As a recent St. Louis transplant, Makena is struggling to find community. After all, how exactly does one make friends as a grown-up? From googling “how to make friends” to trying a local book club, Makena isn’t ruling anything out. As her dad often reminds her, “Have patience and you’ll land the friends of a lifetime.” Poignant and funny by turns, Makena’s story is immediately relatable to anyone who has ever searched for a village of their own.

17-year-old Mia lives with her father, Ping. They’ve scrimped and saved for years so that Ping can open his own Taiwanese restaurant after a lifetime of working as a dishwasher. However, Ping refuses to pursue his dream until Mia graduates and goes to college. Her education must come first. One day, a promisingly large envelope arrives from Mia’s top-choice university…but will her own dream come at too steep a price?

In the ancient African kingdom of Kush, queens were known as the Kandake. Discover the true story of Kandake Amanirenas, the warrior queen who defied the might of the Roman Empire. When Amanirenas learns that a Roman army has captured the Kush city of Philae, she’ll stop at nothing to protect her people’s liberty…including single-handed combat against a deadly centurion. This action-packed opera brings to vivid life one of history’s greatest unknown heroines.