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DC Premiere

Where the Mountain Meets the Sea

May 21 - Jul 7, 2024
A young man looks up. An image of a red car driving down a road next to the sea is overlaid on his body and face

A poignant, beautiful musical of parallel journeys from the writer of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and directed by Timothy Douglas (Signature’s The Color Purple).

After he learns of his estranged father’s death, a son recreates the cross-country trip his Haitian immigrant parents took before he was born. As he traces their journey across America, and bonds with the music his father adored, time blurs and erases the distance between them.

Lyrical storytelling and an evocative folk score drive father and son to rediscover love, each other and their everlasting bond.

“You might walk out of Where the Mountain Meets the Sea wanting to take a road trip, or call your dad, or listen to more folk music. One guarantee is that you won’t leave this show feeling nothing.”
- New York Theatre Guide

Written by Jeff Augustin
Music by The Bengsons
Music Directed by Rob Morrison
Choreographed by Dane Figueroa Edidi
Directed by Timothy Douglas
#SigMountain
#SigMountain

Performance Information

Seating Chart

Seating chart for Where the Mountain Meets the Sea
  • Running Time

    Running time is approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, no intermission.

  • Content Warnings

    This show is recommended for mature teens and up, it has discussions of sex, adult language, and will use theatrical haze.

Specialty Nights

Discussion Nights

June 5 & 25, 2024

Pride Night

June 28, 2024

Masks Required

May 23, 8PM, June 2, 2PM & June 25, 7:30PM

Program

Flip through the Where the Mountain Meets the Sea Program

Click the arrows to turn the pages, and click the box in the bottom right corner to view in full screen.

Cast Members

Isaac "Deacon Izzy" Bell

Isaac "Deacon Izzy" Bell

Jonah

he/him SIGNATURE: Where the Mountain Meets the Sea, How Sweet It Is: Men of Soul, Passing Strange. OTHER: DuPont Brass, Deacon Izzy and The Congregation, Mark G. Meadows and The Movement, Chrysis Entertainment, Washington Talent Agency. AWARDS: The Wammies [Washington Area Music Award (7x recipient)]. EDUCATION: Howard University: Bachelor of Music. @deaconizzy dupontbrass.com

Robert Cornelius

Jean

he/him REGIONAL: Goodspeed Opera House/McCarter Theatre Center: Dreamgirls; Huntington Theatre: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone; Front Porch Arts Collective: Chicken and Biscuits; Madison Repertory: Blues for an Alabama Sky; St Louis Black Repertory: Spunk, Milwaukee Repertory: The Rivals, You Can’t Take it With You; Indiana Repertory: Great Expectations; Lookingglass Theatre: Her Honor Jane Byrne; Goodman Theatre: Lottery Day; Haven Theatre/About Face: The Total Bent (Joseph Jefferson Award nomination, Best Performance by a Lead/Musical); Victory Gardens Theater: Rightlynd, Wheatley, Spiele 36 or the Fourth Medal, Takunda; The Gift Theatre: Hamlet; Drury Lane Oakbrook: Aida; American Theatre Company: Picnic; The Hypocrites: Wit; Court Theatre: Raisin. TV/FILM: Shameless, The Chi, South Side, Chicago PD, Turks, Hoodlum. MUSIC/VARIETY: Robert Cornelius 7 (principal songwriter/vocals), Poi Dog Pondering (vocals), Milly’s Orchid Show (dancer, vocals).

Rob Morrison

Music Director and Musician

he/him OFF-BROADWAY: Classic Stage: Frankenstein (directed by Timothy Douglas), Assassins; New World Stages: Avenue Q, Nevermore, Pinkalicious. REGIONAL: Goodspeed: The 12, Big River; Cincinnati Playhouse: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Berkshire Theatre Group: Working; Merrimack Rep: The Porch on Windy Hill; Capital Rep: Million Dollar Quartet Christmas; Philadelphia Theatre Company: Nerds; North Carolina Theatre: Nerds, Jesus Christ Superstar; Lyric Theater of Boston: Urinetown; Adirondack Theatre Festival: Avenue Q; Dallas Theatre Center: Moonshine. TV/FILM: CBS: Unforgettable; Amazon: Alpha House; Freedom. VOICEOVER: Nickelodeon: Sunny Day; PBS: Peg + Cat; Amazon: Bug Diaries; Netflix: Too Hot to Handle (Brazil). AS COMPOSER: Frankenstein, Sun Belt Express, Hulu: It Could Be Worse. MUSIC: member of folk bands The Hollows and The Booklights; guitarist with The Skivvies. EDUCATION: Emerson College: BFA. www.therobmorrison.com @therobmorrison

