Dr. Masi Asare is a Tony-nominated songwriter, dramatist, and performance scholar. She is associate professor of theatre and performance studies at Northwestern University, where she directs the American Music Theatre Project and holds the McCormick Professorship for Teaching Excellence.

Honors for blues mamas

Masi's scholarly book Blues Mamas and Broadway Belters (Duke University Press, 2024) has received the Judy Tsou Critical Race Studies Award from the American Musicological Society, Special Recognition from the Kurt Weill Prize, the Duke University Press Scholars of Color First Book Award, and the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism.

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New Musical in development

The new 1940s-set blues, gospel, and jazz musical DELTA BLUE (book by Matt Williams and Trey Ellis, music/lyrics by Masi Asare and Jimmy Vivino) recently had a two-week workshop in New York at The Sheen Center in downtown Manhattan. The workshop was directed by Kent Gash, with music direction by Kevin Ramessar, and featured a cast of Broadway performers.

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Fall 2026 Lecture series

Masi will be giving a series of lectures on musical theatre history this fall with the Northwestern Alumnae Continuing Education program. The lectures are given in hybrid format and may be attended in person or virtually, at a very affordable price point. Enrollment is now open, and is not limited to Northwestern alums but open to all.

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