THE MENA SHOW
THE MENA SHOW
Collaborator Faiza Alex Manaa
An Original Full Length Musical
Libretto and Additional Music by Faiza Alex Manaa
Music by Vaheed Talebian
SYNOPSIS: Set amidst the 2017 Muslim Ban, The MENA Show is an Arab & Persian-American coming-of-age musical that follows Nancy as she fights for MENA visibility at Cleveland State University. But family pressure, a culture war, and a battle against censorship force Nancy to confront much more than she anticipated. The MENA Show is an exploration into what it takes to keep a culture alive in a foreign land: both the rewards and the sacrifice.
READINGS: Staged reading at NYU Production Lab directed by Drama Desk nominee George Abud, 2026. Staged reading at NYU Tisch GMTWP directed by Thalia Ranjbar, 2024.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS: 2026 NYU Artists in Residence, 2024 Eugene O’Neill NMTC Semi-Finalist, 2024 AMTP Finalist
“Nancy ‘Agram” Performed at Joe’s Pub
Singers: Olivia AbiAssi, Salma Qarnain, Mia Mooko
Piano/MD: Vadim Feichtner
Guitar: Carlos Bauzys
Bass: Jarrett Murray
Percussion: Danny Ursetti
Directed by Brandon Anderson
Filmed live at Joe's Pub in collaboration with NYU Tisch GMTWP
“Virtuosic WORK… Shining a light on fresh stories that need to be heard.”
-Mindi Dickstein, “Little Women, The Musical” Lyricist