In New York City, the Tony-award-winning Off-Broadway theater, The Public Theater, serves as the home for another exciting New York premiere with Goddess, a musical that channels rhythm, identity, and ancestral storytelling into a powerful theatrical experience. Goddess' music and lyrics are penned by Michael Thurber, book and direction by Associate Artistic Director/Resident Director Saheem Ali, and additional book material by James Ijames, with choreography by Darrell Grand Moultrie.
Goddess holds a cast and creative team embark on telling the story of a mysterious singer named Nadira, who arrives at MotoMoto, a Afro-jazz club in Mombasa, Kenya and captivates everyone around her, including a young man, from a political legacy, who has recently returned from his studies in America leading to everyone discovering who they are. The principal cast includes Nick Rashad Burroughs (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Arica Jackson (Book of Mormon), J Paul Nicholas, Teshomech Olenja, Ayana George Jackson (MJ: The Musical), Destinee Rea (Book of Mormon), Awa Sal Secka, Jason Bowen (The Play That Goes Wrong), Austin Scott (& Juliet), Reggie White (The Inheritance), and Amber Iman (Lempicka) as Nadira. After the show opened on June 11, it was renewed for an extension through June 15.
Culturess sits down with Jackson, who portrays Rasheeda, one of the show's most vibrant characters. We talk about the evolution of the show from workshop to the stage and how music serves as both language and a lifeline to the characters.
What made you say yes to this role?
Arica Jackson: I joined the project two years ago during a big six-week workshop. At the time, I had actually never heard of Goddess. I knew there had been a production at Berkeley that summer, but I had just joined The Book of Mormon and thought, “Oh, what’s this?” Then in January, I met Darrell Moultrie, the choreographer. He said, “You should come audition for our show.” I told him, “Okay, I love working with you!” So, I auditioned.
On the day of my birthday, it was Jocelyn’s birthday, the previous playwright. I went through the whole audition process, sang my song, and then I did my callback. Everything's going well. I did my song. In the middle of it, we had her birthday party in the middle of my callback. I was assuming I got the job, and I hope it was fun. And then after the birthday party was over and had cake, they were like, 'Okay, can you do the sides now?' And I was like, Okay, yes, work and play. That was my exposure of what this family was. Still, I didn't know what the story was.
On the first day of rehearsal, we read the script, and I knew who she was. Rashida was just this fun, confident boss. She’s my crazy side, if anything. I don’t show her all the time, unless you're close to me, you'll see her. She just spoke to me and came alive. I love the story of this woman coming down to Earth and being the goddess of music and what that brings. It brings people their confidence, their true identity. It breathes love. Here I am, who's just trying to make her be all of that in her human form. Be confident, go out for love, be yourself, because there's nothing wrong with that here. Same with [the love interest] Omari. She wants him to stand in his truth. You are this beautiful musician, and you're also this political man. It was just really cool to see the story unfold while present in doing so, and having no idea beforehand. The biggest thing that was amazing about this piece was the music. Oh, my God. I said, "Michael Thurber, who is this guy?"
This came from Saheem's childhood and what he grew up with. It was just so beautiful to see the melding of minds of a director who had such a clear vision of this story, and then a musician who understood what that world should sound like, and then Darrell putting it on stage, and how it moves through our body. It was just, honestly, one of the best rooms I've ever worked in. I cherish that moment. What we did then is completely different from what you guys have seen at The Public [Theater]. I love the puppet we have in this production. It's amazing. I love the set because now I really feel like we're in a club and feel that musicianship. Everything just comes alive in this production. It's been a really magical journey. This is a part you dream about. You want something that clicks into something that is personally you. It wasn't something where I knew this was going to be the part.
Music is a huge part of this show. There's a lot of numbers. There's a lot of moving parts. Take me back to that first rehearsal.
AJ: Well, with this production, we started on March 18. Granted, before this moment, we' had many workshops. Had a whole other version in my head, but I still kept the essence of who that character was, regardless of the many readings, because we had a day reading in the summer. We had a small winter workshop before this first rehearsal, so we have an idea of what we're trying to do. Saheem just started with these intentions: We're going to have this open space, this collaborative space, and transparency. I want you to contribute. I don't want you to ever feel like you don't have a space here. I want you to explore what your spirituality is and what your relationship to art and music is because all of those themes and those personal connections are what we have to bring to this piece. You see across the board, everybody has this connection to what music is and how that comes through in a piece. We had our workshop, and then we get to our first day of rehearsal in March, and we're doing the read-through.
