And please know that no matter how many superlatives I use in this review, Mexodus<\/em> is even better than I can possibly portray! Everything about it is fascinating! Here\u2019s how much I loved it\u2014I\u2019m absolutely sick that Mr. X missed it! If I had known exactly what was to come, I would have insisted that my krump dancing bae go with me. (But my friend Jeanine, who got that honor in his place, keeps saying it\u2019s \u201cso amazing!\u201d And, trust me, hip-hop is far from her thing. She\u2019s doing a role on a TV hospital show now, and she said that she was thinking about the show so much in her \u201chospital bed\u201d on set the day after the opening that she fell asleep doing so! A crew member had to wake her!)<\/p>\n Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson. Photo by Jeff Lorch, as is the one above.<\/p><\/div>\n I actually almost turned down the invitation to Opening Night of Mexodus<\/em> because I was, as usual, overbooked for that weekend. But I adore the Pasadena Playhouse, so I changed my schedule around, even though the title and image on the invitation did not really make clear what I would find there. But as soon as I did a bit of research on this show, I could not wait to see it. It\u2019s just two guys, Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, (who also wrote the script and all the music!!!,) yet it\u2019s won several Best Musical awards in New York! I could not imagine how that was even possible.<\/p>\n And now that I\u2019ve seen it, I have my answer. I can\u2019t remember ever before witnessing so much creativity from just two humans! It\u2019s literally mind-boggling. I rarely call anything \u201camazing,\u201d but in this case, that word is not even good enough!<\/p>\n Besides what we\u2019re seeing on the stage, my head spins from picturing them conjuring-up this entire show! So much work went into it. I can absolutely see why Mexodus<\/em> was the season\u2019s most award-winning off-Broadway musical. (Sidebar: The cute girl sitting next to me told me that her brother, who lives in New York, had missed the show there<\/em>, so he flew out here<\/em> to see it!)<\/p>\n So what could this be about really<\/em>, you might ask? I feel that there\u2019s no way to describe the show that will do it justice, but I\u2019ll try. It does actually have a story. It\u2019s a tale of two men who come together in Mexico in 1851 through the Underground Railroad of that era. Nygel plays Henry, a runaway American slave, and Brian is Carlos, the Mexican man who saves him. That historic lesson is very important, of course, especially in these times when so many minorities are being heavily discriminated against in this country once again. I worry every time I don\u2019t hear from any of my non-Caucasian pals for a couple of days.<\/p>\n Nygel D. Robinson and Brian Quijada. Photo by Jeff Lorch.<\/p><\/div>\n But it\u2019s the jaw-dropping massive talent of these guys that\u2019s the reason to see the show. Besides all the writing of the narrative, music, and lyrics, and the outrageous musicianship, (they each play multiple instruments, including Brian on\u2026accordion!; and Nygel even appears to be a concert pianist!,) the guys are funny and serious and poignant actors. They literally have enough talent for about forty people each. Hey buddies-\u2013 leave some for the rest of us!<\/p>\n Adding to the excellence is that the performers are enjoying themselves as much as the audience is! Brian is also basically the emcee of the proceedings, and he\u2019s charming. He asked if we were ready to \u201cget lit,\u201d which it appeared that the younger-than-usual audience was. And they\u2019re both cute, which does not hurt. The two of them must have been the life of every party as youngsters. (And now<\/em>, as well! Never since I saw Mr. X on stage as a teenager, and knew right away that I wanted him in my life, have I wanted to be friends with the actors\/musicians I\u2019ve seen in a show before!) [Auxiliary note: I met Nygel\u2019s girlfriend at the fun afterparty, and she\u2019s beautiful, too!]<\/p>\n I was a fan of just their voices and music, even when I didn\u2019t understand the words. One amazing aspect of what they do is layer each instrument\u2019s sound, building all the music from scratch at each performance right in front of our eyes. It\u2019s mostly hip-hop, but there\u2019s actually a touch of other styles along the way\u2014some soul, gospel, traditional Mexican, a bit of blues, and even that tiny bit of classical piano I mentioned before. (I would have loved to hear Nygel play even more of that!) It\u2019s all totally my kind of music.<\/p>\n And, for once, I was far from the only person bopping to the music! I was happy to see that audience movement. It was actually sort-of hard to stay in my seat except for the fact that I wanted to watch the guys even more than to dance myself!<\/p>\n Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson. Photo by Jeff Lorch.<\/p><\/div>\n I do have to admit that I couldn\u2019t really follow the story at first. (Perhaps that\u2019s because my aural comprehension has gotten a tad lazy due to using closed captions on TV.) But after about fifteen of the ninety minutes, I got the narrative, and was all in. But I enjoyed it all<\/em> from the get-go because of the incredible music and the energy of the duo performing it.<\/p>\n I also appreciated much of the dialogue, both amusing and heavy. Brian\u2019s character pointed-out that as a people, \u201cwe are taught to separate.\u201d Spot-on. And one of them said, \u201cIt\u2019s not safe anywhere,\u201d as the character in 1851\u2014ring any bells for these<\/em> days?<\/p>\n One line that especially struck me was, \u201cWhat are you doing with the days that your ancestors have earned you?\u201d That was just one sentence in the middle of all of it, but it really hit home. Clearly, this<\/em> duo is doing the absolute most with their<\/em> days!!! You know when people ask what you bring to the table? Well, these guys built<\/em> the table!<\/p>\n This is how good Mexodus<\/em> is\u2014for once, I\u2019m not even going to equate it to a story from my own<\/em> life! There is<\/em> no comparison. (How\u2019s that for a recommendation???)<\/p>\n Of course, Brian and Nygel can\u2019t do everything<\/em> by themselves, so they had David Mendiz\u00e1bal direct it, (he also did the tiny bit of costuming there is,) and Tony Thomas choreographed the bit of movement. (The crowd went wild when the guys did literally one second of Kid \u2019n Play\u2019s famous move!) I also have to give props to \u201clooping systems architecture and sound designer\u201d Mikhail Fiksel, who won a Tony for the also-fascinating Dana H.<\/em>, (which I reviewed here, if you want to see what else this guy can do: itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/theatre-dana-h<\/a>.)<\/p>\n To sum up, if you love great music, and are a fan of talent, you have got<\/em> to see Mexodus<\/em>!<\/p>\n Brian Quijada, (in the cowboy hat–note the shoes!,) and Nygel D. Robinson, (in the shades,) at the afterparty, surrounded by pals and admirers. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I have to add a couple of props for the Pasadena Playhouse itself. One is that they always provide little bottles of ice cold water for the audience on hot days. You have no idea how much I appreciate that. And my friend pointed-out that there is plenty of room between the rows for people to get by without stepping on your feet, which is also a pleasure. So go see this show there already! You have only two more weeks!<\/p>\n Mexodus<\/em> running through August 2, 2026<\/strong> MEXODUS Mexodus is quite possibly the best show I\u2019ve ever seen! (And between reviewing theatre now and growing up in New York, I\u2019ve seen at least thirty shows a year since I was about two!!! I saw three last weekend alone!) And please know that no matter how many superlatives I use in this review,<\/p>\n![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Pasadena-Playhouse_MEXODUS_1_BRIAN-QUIJADA-and-NYGEL-D.-ROBINSON_photo-by-JEFF-LORCH-e1784315621932.jpg\")
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\n Pasadena Playhouse 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena<\/strong>
\n 626-356-7529 www.pasadenaplayhouse.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"