Members of the cast in rehearsal for the new musical A Life Worth Living by Princeton senior Jeffery Chen to be presented at the Lewis Center for the Arts, (left to right) Rosa Hernandez Diaz ’27, Kareish Thony ’28, Jeffery Chen ’25, and Sahaf Chowdhury ’26. Photo credit: Zohar Lavi-Hasson.

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- The Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Theater and Music Theater at Princeton University presents A Life Worth Living, a new dramatic-comedy musical by Princeton senior Jeffery Chen. Performance take place November 8-9 and November 14-16, 2024 in the Wallace Theater at the Lewis Arts complex on the Princeton campus.

The musical follows Gavin, a depressed teenager involuntarily sent to a residential mental health treatment facility. There, he forges bonds with the other teens while working with his therapist to reconcile with both his best friend and his father. Using music—a mix of contemporary pop-rock with hip-hop and jazz—and comedy, A Life Worth Living focuses on topics of platonic love, mental health, and suicide, while exploring themes of grief, acceptance, and radical hope.

Chen drew from some of his personal experiences with mental health to create A Life Worth Living. He began developing the project in November 2023. The musical underwent two table reads and a staged reading the following spring. Over the summer, Chen worked with Vince di Mura, the Lewis Center’s resident music director and composer, holding weekly discussions on arrangements and orchestration, while continuing to write and compose. Casting and rehearsals kicked off in September, with the script and music evolving throughout the rehearsal process. Chen notes that his goal for the project is to shed light on the often opaque world of mental health rehabilitation, bringing to life a story that is difficult, messy, and ultimately hopeful.

The production heavily focuses on suicide and mental health issues, and contains violence, strong language, flashing lights, and loud noises.

The production is directed by faculty member Chesney Snow. Performances are November 8, 14 and 15 at 8:00pm and November 9 and 16 at 2:00pm in the Wallace Theater at the Lewis Arts complex on the Princeton campus. A talkback with Dr. Calvin R. Chin, Director of Princeton’s Counseling and Psychological Services, follows the November 9 performance. Free and open to the public, tickets can be reserved through University Ticketing. The Wallace Theater is fully accessible with an assistive listening system. The November 15 performance will be open captioned. Guests in need of other access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week prior to the event date.

Chen’s work on the project represents his independent work toward a minor in the Program in Theater and Music Theater, in addition to his major area of study. Students earning a minor take the course “Introduction to Theater Making,” four other theater, music theater, music, or dance courses, and provide non-performing support for one or two other Program productions, with the option to propose a senior project in spring of their junior year; the Program’s season is primarily shaped by the interests and proposals of the students in the Program. Students’ senior projects are advised by the faculty with support from the professional staff in music, costumes, scenery, light, sound, stage management and producing. Any student can pursue the minor; no application or audition is required, and students with no prior experience are welcome.

Chen is a senior from Burlingame, California, and is majoring in neuroscience with a minor in music theater. In seventh grade, Chen performed his first stand-up comedy act and quickly fell in love with the performing arts. Before and throughout his time at Princeton, Chen has used film, comedy, and music to promote sustainability and science literacy. Chen's introduction to theater came during his junior year at Princeton, when he portrayed Antigonus in the Program in Theater and Music Theater’s production of The Winter’s Tale, directed by Shariffa Ali. Since then, he has acted in Love Type Beat by Nica Evans ’24 and Tanéyah Jolly ’24 and a staged reading of My Hell by Oksana Savchenko. He is also a member of Fuzzy Dice, Princeton’s student improv comedy group. After graduation, Chen plans to continue pursuing the creative arts.

Director of the production, Lecturer in Theater Chesney Snow, is a Drama Desk Award-winning interdisciplinary artist who works as a performer, composer, lyricist, sound designer, and teaching artist. His recent collaborations include Skeleton Crew on Broadway, Walks of Life at La Jolla Playhouse, Upstream at Syracuse Stage, which he wrote and starred in, as well as Soil Beneath off-Broadway at Primary Stages, and Crowns and Princeton and Slavery Plays at McCarter Theatre, among others. Considered a pioneering figure in American beatbox culture, Snow co-founded the American Beatbox Championships, where he served as the executive producer for seven years. He has performed live with KRS One, Kayah, Eternia, Hasan Salaam, Kate Havnevik, and Nile Rodgers, and he has opened for legendary performers including Snoop Dogg, MC Lyte, Pharoah Monch, Immortal Technique, Gloria Gaynor, Sister Sledge, Hot Chocolate, and the Village People. For over two decades, Snow's work as an educator has centered on engaging the arts as a vehicle for social change and empowerment. He has taught workshops and masterclasses in countless prisons, hospitals, public and private schools, for the U.S. Department of State, and universities including New York University, Juilliard, Yale University, and Harvard University. 

The student cast, in addition to Chen who plays Gavin, includes undergraduates Kimberlynn Bjurstrom, Sahaf Chowdhury, Lucy Grunden, Rosa Hernandez Diaz, Sydney Hogan, Kailani Melvin, and Kareish Thony, and graduate student Nick Pham.

Members of the professional production team include faculty member Tess James as co-producer, Vince di Mura as musical director and arranger, E. Keating Helfrich Debalak as costume designer, Elizabeth Weidner as sound designer, and Jacqueline Holloway as fight and intimacy director. Students on the production team include Annalise Schuck as set designer, Alex Picoult as lighting designer, Kate Stewart as choreographer, Ava Adelaja as assistant director to Snow, Angela Kwon as stage manager with Blue Carlsson and Le’Naya Wilkerson as assistant stage managers. Faculty mentor on the project is Shariffa Ali.

This project is supported in part by the Lewis Center for the Arts’ partnership with the IV Fund, which supports student independent work that explores mental well-being and mental health and gives campus audiences a chance to grapple with these matters in generative and generous ways.

Visit the Lewis Center website to learn more about this event, the Program in Theater and Music Theater, and the more than 100 public performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings, concerts, lectures, and special events presented by the Lewis Center each year, most of them free.