Awa Sal Secka

Awa Sal Secka

Musician

SIGNATURE: Ragtime (Sarah), Gun and Powder (Flo), Jesus Christ Superstar (Simon), Broadway in the Park, Signature Vinyl. NY: GODDESS 2021/2023 Workshop (Zawadi), GRACE Workshop (Jackie). Regional: PAPER MILL: AFTER MIDNIGHT (Sassy). BERKELEY REP: GODDESS (Zawadi). DC: KENNEDY CENTER: RENT (Joanne), Me…Jane (Maisie), Chasing the Wind (Abby). FORD’S: Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife), The Wiz (Glinda/Dorothy u/s. THEATRE J: Intimate Apparel (Mayme). ROUND HOUSE: School Girls (Ama), Caroline, or Change (Dottie). IMAGINATION: Cinderella (Cinderella), Charlie Brown (Lucy). ARTSCENTRIC: L5Y (Cathy), AIDA (Aida), MEMPHIS (Felicia). STUDIO: SILENCE! (Ardelia). OTC: Co-Writer of The Joy That Carries You (Winner of the 2023 Charles MacArthur Award for Best New Play), Children of Eden Concert (Eve), Avenue Q. EDUCATION: Montgomery College. INSTA: @_kujichagulia_ REP: Nicolosi & Co.

Creative Team

Rob Morrison

Music Directed by

he/him OFF-BROADWAY: Classic Stage: Frankenstein (directed by Timothy Douglas), Assassins; New World Stages: Avenue Q, Nevermore, Pinkalicious. REGIONAL: Goodspeed: The 12, Big River; Cincinnati Playhouse: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Berkshire Theatre Group: Working; Merrimack Rep: The Porch on Windy Hill; Capital Rep: Million Dollar Quartet Christmas; Philadelphia Theatre Company: Nerds; North Carolina Theatre: Nerds, Jesus Christ Superstar; Lyric Theater of Boston: Urinetown; Adirondack Theatre Festival: Avenue Q; Dallas Theatre Center: Moonshine. TV/FILM: CBS: Unforgettable; Amazon: Alpha House; Freedom. VOICEOVER: Nickelodeon: Sunny Day; PBS: Peg + Cat; Amazon: Bug Diaries; Netflix: Too Hot to Handle (Brazil). AS COMPOSER: Frankenstein, Sun Belt Express, Hulu: It Could Be Worse. MUSIC: member of folk bands The Hollows and The Booklights; guitarist with The Skivvies. EDUCATION: Emerson College: BFA. www.therobmorrison.com @therobmorrison

Enhance Your Experience

Inside Signature with Robert Cornelius

June 6, 2024 1 – 2PM
The Mead Lobby and Streaming Online
FREE, No Reservation Required

Robert Cornelius who plays the father, Jean, in Where the Mountain Meets the Sea, may be a Signature newcomer, but he has been an actor, singer, writer, educator and activist for over three decades. Come learn about his work in Chicago, his time as the Arts Education Director at Victory Gardens Theatre, stepping back into acting, and how he inspires the youth of tomorrow to share their stories through art.

Press Reviews

A gem in an ocean of musicals

BroadwayWorld

Lovingly staged

The Washington Post

Richly rewarding… Gorgeous musical moments

Metro Weekly

A remarkably warm, loving story of intergenerational connection

MD Theatre Guide

As quiet and as powerful as both the tallest peaks and the loud crashing waves of its title

DC Theater Arts

Lyrical, deeply felt

UnProfessional Opinion

Hopeful and enticing

DMV Theatre Review

Signature Theatre

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