This is still a new story now. James [Ijames], our current playwright, he's so funny. I love him, and I love Fat Ham, so I was wanting to work with him. It was really cool to have him come into this space. From the get-go, we just put in our understanding of [the] art to see where this goes. The challenging part is the many changes to a piece. We kept changing the show, even though we had a set and we had costumes, and we knew generally what we were doing. The show kept changing in terms of what scene would go in front of what or what song would go in front of what until the Wednesday before we opened. So it was a lot of changes, but at the same time, it's helpful to have those different iterations because you still are informed of who this person is, regardless of that.
We still had conversations around the table of what is Rashida's relationship is to Nadira. What is Nadira's relationship to this space in this world? Why does she come here? What is Rasheeda's relationship to Omari? Why is she so adamant about not dating Ahmed? Has she been burned in the past? We really took our time in the rehearsal space to flesh out who these characters were. So regardless of the changes, you knew who these people were. You knew where the world was that we were building. There were so many rehearsals with the puppet, which I thought was so cool. And that's the best new element to our show. I love it. It's really hard physically, but the way it's portrayed on stage is amazing. We never had that before, nor did we have time to really flesh out the spirit world because I feel like in past iterations, we said Nadia is a goddess, but you didn't realize where she is coming from and who she is escaping from, and how did she become the goddess of music. I was really happy in the rehearsal space.
We could take our time to build this world and the language. Then with the music, again, I don't know what's in the brain of Michael Thurber, but he just has music that pours out of him. He comes in with a new iteration of a song every other day, and you're like, 'Okay, I got that.' Actually, we're going to cut that or we're going to rearrange it here. Now it even sounds better. It's really cool to be in a space where people are just flowing. There are challenges because you have a deadline, or also you're putting out so much. It's that artistic pot that pushes you to the limit of what your artistry can do. I just feel like we were challenged in the best ways because we each wanted to pull out the best in each other. When the show was frozen [when the director no longer allows significant changes to the show's production], our creatives were like, 'Okay, we did all of this. We're giving it to you, and we trust you.' They meant that, and we felt that way.
We are creating this wonderful production and finally getting to share it because I feel like I've been working on it, and no one knew about it until now. It is a show where we want to call and respond; You want to get up on your feet, you want to dance, and you want to sing. That's what art should be. It wants to be collaborative. It wants to be talking with each other. I'm glad that you were able to respond to that.
There's an EP called 'Moto Moto Presents Nights In Mombasa'. In addition to your own songs, is there another song that you resonate with that is in the EP?
AJ: We recorded the EP right after that six-week workshop, so it was actually done two years ago. So, it's crazy to finally release that music but obviously, it's still good. My favorite track to sing is definitely 'Motomoto', the opening song is my favorite to sing. 'Honey Sweet' is just so much fun because of the groove. Amber goes in on that song, and we just keep feeding her those moments because her vocal range and creativity are unreal. It’s limitless. It's crazy. So it feels really special to finally be able to share that music with everyone. Now, if we're talking about songs from the show that aren’t on the EP (but hopefully will be on a full album someday), I love Theta Madongo. Even though I'm not in that number, what people don’t know is that I’m dancing offstage every time they sing it because I just love it so much. It’s full of layers—there’s storytelling, there’s this “I’m going to prove myself” energy to it. The singers… oh my goodness. Everyone in this cast is so incredibly talented. I feel truly blessed to be part of it.
With my character, it's the song 'It's A Date. I remember two years ago, it was the hardest song to learn because there's a lot of rhythm, and it's also a conversation. Once you get that down, it's so freeing and it's so fun. It's like a whole game that me and Nick get to play every night. I'm like, 'What's going to happen?' I don't know, but I'm with you. We're just responding and going back and forth with one another. Michael [Thurber] wants you to do your own thing. He puts it on the page and of course, we got our rhythms. Then, there's some things where I was like, 'Hey, can I do a little run here?' He says, 'Yes.' Which is rare. Most composers will say, "No, do what I say because I had a reason." I understand, but the trust is so helpful and lovely. Thank you for that, Michael. It's fun every night. There were many iterations of that song, too.
Nick [Rashad Burroughs] is hilarious. I was laughing so hard at his parts with you. To see the relationship be imperfect and perfect at the same time, it felt real and natural, and not forced. Were you two trying to have a rapport before you guys got on stage?
