The Drum Closet
January 28 - February 22, 2026
A Coterie World Premiere
The Drum Closet
Written by Tosin Morohunfola
A coming-of-age play about two young, drum-loving African American brothers navigating a white high school, its bias’, bullying, and powers-that-be.
The story follows two Nigerian American brothers. Though Timi is a freshman and Kareem is a Senior, they both want to be drumline section leader. Walking through the mayhem halls of “Blue Vale High” with his older brother as guide, Timi meets a bashful girl with a secret, a boy coming into his own, a terrorizing homecoming king, a couple faculty members who don’t want him to win, and all kinds of adolescence obstacles. The brothers race to become section leader while trying to stay out of trouble and make their immigrant mother proud all while learning how to be Black boys in a white world.
Approx. Length: 60 Minutes
Find classroom resources and curriculum extensions at coterie.edublogs.org.
Throughout the run of the show, there are several special performances:
- Opening Night: January 30 at 7 pm
- American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreted Performance: February 7 at 2 pm
- Sensory Friendly Performances for neurodiverse audiences featuring technical adjustments, sensory supports, house lights on and flexible audience expectations: February 13 at 9:45 am and February 14 at 2 pm
- Audio Described Performances with verbal commentary to assist patrons who are visually impaired: February 19 at 9:45 am and February 21 at 2 pm
“… Michelle’s play … mixes the historical retelling with a present-day fictional element that helps us reflect on the relationship between past and present …”
“… We loved learning about Tom Bass through this production and his importance, not only to Kansas City, but to the horse world …”
– KCParent
Original production designs and illustrations by the Kansas City Art Institute Illustration Department’s student staffed agency, MICRO. The Drum Closet design by Lynn Hopkins.
