Celebrating the role of African-American women in society, “Sistas: the Musical” takes the stage at Meadow Brook Theatre (MBT) for its Michigan premiere.

The show tells the story of family members who gather after the death of their grandmother to clean out her attic. In her attic, they tell stories through the songs of artists ranging from Billie Holiday to Beyoncé and hits like “I Will Survive.”

“Sistas: the Musical” ran off-Broadway for five years before premiering at Meadow Brook. When a musical is playing in an off-Broadway theatre, that means the theatre contains anywhere from 100 to 499 seats. Musicals in theatres with 500 seats or more are considered to be “on Broadway.” MBT has 584 seats, according to the theatre’s website.

One cast member who was a part of the original off-Broadway production (Jennifer Fouche) joined the Meadow Brook production.

“It is a really great chance to show off that breadth of music and how it has affected us socially,” Artistic Director of MBT Travis Walter said via email. “The show looks like a jukebox musical on the outside, but it has so many layers, and that’s what makes it a great show. I really wanted to tell this particular story to our audience. It is wonderfully moving and funny at the same time.”

Walter said that MBT constantly strives to bring new theatre to its patrons along with old classics.

“We like to do new theatre before it gets out into the community,” he said. “We strive for a ‘you saw it here first’ mentality. We want audiences to know that we are constantly searching for new shows that are going to blow them away as much as the old standards do.”

This show is for theatre-goers young and old, although Walter warned of some adult language in the show. However, the theme of “family” should ring true for everyone.

“The story is really about family and finding out about your family history. We all have different points of view, and communicating where we are coming from to other family members can be tough … but throughout everything, family is always there for you. No matter what!’   

Students can purchase up to two discount tickets on the day of a “Sistas: the Musical” performance for $11 each. Performances started on April 20 and will end on May 15.

For more information, visit mbtheatre.com or sistasthemusical.com.