AJ: For every show, we always hug and be like, 'Baby, where are you?' I just got to hug you and squeeze you. Before we ever start the show, we have to connect because I am with him. He is with me. And I always say that with the scene partner with me. I'm like, I got you. You got me? They say, 'I got you.' Especially with comedy, which requires so much listening and timing. Saying 'I am always with you. Whatever rhythm you do, I'm with you.' I'm responding. It's a ball that you get to keep passing back and forth. He's so great with that. At the beginning, when we were doing our table work with that, again, the backstory was important. Have I worked at this club before it was Motomoto? When did we meet Ahmed? How long have I known him? Why do I have this rule? Maybe I had had my heart broken before working and falling in love with someone. I said, 'No, not going to do that. Never again. You won't catch me.'
Nick and I were always like, 'Okay, we want to make sure with the audience and with our story, we earn getting to its a date, so it's not just out of nowhere. With the help of Saheem, you're going to understand her rules here, and you're going to understand that he's been pursuing her a lot, and she always says no. There's also a part of it that she does want to give in. That's natural and it's human. There was an original iteration that I remember when I was at the table with Jocelyn. It sounds like Rashida wants to say, 'Don't shit where you eat'.
There used to be a line saying, 'Don't poopoo where you get your moomoo.' Even though it's not in this script, that's Rashida's mantra. No, I'm all about the business. In the second act, both she and Nadira are coming to terms with stepping into who we are, and we have to be honest with each other. What I love about it, is that Nadira leans on Rashida to be her true self. Rashida also has Nadira challenging herself as well. When we get to 'It's a Date', we finally get that payoff after many, many, many nos. This number is just an explosion of fun and confusion and a messiness. It's like a great messiness because that's life. You're just like, I thought I knew something, and then you learn, 'No, you didn't know something.' Now, you get to plunge into that. It's really fun to do. The journey of that song and how we got to that in the show it's really fun to do every night.
What it's like to be part of the principal cast and working with them to make sure the story all comes together?
AJ: Saheem, at the top of this project, was saying everyone in this story are grios. And in African culture, those are the storytellers. So we're all connected. And I love how the grios... Every person is an ensemble, regardless of what their part is in it. It's like the old cool story. It's like, 'Okay, now I'm going to pass it on to this person, and now they're going to play this person.' I like to consider myself also a griot because we are all coming from this space. Literally, you start on stage and it's just Blackness, and then you just see three women on stage. It's starting the story, and you see these characters emerging to tell you that the story is coming from us. And we are about to present this to you, and look at when it comes together, when the music comes together and the dancing comes together, we're telling a story. We're setting up this world. So, without that connection at the top of the show, then I don't think you would understand how unique Goddess is and how important every person on the stage is.
Even the musicians are acting. They're also the grios, so it's cool, because that’s what storytelling was in its original form. When we were in caves, men and people had drawings on cave walls, and then you put light on it, just to continue to add effects to the story.
In earlier versions of [the song] 'It’s a Date', I was talking to everybody. more with the griots and even talked to the audience a lot. But as we developed the piece, we realized we needed to focus things more. So it became about choosing those moments carefully, not talking too much, or only speaking at key times—to make sure each space felt true to its purpose. When it’s a club, it needs to feel like a club. When it’s Omari’s home, it should feel intimate and grounded. That required us to be more specific and intentional.
At the end of the day, all of us are stepping into this space to tell the story of how music was born and what it does to people. That’s why it feels so universal. It doesn’t matter what the setting is. Whether it's Kenya or Mombasa. That’s what music and art can do when we choose to share them with one another.
What do you hope audiences take away from Goddess?
AJ: No matter what type of music, music is a language of love. It’s a language of identity. It’s communication. I hope people want to keep responding—being in their seats and want to talk back at the stage. I think what this piece does so beautifully is it enhances community. It encourages community, especially in a time where differences are dividing us and fear is dividing us. Look what love and music, and just having this one moment together, can do. It unifies us. I just hope that people take that away as well as obviously the story and how beautiful it is and seeing all these Black actors on stage. the connection of what music does and that personal relationship that every person has with music, I hope they take that away and wonder, 'Where did that come from?' Maybe we can give them a little suggestion of a possible origin story of that. It's so fun.
Goddess plays its final performance at The Public Theater on June 15 after a double extended run.