Grabmeier and Jost to present first-look staged reading of Love U, a new queer musical, on September 23, 2024
San Francisco, CA, September 3rd, 2024 — Local musical theater writing duo Grabmeier and Jost will present the first staged reading of their new musical Love U at Z Below on Monday, September 23rd, 2024.
Composer and lyricist Maggie Grabmeier, of local band Maggie Gently, is an indie songwriter who tours regularly throughout the United States. Book writer Nicole Jost is a co-founder and former Artistic Director of Queer Cat Productions, a San Francisco theater company that created consent-forward, accessible, and immersive experiences from 2017-2023. Love U is their first musical. The staged reading will be directed by Ciera Eis, with music direction by Jord Liu.
Love U is a queer musical rom-com about lies, love, and college. Sparks fly when small town bookworm Mia and big city track star Jae meet at the college library, and Jae tells a little white lie: that she’s just as much of a reader as Mia is. Will Jae’s fictions undermine their happily ever after? These freshmen still have a lot to learn… With emotionally honest songwriting and an all-queer cast of characters, Love U is a life-affirming coming-of-age tale for students of the human heart.
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Queer theatermakers have always turned our pain into stunning works of art. But what about our joy? Straight people get to see themselves reflected in countless adventures, fantasies, romances… As queer people, we need that too. I want queer joy onstage!
Nicole Jost, Love U book writer
Love U is not only political for Grabmeier and Jost — it’s personal, too. Both Maggie and Nicole met their wives in college. The pair began developing the musical during the summer of 2022. After a private table read earlier this year, Grabmeier performed the song “I Don’t Read” with piano arranger Charles Kieser at Analog Theatre’s “Mask Monday” on July 29th. The staged reading on September 23rd will be the first public sharing of the full musical.
This project has been such a creative breath of fresh air. I have been writing music my whole life, but writing for theater is such a different process. Finding these characters’ truths and really getting immersed in the world of Love U has been a highlight of my music career.
Maggie Grabmeier, Love U composer and lyricist
Love U, a first-look staged reading
Date:
Monday, September 23, 2024 at 7:30pm
Venue:
Z Below
470 Florida Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tickets:
$20
Cast and Creative Team:
Julia Wright as Mia
Lucca Troutman as Jae
Keli’i Salvador as Phoenix
Lena Sibony as Kelsey
Benjamin Hoàng Nguyễn as Isaac
Emma Gardner as Ember
Rae Yuen as Ava
Al R. Niotta as Ollie
Book: Nicole Jost
Music and Lyrics: Maggie Grabmeier
Director: Ciera Eis
Music Director: Jord Liu
Guitarist: Tennessee Mowrey
Stage Directions Reader: Olivia Gregor Brown
Creative Team Bios
Nicole Jost (she/her) is a playwright, theater producer, and educator. She is a co-founder and former Artistic Director of Queer Cat Productions, a San Francisco theater company that created consent-forward, accessible, immersive experiences from 2017-2023. With Queer Cat, Nicole is the co-writer of four interactive plays, including THE GAY DIVORCE PLAY (Potrero Stage, 2019) and FELIX B. LOVE IS NOT ALONE! (virtual, April 2020). As a solo playwright, Nicole’s first play, THE TERROR FANTASTIC, was produced by 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities in 2017. Her play SUCIA was produced by San Francisco State University, the University of Central Missouri, and read at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Other full length plays have been read at San Francisco Playhouse, Z Space, and The Custom Made Theatre Company. Nicole is a two-time winner of the James Milton Highsmith Playwriting Award. She holds an M.F.A. in Playwriting from San Francisco State University. She lives in San Francisco with her wife, who she met in college.
Maggie Grabmeier (she/her) is a San Francisco-based indie songwriter. Her band Maggie Gently tours regularly throughout the US and has played locally in San Francisco with artists like Sobs, Bad Bad Hats, The Greeting Committee, Ratboys, and many more. As Maggie Gently, her music is melody-driven and heartfelt — a big-city indie rock fascination with an unmistakable emo accent. Her debut EP, GOOD CRY, was released May 28, 2020 on Brace Cove Records, and her 2020 single “Where My Time Went” (Common Ground Collective) was highlighted in NPR’s “New Music Friday” playlist on Spotify. Her 2022 record PEPPERMINT was released by Refresh Records and received praise from Audiofemme, Country Queer, and Brooklyn Vegan. Her newest album WHEREVER YOU WANT TO GO was released in June 2024. Maggie is also a public librarian in the Bay Area, and received her MLIS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2023. She lives in San Francisco with her wife, who she met in college.
Ciera Eis (she/her) is a theatrical director who develops socio-political new work. She is interested in creating a colorful, engaging, and vibrant queer future of theater by embracing the inherent theatricality of the modern world. Ciera has developed new work at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Magic Theatre, Shotgun Players, among others, and she has assisted Anne Kauffman, Mina Morita, and Eric Ting. She has been in the room with playwrights such as Taylor Mac, Naomi Iizuka, Luis Alfaro, Mfoniso Udofia, Kimber Lee, and Will Eno. Ciera was the Associate Producer of The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory Theater, Interim Artistic Director at Custom Made Theatre Company, Artistic Director at FaultLine Theater, Creative Producer at PianoFight SF, and a 2019-2021 SDCF Observer. Double B.A. in Theater Arts and Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz. Awards: Promising Women in Theatre, Porter Arts Grant, Da Vinci Scholar Award, and Renaissance Artist Award.
Jord Liu (she/her) is a theater writer, musician, and music director. Her first show, “Baked! The Musical,” (co-created with Deepak Kumar) premiered at the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival 2020, where it won awards for Best Lyrics, Best Lead, Best Supporting, and Best Ensemble. Since then the show has been accepted into RAVE 2020, NYMF 2020, and most recently NAMT 2022. Jord is a Eugene O’Neill NMTC Semifinalist, as well as a past resident with SFBATCO’s 2022 Creator’s Lab. Jord has produced and music directed with Underscore Theatre in Chicago, the National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO), Musical Theatre Factory, and PACE University in New York, Shotgun Players in Berkeley, FaultLine Theater and Z Space in San Francisco. By day, Jord works at the Exploratorium building prototypes of new hands-on science exhibits.
Love U is supported by Theatre Bay Area.