On December 8th, 2025, the Tisch Initiative for Creative Research (TCR) hosted the first complete table read of Café con Leche, an original romantic comedy musical by two-time HEAR US grantee Maiga Vidal. The invitation-only reading at NYU Tisch School of the Arts brought together the creative team, cast, industry professionals, and HEAR US alumni to experience this milestone moment in the musical's journey from page to stage.
The full table read of Café con Leche took place on December 8th 2025 at Tisch School of the Arts
CAFÉ CON LECHE is a queer romcom musical about Alejandra, a closeted recent accounting grad, who works at her parents’ struggling mom-and-pop donut shop, California Cappuccino Donut Coffee. When Bigg Coffee, the largest coffee shop chain in Los Angeles, opens a new store next door and convinces the landlord to evict her parents if they’re late on next month’s rent, Alejandra is forced to act... behind her parents’ back. With the help of charming and definitely-also-not-hiding-something social media manager, Megan, Alejandra opens up Café con Leche, a rival coffee spot to steal straggling customers from next door. However, once her original Chilean-inspired coffee recipe, Media Naranja, goes viral, she starts drawing suspicion from both Bigg Coffee and her parents. As her success with Café con Leche and her feelings for Megan become undeniable, Alejandra begins to question just how much she’s willing to hide to keep her parents’ love.
From HEAR US to the Stage
Vidal, a 2025 graduate of the NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program, received back-to-back HEAR US grants in 2024 and 2025 to develop the project. Through the program, she worked with mentors Josefina Lopez (author of Real Women Have Curves) in 2024 and Galia Backal (Associate Director of SIX the Musical North America) in 2025. Backal directed the reading and now serves as the project's director.
TCR’s HEAR US program provides grants and mentorship to support student projects centering underrepresented stories. Vidal's two years in the program gave her access to funding, mentorship, and a community of creative researchers as she developed Café con Leche from concept to this milestone reading.
Danny Bolero, Daniela Thome, and Laurie Hernandez (TSOA Drama) read for the central characters of Joaquin, Rosa, and Alejandra
Building a More Inclusive Theatre
The musical centers women, queer, Latine, and immigrant stories reflecting Vidal's commitment to creating more diversity in musical theatre. Working closely with collaborator Felipe Segovia Sanhueza '25 (MFA, Graduate Musical Theatre Writing), the two Chilean artists have developed Café con Leche with a focus on bringing Latin American voices to the stage.
Passionate about transparency in the creative process, Vidal shares Café con Leche's development intimately in her original YouTube vlog series, Writing a Musical!
Felipe Segovia Sanhueza, Maiga Vidal, and Galia Backal address the audience.
The Creative Team
The reading featured book, music, and lyrics by Maiga Vidal, arrangements and orchestrations by Felipe Segovia Sanhueza, direction by Galia Backal, and script supervision by Tess Edwards. The cast for this reading included Laurie Hernandez, Jaylen Taylor, Daniela Thome, Danny Bolero, Caroline Dunway, Jose Maria Aguila, Danielle Williams-Klein, Andrea Grossi-Benitez, and Spencer Ellis.
An EP of songs from the show is available on streaming platforms. Follow the project's continued development on socials @maigavidal or www.maigavidal.com.