LOVE U is a queer musical rom-com about lies, love, and college. At a school everyone calls “Love U,” college freshmen discover themselves and each other.
Contact us: grabmeierandjost@gmail.com
Musical Numbers
ACT I
"Love U" - Ensemble
"The New Mia" - Mia
"I Don't Read" - Jae and Ensemble
"Between the Lines" - Jae and Mia
"Holy Shit" - Mia and Kelsey
"Body Language" - Jae and Mia
"Let's Not Be Friends" - Phoenix and Kelsey
"Homework" - Company
"I Don't Read (reprise)" - Jae and Mia
"This Is What I Get" - Mia and Ensemble
ACT II
"Gay and Single and 18" - Company
"Aces are Wild" - Phoenix and Ensemble
"Way Off Track" - Jae
"The New Mia (reprise)" - Mia
"Out of Sync" - Mia
"Love is Learning You" - Company
"Love U (reprise)" - Company
Production Team
Nicole Jost
librettist
Nicole Jost (she/her) is a playwright, theater producer, and educator. She is a co-founder and former Artistic Director of Queer Cat Productions, a San Francisco theater company that created consent-forward, accessible, immersive experiences from 2017-2023. With Queer Cat, Nicole is the co-writer of four interactive plays, including THE GAY DIVORCE PLAY (Potrero Stage, 2019) and FELIX B. LOVE IS NOT ALONE! (virtual, April 2020). As a solo playwright, Nicole’s first play, THE TERROR FANTASTIC, was produced by 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities in 2017. Her play SUCIA was produced by San Francisco State University, the University of Central Missouri, and read at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Nicole holds an M.F.A. in Playwriting from San Francisco State University. She lives in San Francisco with her wife, who she met in college. LOVE U is her first musical.
Jord Liu
music director, arranger, and keyboard
Jord Liu (she/her) is a theatre writer, musician, and music director. Her first show, “Baked! The Musical,” (co-created with Deepak Kumar) premiered at the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival 2020, where it won awards for Best Lyrics, Best Lead, Best Supporting, and Best Ensemble. Since then the show has been accepted into RAVE 2020, NYMF 2020, and most recently NAMT 2022. Jord is a Eugene O’Neill NMTC Semifinalist, as well as a past resident with SFBATCO’s 2022 Creator’s Lab. Jord has produced and music directed with Underscore Theatre in Chicago, the National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO), Musical Theatre Factory, and PACE University in New York, Shotgun Players in Berkeley, FaultLine Theater and Z-Space in San Francisco. By day, Jord works at the Exploratorium building prototypes of new hands-on science exhibits.
Maggie Grabmeier
composer and lyricist
Maggie Grabmeier (she/her) is a San Francisco-based indie songwriter. Her band Maggie Gently has toured throughout the US and played locally in San Francisco with artists like Sobs, Bad Bad Hats, The Greeting Committee, Ratboys, and many more. As Maggie Gently, her music is melody-driven and heartfelt — a big-city indie rock fascination with an unmistakable emo accent. Her debut EP, GOOD CRY, was released May 28, 2020 on Brace Cove Records. Her newest album WHEREVER YOU WANT TO GO (June 6, 2024) was released with Slang Church Records. Her music has received praise from Audiofemme, Country Queer, and Brooklyn Vegan. Maggie is also a public librarian in the Bay Area, and received her MLIS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2023. She lives in San Francisco with her wife, who she met in college. LOVE U is her first musical.
Ciera Eis
director
Ciera Eis (she/her) is a theatrical director who develops socio-political new work. She is interested in creating a colorful, engaging, and vibrant queer future of theater by embracing the inherent theatricality of the modern world.Credits includes: “Last West” (SVMA 2025), “Every Christmas Story” (Town Hall), “Circle Mirror Transformation” (Custom Made Theatre), “WORK/SHOOT” (Playground SF), “Faust on 4Chan” (The Ground Floor), and “Lost Ballad of Mechanical Hero…”(Shotgun Players). Ciera has developed new work with Berkeley Rep, A.C.T., Magic Theatre, Shotgun Players, Playground, among others and has assisted Anne Kauffman, Mina Morita, and Eric Ting. Ciera is a Casting Director at Casting Collective and aids in producing The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep every summer. She was the Interim Artistic Director at Custom Made Theatre, Artistic Director at FaultLine Theater, Creative Producer at PianoFight, Directors Lab West 2024 recipient, and 2019-2021 SDCF Observer. Double B.A. in Theater Arts and Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz. Awards: Shortlived VIII, Promising Women in Theatre, Porter Arts Grant, and Renaissance Artist Award.
Performers
Mia
Julia Wright is so excited to be bringing Love U to the stage for the first time! You may have recently seen her singing with an eel sock puppet as Gabby in the staged workshops of Eels! (The Musical) at the Marsh Theatre, or wielding a sword as Tilly Evans in She Kills Monsters with Plethos Productions. When she isn’t performing, Julia works as a librarian in the coastside town of Pacifica.
Jae
Lucca is an electro-acoustic composer, director, and performer. She holds a BA in Psychology and Music from Smith College and an MA in Composition from Mills College in Oakland. She regularly performs throughout the Bay Area and was recently featured as Eve/Louise in Ruthless at NCTC, Allison in Fun Home at Berkeley Playhouse, Ronnette in Little Shop of Horrors at TheatreWorks, and co-created Digital Milk at CounterPulse with her multidisciplinary ensemble, Driven Arts Collective. Outside of performing, Lucca enjoys teaching, creating eclectic art, and spending quality time in nature with her affable dogs, Ama and Valo.
