''Witness Uganda'' (previously titled ''Invisible Thread'') is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with book, music, and lyrics by Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews. It was based on the true story of Matthews' humanitarian trips to

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, and his work to fund his nonprofit organization, Uganda Project. The musical premiered under the title ''Witness Uganda'' on February 4, 2014 at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...

, and ran through March 16, 2014. Under the title ''Invisible Thread'', the show transferred to off-Broadway's

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a non-profit theater company that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway. It is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1979 ...

in a production which ran during December 2015. The show returned to its original title of ''Witness Uganda'' for a February 2019 run at the

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, also known as The Wallis, is a community arts center in Beverly Hills, California, named for philanthropist and endower Wallis Annenberg Location The Wallis is located on the corner of North S ...

in Los Angeles.

Synopsis

The American Repertory Theatre wrote: The story was based on Matthews' experience in

, as well as Gould's

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

experience in

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

and other similar experiences.

Production history

The idea and creation for the musical began in 2008 when Gould and Matthews needed money for their non-profit organisation The Uganda Project. Gould recorded Matthews ranting about his frustrations and how they could not raise money for the non-profit. Gould composed music and incorporated it with the recording, beginning their project. Gould and Matthews initially performed the show by themselves to raise funds for The Uganda Project. They were invited to perform at TEDx and Disney ASCAP. During their Disney ASCAP performance, they were able to impress the composer/lyricist

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...

, who composed notable musicals such as

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * ''Wicked'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...

. Gould said of the experience, "The show was a mess at that time, but we knew what the heart of it was." Gould and Matthews brought in additional members of the creative team, who also had foreign aid experience. Choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie previously taught dance in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and the interns hired, mostly from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, had volunteering experience in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, and Uganda.

Original production

The show premiered under the title ''Witness Uganda'' on February 4, 2014 at the

. The show was directed by

Diane Paulus Diane Marie Paulus (born 1966) is an American theater and opera director who is currently the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.Colleen Walsh"Paulus reaches beyond boards" ''Harvar ...

, with Shira Milikowsky as the associate director. The show starred Griffin Matthews as Griffin, Michael Luwoye as Jacob, Adeola Role as Joy, Emma Hunton as Ryan, Nicolette Robinson as Eden, Kristolyn Lloyd as Grace, Jamar Williams as Ibrahim, Tyrone Davis, Jr. as Ronny, and the ensemble of Melody Betts, Rodrick Covington, Kevin Curtis, LaTrisa Harper, Aisha Jackson, and Jamard Richardson.

Later productions

The musical came to

' attention after it won the 2012 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater. She was impressed and noted it was like nothing she ever heard or read before. While she was working on '' Pippin'' at the

, Schwartz mentioned there was a musical about Uganda that would interest her. The musical later won the Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater again in 2014. Under the direction of Diane Paulus, the show had a staged reading on October 23 and 24, 2014. The cast included Julius Thomas III, Adeola Role,

Adam Kantor Adam Kantor (born May 27, 1986) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his roles on Broadway theatre, Broadway, most notably Mark Cohen in the closing cast of ''Rent (musical), Rent'', which was captured in ''Rent: Filmed Live on B ...

, Michael Luwoye, Kristolyn Lloyd, Nicolette Robinson, Jamar Williams, Tyrone Davis, Jr., Amber Iman, Aisha Jackson, LaTrisa Harper, Rodrick Covington, Kevin Curtis and Jamard Richardson. The title was changed to ''Invisible Thread'' in 2015, for a production at the

. Previews began on October 31, 2015 and it officially opened on December 2, 2015.http://2st.com/shows/current-production/Invisible Thread #calendar It closed in late December 2015.

Musical numbers

2015 off-Broadway (Second Stage Theatre) ; Act I * "All Are Welcome" – Company * "Kyussa" – Company * "To The Hill" – Company * "Beautiful" - Griffin, Ibahim, Eden, Grace, Ronny, Ensemble * "Invisible Thread" – Griffin & Ryan * "I Have a Lover" – Griffin & Jacob * "The Library" – Company * "Put It All on the Line" – Company * "Weeds" – Jacob & Ensemble * "New World" – Company ; Act II * "Internet Song" – Griffin, Ryan, Ibrahim, Eden, Jacob, Grace, Ronny * "Bricks" – Company * "If I Could Turn Around" – Griffin, Ryan & Company * "Phone Call Delay" – Griffin, Ryan, Ibrahim, Eden, Grace, Ronny * "Bela Musana" – Company * "I'd Cross the Blue" – Ensemble * "Fragile" – Company * "Njakuangula" – Company

Casts

* Jeremy Pope played the role of Griffin at certain performances

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Uganda ProjectWitness Uganda
2014 musicals Musicals inspired by real-life events Off-Broadway musicals Musicals set in Uganda