Ellen Wang ’25
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
The original musical Reason to Be, with story and music by Devon Tao HMC ’25, premiered March 27-30 at Pomona College to full houses.
“I was incredibly impressed with the quality of the song composition and intention behind all the songs that were all created by one person over three years,” attendee Sydney Ritchey ’25 said. “Our crowd was pretty involved — they were laughing and clapping and it felt very communal, which was really sweet and fun to witness.”
Reason to Be follows Val, a pianist played by Tao, in 2050 grappling with climate catastrophe alongside their artificial intelligence assistant IVANA (Interactive Voice-Activated Network Assistant), played by Sage Wong-Davies ’25.
“My guiding principle for directing was, ‘how do we reconnect with joy in the deepest moments of strife?’” director Aelin Nyx PO ’25 said.
The show included a touching medley of musical numbers ranging from classical ballads to an educational rap about the greenhouse effect, with stellar performances from a cast and crew that featured multiple first-timers in acting and other aspects of theater.
“The process was very collaborative and everyone pitched in with extra skills they had because we were short-staffed, but we all gave more to the process because we are all very invested in the project and wanted it to be its best version,” Wong-Davies, who also music directed with Tao, said.
The current version of the production is its ninth draft. However, the musical started as a series of songs about climate change that Tao wrote while taking a music theory course.
“The big change happened January 2024 when I was talking to my theater teacher, who I’ve known for over a decade, and he was saying, ‘what is the story?’” Tao said. “And [I took] one song, ‘The Pianist,’ the Act One closer, [and] I made it the entire musical.”
Tao drew on their experiences of rediscovering their love for music and growing up in uncertain times amid widespread doomerist ideologies.
“The more I worked on it, the more I realized … the story’s really not about climate change — it’s about hope,” Tao said. “And there’s that line, ‘hope isn’t given out for free, it’s something I must create. This is how I choose my fate.’”
While Tao voiced that the musical is actually about creating hope through music, they also aimed to produce a show that, unlike other productions about climate change, was both scientifically accurate and crafted to evoke inspiration.
“I needed something that deals with [climate change] in an emotional way that’s still grounded in reality,” Tao said. “I’m a computer science and mathematics major at Harvey Mudd, and I’m also a theater artist, so I was able to bring my two worlds together.”
From multiple independent studies to putting in hours of daily work over academic recess to juggling logistical roles, Tao emphasized how much work it took to put on the musical.
“I made very real sacrifices, mostly academic and social,” Tao said. “I’m not gonna lie, it is extremely brutal and grueling to do everything, because typically what happens is the playwright gets to sit back and relax … But we needed someone who could play piano and sing and act, so I had to be in it.”
Tao’s dedication to perfecting their show meant sacrificing things within the production as well.
“You have to be willing to kill your darlings,” Tao said. “I rewrote like 80 percent of the show over winter break.”
Another lesson they learned from the arduous process of revising the show was about the value of receiving input from other people.
“I did two stage readings before this … having those really shaped the direction of the piece because it’s one thing to have something on paper, but for theater, to hear it out loud is an entirely different experience,” Tao said. “The most important thing is recognizing that this is very much like a team effort and it would not have been possible without all these people supporting me.”
Already working on their next draft, Tao shared big ambitions for Reason to Be. As they move on to graduate school, their eyes are set on submitting it to festivals and theater groups to continue improving and growing the show.
“I really want this to be a great musical, and most great musicals were not written in less than five years,” Tao said. “I just started year three, so I’m gonna be taking this for a while and I would like to go professional someday.”
Their fellow team members affirmed this aspiration.
“I think Devon has a masterpiece on their hands and I don’t say that lightly,” Nyx said. “I think they could really make a difference in the world of theatre.”
Photo courtesy of Sarah Ziff PO ’27
