Mexodus
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2024 Mosaic Theatre Company
2025 Berkeley Repertory Theatre
2025 Off-Broadway
2026 Off-Broadway Revival
| Mexodus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Music | Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson |
| Lyrics | Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson |
| Book | Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson |
| Productions | 2024 Baltimore Center Stage 2024 Mosaic Theatre Company 2025 Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2025 Off-Broadway 2026 Off-Broadway Revival |
Mexodus is a hip-hop musical with music, lyrics, book, and orchestrations by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson which premiered at the Baltimore Center Stage in 2024 before premiering Off-Broadway in 2025, and again in 2026.[1] The show tells the story of the Underground Railroad's southern route that crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico, and received widespread acclaim.[2]
The musical draws from the true accounts of African Americans who fled slavery by journeying south into Mexico on the Underground Railroad. Creators Nygel D. Robinson and Brian Quijada perform every role themselves and provide all the music, infused with hip-hop, using a looping station to build each song’s arrangement live on stage for the audience each night.[3]
Robinson portrays Henry, an enslaved man in Texas following its annexation by the United States. Seeking freedom, Henry escapes across the Rio Grande into Mexico, where slavery had been abolished. There he encounters Carlos, played by Quijada, and the two form a deep connection, shaped in part by their shared anger toward a common oppressor. Eventually, they choose to join forces in their struggle, even as events ultimately lead them down separate paths.[4]