Sama: An American Requiem

Partnering with Broadway producers TJ Armand and Carl Paiva National Sawdust introduces a  five-day music theater initiative residency in September at National Sawdust which focuses on the primary phase of a staged Broadway musical: The Concert Reading. By offering open rehearsals, talk-backs and a concert reading for a developing show, National Sawdust will open its doors to a musical theatre residency for the first time. This inaugural residency will feature Sama: An American Requiem.

Set during the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011, this comedy-drama focuses on a fictional pop-star, a first generation immigrant from a Christian-Lebanese family, who becomes a household name in America under false pretenses. Tariq must choose between his allegiance to his family and maintaining his facade after the unexpected death of his gay twin brother Sama.

The original score includes aspects of Indie Folk-rock, Americana, World Music; along with a choral Requiem. Previous readings have featured Broadway stars such as Javier Munoz (Hamilton), Olga Merediz (In The Heights) and Jason Gotay (A Bronx Tale).