A Beat of Our Own: Inside Rehearsals with Director Stafford Arima

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A look inside the rehearsal process for McCarter's new musical comedy about college dance culture.

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McCarter Theatre Center posted a new video taking viewers inside the rehearsal room for A Beat of Our Own, offering a glimpse of the work happening behind the scenes with director Stafford Arima ahead of the production's run.

A Beat of Our Own is a new musical comedy with a book by Rehana Lew Mirza and Mike Lew and music and lyrics by Sam Willmott . The show follows Mary and Preeti, college teammates who lead their squad to victory at the Michigan State Championships before splitting over creative differences. The production comes from the Tony Award-winning producers of Hadestown and has been billed by the theater as its biggest musical staging to date, featuring 18 actors and 10 musicians.

The rehearsal footage gives audiences a rare view of how Arima and the company are shaping the show's blend of comedy, music, and movement before it reaches the stage at McCarter, where the full creative team also includes choreographer Rujuta Vaidya and musical stager Jesse Robb .

The rehearsal clip follows an earlier video from the theater spotlighting the production's bhangra dance elements, part of the show's larger celebration of dance and community. More on that featurette can be found in McCarter's earlier video release covering the dance work in A Beat of Our Own .

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Episode

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/new-jersey/article/Video-A-BEAT-OF-OUR-OWN-Rehearsal-Room-Visited-With-Director-Stafford-Arima-20260917)._