Rehana Lew Mirza

Rehana previously held a prestigious National Playwrights Mellon residency at Ma-Yi Theatre in New York from 2016-2022, after also being a playwright in residence at La Jolla Playhouse, where her musical A Beat of Our Own (based on her original screenplay, 2019 Richard Rodgers Award) premiered under the title of Bhangin’ It in 2022. The musical recently had its UK premiere under the title Bhangra Nation at Birmingham Rep and will be at McCarter Theater in October 2026. Her other plays/musicals include: Hatef*ck (First Floor in Chicago; Colt Coeur/WP in NYC); That Girl (Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor, O'Neill Musical Theater Conference); A People’s Guide to History in the Time of Here and Now (Primary Stages Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation's Women Playwrights Commission; AADA workshop...

Rehana previously held a prestigious National Playwrights Mellon residency at Ma-Yi Theatre in New York from 2016-2022, after also being a playwright in residence at La Jolla Playhouse, where her musical A Beat of Our Own (based on her original screenplay, 2019 Richard Rodgers Award) premiered under the title of Bhangin’ It in 2022. The musical recently had its UK premiere under the title Bhangra Nation at Birmingham Rep and will be at McCarter Theater in October 2026. Her other plays/musicals include: Hatef*ck (First Floor in Chicago; Colt Coeur/WP in NYC); That Girl (Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor, O'Neill Musical Theater Conference); A People’s Guide to History in the Time of Here and Now (Primary Stages Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation's Women Playwrights Commission; AADA workshop production); Soldier X (Ma-Yi; Brooklyn College; NYSCA/Lark commission); Tomorrow, Inshallah (Living Room Theater, Kansas City; Storyworks/HuffPost commission); Neighborhood Watch (Jackalope; NNPN/InterAct commission) and Barriers (Desipina, Asian American Theater Company).

Select additional honors: Helen Merrill Award, Kleban Award, NYFA Fellow, NBC ShortCuts Audience Award, HBO Access Fellow, Cape Cod Artist in Residence, Lilly Award (Stacey Mindich “Go Write A Play”), Tofte Lake Emerging Writers Residency, E.S.T. Sloan commission, John Golden Award, Leopold Schepp fellowship, Primary Stages Dorothy Strelsin Writers Group Member (2014-2017), Colt Coeur Member, and a TCG/New Georges Fellowship. MFA: Columbia University; BFA: NYU Tisch.

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Scripts

That Girl (a musical)

bookwriter by Rehana Lew Mirza

Cast Size
4
Genre
musical,
romantic comedy

A rom com about generational trauma passed down amongst Asian American women, That Girl follows Maria and Samiya as they compete for the affections of Vijay, a charismatic musician, only for their respective daughters to later have to deal with the repercussions of his legacy and their decisions.

A rom com about generational trauma passed down amongst Asian American women, That Girl follows Maria and Samiya as they compete for the affections of Vijay, a charismatic musician, only for their respective daughters to later have to deal with the repercussions of his legacy and their decisions.

Hatefuck

by Rehana Lew Mirza

1
Cast Size
2
Genre
drama

A local Michigan literary professor seeks out a famous Muslim-American novelist to find out if he's a self-hating Islamophobe or a really good lay. But they find that getting under each other's skin can easily become a habit, for better or worse.

A local Michigan literary professor seeks out a famous Muslim-American novelist to find out if he's a self-hating Islamophobe or a really good lay. But they find that getting under each other's skin can easily become a habit, for better or worse.

Neighborhood Watch

by Rehana Lew Mirza

1
Cast Size
5
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
political

A suburban family man, Paul, becomes so convinced that his new neighbor is a terrorist that in his pursuit to uncover the truth, he terrorizes his daughter and neighborhood.

A suburban family man, Paul, becomes so convinced that his new neighbor is a terrorist that in his pursuit to uncover the truth, he terrorizes his daughter and neighborhood.

Soldier X

by Rehana Lew Mirza

2
Cast Size
5
Genre
drama

Monica, a uniformed social worker, is falling for Jay, a recently returned veteran. But Jay is in love with Amani, the sister of his deceased Muslim comrade. When war comes creeping into everyday life, a love triangle collapses under the weight of race, religion, and military trauma. "Soldier X" takes us to the heart of the longest war in U.S. history and its price on our youth.

Monica, a uniformed social worker, is falling for Jay, a recently returned veteran. But Jay is in love with Amani, the sister of his deceased Muslim comrade. When war comes creeping into everyday life, a love triangle collapses under the weight of race, religion, and military trauma. "Soldier X" takes us to the heart of the longest war in U.S. history and its price on our youth.

Lonely Leela

by Rehana Lew Mirza

Cast Size
8—20
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
political

Leela's boyfriend has disappeared. So she goes into the Internet to find him. "Lonely Leela" is an 'Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass' inspired adventure where malicious codes and white knight bloggers meet in a shifting world of everything's at your fingertips but what you're looking for, you may never find.

Leela's boyfriend has disappeared. So she goes into the Internet to find him. "Lonely Leela" is an 'Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass' inspired adventure where malicious codes and white knight bloggers meet in a shifting world of everything's at your fingertips but what you're looking for, you may never find.