Phoenix
Keli’i is so excited to be a part of this production! This is the first time that they are able to play a non-binary character and they are proud to be able to represent their identity. Recent credits include Dani in The Space In-Between (Fragmented Light Theatre), Stokes in Carrie (A.C.T.), Squidward/Plankton in SpongeBob (YPTMTC), Zander Valle Don't Stop Me (YMTC). You can see them next as Carlos in Legally Blonde at YMTC. When they're not on stage you can find them annoying their dogs or playing the ukulele. Huge thanks to the cast and crew for putting this together!
Kelsey
Lena Sibony (She/Her) is a proud performing artist, poet, people person, and Bay Area native. Her previous shows include The Trees (3Girls Theater) Shoshana in December (Custom Made Theatre) Indecent (SF Playhouse), Anton in Show Business (Contra Costa Civic Theatre) as well as work with Town Hall Theatre and Crowded Fire.
Isaac
Benjamin Hoàng Nguyễn is delighted to be a part of the Love U cast! His most recent performances include the semi-opera The Fairy Queen, Macbeth: I Want It Frat Way, and The Man Who Saved Christmas, and a staged reading of the Soulmate Play. Outside of theater, Benjamin works as a model and commercial actor under Models Inc Talent Agency. He'd like to thank to his family for their constant support.
Ember
Emma is a recent graduate from UC Berkeley, where she studied Molecular & Cell Biology and Psychology, while also being involved in the Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) department. Her TDPS credits include Pool of Unknown Wonders: Undertow of the Soul (Mrs. Bankhead), In the Red and Brown Water (Shun), Daughters of Leda (Spin/Electra), and The Wednesday Club (Susan). Other Bay Area credits include Blackbox (Beauty/Commander) for Z Space’s Word for Word and Legally Blonde (Margot) for Barestage. She would like to thank her family for always being her number one fans and her wonderful friends for supporting her through thick and thin.
Ollie
Al has been performing since a nativity play at age 10 and an atheist since 13. Al is a working actor as well as a theatre teaching artist for kids and adults with nonprofits like SF Shakes, SFYT, NCTC, and CuttingBall to provide access to theatrical spaces and education. They have had the privilege of studying at institutions like CSSSA and SF State for their art and they are excited to add this production to the many that have shaped them as an artist. Some of which include: Hanschen (Spring Awakening), Albert/Rheticus/Danny (Queerstory) Ezra (The Other Plane) and The Entertainer (Complete Works of William Shakespeare[Abridged]) Al would like to thank their friends and family for being there to support and Thank YOU for coming and enjoy the show!
Ava
Rae is an actor, vocalist, and illustrator from the Bay Area. She is a powerhouse vocalist heavily influenced by R&B and Soul, with a special love for musical theatre and Broadway tunes. She has so far had the honor of performing in beloved spaces such as Bindlestiff Studio, Zellerbach Hall, Oakland’s Flight Deck, and more. An advocate for more and more groundbreaking QTBIPOC representation on stage and film, she is thrilled to make a return to Z Space, this time for Love U!
Stage Directions Reader
Olivia Gregor Brown is a San Francisco native, an actor, and a teaching artist working with the American Conservatory Theatre, as well as other Bay Area schools and outreach programs including StageWrite: Literacy Through Theatre, The Arc San Francisco, Town Hall Theatre Company, The Berkeley School, and others. Olivia is a New York University Tisch graduate via the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and an MFA graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the United Kingdom. She has worked as a theatre educator for individuals of all ages within the Bay Area, with a specialty focus towards students with disabilities. As an actor and performer, she has worked locally with companies including Boxcar Stage Company, Awesome Theatre Company, Novato Theatre Company, and others. She is passionate about queer storytelling and new works, and absolutely thrilled to be a part of this project!
Guitarist
Tennessee Mowrey has been making music as long as he has been able to speak. He has a degree in music from Wesleyan University and is currently Youth Programs Director at Blue Bear School of Music in SF. He plays in several bands (Sarah Coolidge, Parka Parka) and sings in several choirs (Free Key Choir, Slavei). He is a multi instrumentalist (guitar, bass, piano, drums, etc) and singer/songwriter. Check out his bands on Bandcamp!
Audio Engineer
Arranger
special thanks
our first table-readers: Lily Rea, Ramona Sharples, Pete Donatello, Michael Waul, Toni Truong, Anna Rumbough, Reina Shinohara, and Syr Beker
our videographer and Vietnamese translator Toni Truong
Nikki, Colm, Andrew, Clara, and the whole team at Z Space
Theatre Bay Area
Analog Theatre Co.
our mentors: Janine Maguire, Rose Oser, Claire Ganem, and Celina Demos
our demo singers: Ashley DiFranza and Jackson Foster
our arrangers: Jord Liu, Charles Kieser, and Brian Ishiba
Recipient of a 2024 Theatre Bay Area CA$H Creates grant and a 2023 Theatre Bay Area CA$H Creates grant, a Theatre Bay Area Reflection Achievement and Homegrown Achievement.
