‘Mexodus’ Review: The Underground Railroad Runs South to Mexico in a Pasadena Playhouse Musical That Feels as Spirited as a Two-Man ‘Hamilton’
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- Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson wrote and star as the sole performers in 'Mexodus,' a two-hander at Pasadena Playhouse that uses vocal looping and instruments to conjure a full ensemble sound during its intermission-less 90-minute run.
- The musical's plot follows an enslaved man named Henry (Robinson) who escapes south to Mexico and forms an uneasy bond with a rancher named Carlos (Quijada), with the narrative framed as both an 1860s-period piece and a commentary on Black-Latino solidarity in the 2020s.
- Quijada and Robinson reportedly cite an estimated 4,000 to 10,000 enslaved people who fled on a lesser-known Underground Railroad running south into Mexico, a historical fact the show foregrounds without becoming a lecture.
- 'Mexodus' originally ran at New York's Minetta Lane Theatre in 2025 before a second engagement at the Daryl Roth Theatre that wrapped June 14, collecting four Lucille Lortel Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, an Off Broadway Alliance Award and a Drama League Award.
- Director David Mendizábal stages the show, which blends hip-hop with traditional Tex-Mex balladry and includes autobiographical anecdotes from each writer-performer about their real-life encounters with the other's community.
Why it matters: The transfer gives Los Angeles audiences a fresh look at an Off-Broadway hit less than two months after its New York close — rare speed for a regional theater booking, with Pasadena slotting it in immediately after its acclaimed 'Brigadoon' revival. The show's commercial and awards success (12 major Off-Broadway honors) signals that the two-hander format with looping technology can carry a serious historical drama without a full cast.
