{"id":3406,"date":"2026-07-11T03:18:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T22:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=3406"},"modified":"2026-07-11T03:18:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T22:18:37","slug":"mexodus-stars-brian-quijada-nygel-d-robinson-bring-the-show-to-l-a-after-acclaimed-n-y-run-meet-them-with-10-fun-facts-each-exclusive-just-jared-celebrity-news-and-gossip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=3406","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Mexodus&#8217; Stars Brian Quijada &#038; Nygel D. Robinson Bring the Show to L.A. After Acclaimed N.Y. Run: Meet Them with 10 Fun Facts Each (Exclusive) &#8211; Just Jared &#8211; Celebrity News and Gossip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-2244326\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- Franchise logo or primary category --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- post title --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/post title --><\/p>\n<p><!-- subheader --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- post thumbnail --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"tpd-post-thumbnail-container caption_belowImage credit_onImage\"><img width=\"788\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mexodus-10-fun-facts-788x444.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium tpd-force-16x9-aspect-ratio wp-post-image\" alt=\"Brian Quijada and Nygel Robinson in Mexodus\" decoding=\"sync\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mexodus-10-fun-facts-428x241.jpg 428w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mexodus-10-fun-facts-788x444.jpg 788w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 100px, 788px\" loading=\"eager\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit-text\">Credit: Thomas Mundell<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- \/post thumbnail --><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new musical <strong><em>Mexodus<\/em><\/strong> opened to rave reviews in New York City last year and won a bunch of awards during its Off-Broadway run. Now, the show is heading directly to Los Angeles after wrapping up its N.Y. production. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/brian-quijada\/\" class=\"celebrity-tag-link\"><strong class=\"celebrity-tag-strong\">Brian Quijada<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/nygel-d-robinson\/\" class=\"celebrity-tag-link\"><strong class=\"celebrity-tag-strong\">Nygel D. Robinson<\/strong><\/a> not only star in the show, they also wrote it together. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <em>Mexodus<\/em>,\u00a0history meets hip-hop in this groundbreaking theatrical experience that explores the often-untold stories of enslaved people in the United States who sought freedom in Mexico, rather than looking north. Celebrated playwrights, actors, and musicians Quijada and Robinson tell a unique story of the Underground Railroad that led south taking 4,000 to 10,000 enslaved people to seek freedom in Mexico.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Mexodus<\/em> won the awards for Outstanding Musical from the Lucille Lortel Awards, Outstanding Production of a Musical from the Drama League Awards (beating out all of 2026\u2019s new Broadway musicals), and Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical from the Outer Critics Circle Awards. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We caught up with <strong>Brian<\/strong> and <strong>Nygel<\/strong> to learn more about them ahead of <em>Mexodus<\/em>\u2018 run at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. The show is running now through August 2!<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-10-fun-facts-about-brian-quijada\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">10 Fun Facts about Brian Quijada<\/h3>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I originally went to school to become a high school English teacher. My parents never supported my life in the arts so that was my way of picking a financially stable job. Halfway through college I switched majors to theatre because I got a scholarship.<\/li>\n<li>The first musical I ever saw was Cabaret. Still my favorite musical. I think it\u2019s perfect.<\/li>\n<li>I won best dancer in my high school yearbook.<\/li>\n<li>I was born on 11\/11\/1988. My Chinese eye doctor says I\u2019m lucky because of the numerology of my birthday. But my eyesight sucks.<\/li>\n<li>I am self taught on every musical instrument I know how to play.<\/li>\n<li>Spanish was my first language. English wasn\u2019t allowed to be spoken in the house. Though once frustrating, I\u2019m very grateful for that now.<\/li>\n<li>I\u2019m painfully extroverted. I hate being alone. I suffer from FOMO and love being around people. Small talk is my favorite.<\/li>\n<li>I scored so poorly in my ACT scores. First couple years in college I had awful grades. And even so, I taught at Harvard University.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>I\u2019m an incredible driver. I know a lot of people believe that and aren\u2019t, but I am. I come from a family of truck drivers. My father and brothers were at one point, all drivers.<\/li>\n<li>My dog is named after a 90s action star, Jean Claude Van Damme.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3 id=\"h-10-fun-facts-about-nygel-d-robinson\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">10 Fun Facts about Nygel D. Robinson<\/h3>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I\u2019m from a small town in NC that I guarantee\u00a0you\u2019ve never heard of. It\u2019s called LaGrange.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>My family has been in that same town for since (at least) the 1830\u2019s.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Whitney Houston visited my grandmas house back in the early 80\u2019s.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>My late uncle Norris did her (and many other celebs) hair in D.C.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>My late great aunt Sophia Bryant was one of the first civil rights organizers in our hometown.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>I share a birthday with this really awesome and beautiful woman named Doretha Branch. She turned 100 on July 5th. Her and her husband were prominent black business owners in our town. Did I mention she was awesome?\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>I work out like 5-6 times a week.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>I eat like a caveman. Ground turkey, sweet potatoes, greens, mode ground turkey, more sweet potatoes, more greens, and occasionally cookies. I love cookies.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Stevie Wonder\u2019s biggest fan is me.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>I come from a family that supports the craziness that I attempt and every success I\u2019ve ever had, and will have, is a result of that support and love they\u2019ve shown me.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Get <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pasadenaplayhouse.org\/event\/mexodus\/\">tickets<\/a> now to see <em>Mexodus<\/em> in Pasadena!<\/p>\n<p class=\"categories single-categories\">Posted To:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/10-fun-facts\/\" rel=\"tag\">10 Fun Facts<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/brian-quijada\/\" rel=\"tag\">Brian Quijada<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/broadway\/\" rel=\"tag\">Broadway<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/exclusive\/\" rel=\"tag\">Exclusive<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/nygel-d-robinson\/\" rel=\"tag\">Nygel D. Robinson<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Thomas Mundell The new musical Mexodus opened to rave reviews in New York City last year and won a bunch of awards during its Off-Broadway run. Now, the show is heading directly to Los Angeles after wrapping up its N.Y. production. Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson not only star in the show, they&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mexodus-10-fun-facts.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}