Choreographed by Tony Thomas.
Playing in New York through Nov. 1. Ticketing information available at mexodusmusical.com
Review by Brittany Samuel for The New York Times 9/22/2025
I’m willing to bet this slice of history was left out of your textbooks: The Underground Railroad didn’t only run north. It also ran south across the aqueous border of the Rio Grande into emancipated Mexico, where thousands of escaped and formerly enslaved people sought refuge.
That story is resurrected in “Mexodus,” Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson’s hip-hop musical that is part historical fiction, part jam session and full of curiosity and the creative use of technology.
In this electrifying theatrical experience, at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theater, Quijada and Robinson rely on music made from loops, starting with plucks on the stand-up bass, strums on acoustic guitar and a run on piano keys. They then layer those with beatboxing, buttery vocals and even an accordion. All of those sounds are repeated over and over, crafting an entire sonic universe from scratch. Instrument by instrument, they build the ark of a song and ride the waves — a dazzling showcase not just for what music can be, but also for the ecstasy of making it.
Review by Austin Fimmano for New York Theatre Guide 9/17/2025
You know you’re in for a treat with new musical Mexodus as soon as the lights go down and the performers step on stage. Bursting with infectious, buoyant energy, creators and stars Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson have the crowd laughing, smiling, and doing call-and-responses from the get-go. …
The pair were inspired by the lost history of the southern routes of the Underground Railroad that allowed enslaved Black people to flee to Mexico. They share in the opening song that between 4 and 10 thousand people escaped slavery by crossing the Mexican border, though little is known about their stories. (“Did you know this shit? We didn’t know this shit!” Quijada and Robinson exclaim.) …
Mexodus, directed by David Mendizábal, and choreographed by Tony Thomas, comes just as packed with history and intention as it does with good music and good fun. It may just be the most fun you have at a show all year. But what makes this musical so likely to stay with its audience is the creators’ focus on intersectionality: what solidarity between oppressed groups meant in the past, what it means in the present, and what it will mean in the future.
