Masi Asare, PhD is an associate professor of theatre and performance studies at Northwestern University, where she is also affiliated with the sound arts and industries program and the Black Arts Consortium. She is a Tony-nominated songwriter whose work includes Paradise Square (Broadway, Chicago), Monsoon Wedding (Off-Broadway, Delhi, Doha), Odyssey (SF Bay Area, national tour), and Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood: The Musical (Concord Theatricals). As a composer and dramatist, she has been commissioned by Theatre Royal Stratford East, the Lilly Awards, and Marvel. Masi’s voice students have performed on Broadway and worldwide, and her scholarly book Blues Mamas and Broadway Belters comes out from Duke University Press in the fall of 2024. She is co-editor of a special issue of Studies in Musical Theatre on “The Musical-Theatrical Global South” (forthcoming 2025) with research supported by the NU Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. A past Dramatists Guild Fellow and Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Fellow, Masi’s honors include the Ziegfeld Award for a woman composer of musicals, a grant from the Theater Hall of Fame, and inclusion on the “Women to Watch on Broadway” list. She has also published with the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, Journal of Popular Music Studies, TDR, The Routledge Companion to Musical Theatre, and Performance Matters. Masi is a member of ASCAP, the Dramatists Guild, and the Recording Academy, where she is a Grammy Awards voter.
At Northwestern, she teaches courses in critical musical theatre studies, vocal performance studies, and musical theatre writing. Masi is a past recipient of the Clarence Simon Award for Teaching and Mentoring from the School of Communication; in 2024 she received a university teaching award when she was named a Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence and a Distinguished Fellow of the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching.
Education
- PhD, Performance Studies, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts
- MA, Performance Studies, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts
- BA, magna cum laude, Performance Studies, Harvard University
Recent Awards and Honors
- Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching and Learning - 2024
- San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award Nominee, Original Music - 2024
- Tony Nominee, Best Original Score - 2022
- NY Outer Critics Circle Award Nominee, Outstanding Score - 2022
- Clarence Simon Award for Teaching and Mentoring - 2022
- Northwestern Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Faculty Fellow - 2022
- Women to Watch on Broadway List - 2022
Courses
- Theatre 253 - Music Theatre History
- Theatre 255 - Creating the Musical
- Theatre 340 - Black Women on the Musical Stage
- Theatre 352 - Advanced Music Theatre Techniques: Vocal Styles
- Theatre 355 - Advanced Creating the Musical
- Theatre 448 - Racial Histories of the Broadway Musical
- Theatre 546 - Vocal Sound and Performances of Race
Recent and Upcoming
- Blues Mamas and Broadway Belters. Delighted that my scholarly book on Black women, musicals, and vocal performance comes out from Duke University Press October 22, 2024! Now available for pre-order. Use discount code E24ASARE for 30% off. More info
- Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood: The Musical. It's been a joy to write music and lyrics for the new musical adaptation of this play by Adam Szymkowicz for Concord Theatricals/EdTA. Available to license starting Fall 2024! More info