Sati: Goddess Incarnate- A Musical Epic by Zachary Catron and Vaibu Mohan
July 1, 2023
This performance will also be livestreamed. For tickets and more information, click here.
Sati: Goddess Incarnate- A Musical Epic
Music by Zachary Catron
Book, lyrics, and dramaturgy by Vaibu Mohan
In a rural village in India, an 18-year-old girl was burned alive on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband. The townspeople all stick to the same story: the girl went willingly and was touched by the Mother Goddess, Sati. She was chosen to do this. Sati: Goddess Incarnate is loosely inspired by the true story of Roop Kanwar, the last recorded case of the practice of sati—widow burning—in India, and tells a story that is yet to be told: Roop’s story. Featuring a score which blends Carnatic and Western classical music with musical theater, book and lyrics by Vaibu Mohan, music by Zachary Catron, and an all South Asian cast, Sati: Goddess Incarnate investigates an important and pressing question: what happens when the stories we tell ourselves begin to affect our reality?
Featuring:
Devi Peot (54 Sings Rihanna, 54 Sings Barbie, Bhangin’ It) as Roop
Miriam A. Laube (Monsoon Wedding, Bombay Dreams) as Uma
Mariya Reza as Aarti
Maya Jeyam as Dharma
Savidu Geevaratne (Monsoon Wedding, Work In Progress Vol. 4) as Satya and Neelkant
Vaibu Mohan as Maya
Khyati Sehgal as Woman 1
Swetha Vissapragada as Woman 2
Sarah Nandola as Woman 3
Isha Narayanan as Woman 4
Joined by:
Ryan Blihovde on percussion
Greg Paladino on piano
Directed by Thalia Ranjbar, with music direction by Mona Seyed-Bolorforosh (Evita at ART, Kimberly Akimbo, Company) and associate music direction by Greg Paladino (My Fair Lady national tour, Fiddler on the Roof national tour).
VAIBU MOHAN (she/her) is an Indian-American multi-hyphenate artist based in New York City. She comes from a family full of artists and began her artistic life as a Bharatanatyam dancer under the tutelage of her mother, Dr. Srimathy Mohan, at Silambam Phoenix. Vaibu received her BM from Arizona State University in Musical Theatre Performance and her MFA from New York University in Musical Theatre Writing where she met her better half, Zachary Catron, and began developing Sati: Goddess Incarnate. Her work has been featured at Lincoln Center, Rattlestick Theatre, Brooklyn Children’s Theatre, The American Opera Project, 54 Below, and Greenroom 42. She was also a 2021 Write Out Loud Finalist. Vaibu dedicates this piece to her foremothers and the women of the world who are continually silenced. This story is for them.
ZACHARY CATRON (he/him) is an award-winning composer, lyricist, and performer who bridges the gap between new opera and musical theatre. New York City premieres include: the ballet Training in Love (Rovaco Dance Company), the string quartet Lessons Learned (JACK Quartet), Growing Pains (commissioned by clarinetist Francesca Gray), the chamber opera Tin Man (NYU/AOP Opera Lab), and the full-length musical The Battle, Not the War which received its concert premiere at 54 Below in June 2019. A composer of many styles, Catron released his first J-pop single, “Tokimeki (Heart Pounding)”, as part of the East-Meets-West project, with lyrics by Momo Akashi and vocals by Joo Won Shin (“Squid Game”). He is an alum of the NYU Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program and a member of ASCAP.
Please note that all artists and acts are subject to change at any time.
