapling: Finding Our Voice

2023 gave Cheeyang & Eric the opportunity of a lifetime — the chance to present their show to one of their heroes, Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), in Los Angeles as part of the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop.

At the beginning of 2024, we continued development in Los Angeles with Musical Theatre West, exploring the show with a slew of new actors.

In the past 5 years, the show has evolved and grown — literally! Originally envisioned for 7 actors, the cast size has grown to have 6 principal roles and 6 ensemble roles. But the core ideas have stayed the same since that first text exchange.

Inspired by the artistic and activist legacy of Sarojini Naidu, our protagonist, Maya Mehta, is a woman who finds her poetic voice as she finds her purpose in a changing world. By letting go of everything she thought she knew, she makes more of a difference than she could have ever dreamed.

And now we arrive at the next step and most exciting step so far: NEW YORK & LONDON!

Blooming: New York & London

On November 21, we are presenting Maya: In Concert with Prospect Musicals and the National Asian Artists Project (NAAP). Your donation will supplement the sound hire and after-party event for us to meet new investors.

In February 2025, we are heading to London for a 2-week Industry Workshop!

With a vision by 2 x Olivier Nominated Director Milli Bhatia (seven ways of killing kylie jenner, Royal Opera House) and in conversation with UK regional theaters and The National Theater (Artistic Director: Indhu Rubasingham), we need your support to make this a reality.

A person and person taking a selfieDescription automatically generated If you’ve made it this far, thank you from the bottom of our heart for taking an interest in our show’s journey, and we hope you’ll make a tax-deductible donation while you’re here.

As we said, no amount is too small to help us on our journey. Thank you for your belief and your support!

Find us on Instagram & Tiktok @maya.themusical; or on our website at www.mayathemusical.com

Special Thanks to: Randall Eng, Mindi Dickstein, Sybille Pearson, Arpita Mukherjee, Devanand Jenki, Donna Trinkoff, Amy Rogers, Noah Hadland and Eric Fegan.

Maya Development

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Maya Development

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