Welcome to LifeView
LifeView is a new operatic musical about the Irish goddess of war and prophecy as a corporate CEO
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Join our Kickstarter ✳︎
As an independently produced operatic musical, we are seeking support from our community to raise funds for our cast and crew!
About the Show
LifeView is an original operatic musical co-created by a team of four artists, Abagael Cheng (creative producer), Malikah Stafford (librettist), and SÖNUM aka Johnum Palado and Sonia Wang (composers).
LifeView is a dark comedy that follows the Irish goddess of war and prophecy, The Morrigan, in her modern occupation as the CEO of LifeView, a multi-million dollar corporation that sells guidebooks to help consumers realize their dream life. After millennia of overseeing mortals manufacture their own self-destruction, The Morrigan is about ready to give up hope on the redemption of humankind. However, when an unforeseen new hire shakes up the sales department with her unwavering optimism, The Morrigan and her devout employees are forced to reckon with their divine purpose. Can people change for the better, or are we all destined to become the worst version of ourselves?
The Off-Broadway premiere of LifeView will be presented at the A.R.T./New York Mezzanine Theatre in NYC during December 11-13, 2026.
Meet the Creators
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For NYC-based composers Sonia Wang and Johnum Palado, their duo SÖNUM is an eclectic creative voice for their love of storytelling on the screen. Despite their varied backgrounds in classical performance, church music, and theatre work, they found a unique vernacular of minimalist ideas and improvisational strokes that translates into any visual medium. SÖNUM collaborates frequently with many on-the-rise directors and production studios, including akaproductions, 345Pictures&Media, and SunBlue Sound. Since its inception, SÖNUM’s media work has been featured in premier festivals such as the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s ShortFest and the Asian American International Film Festival. Their recent ventures include music for Devolver Digital's MYCOPUNK, fashion label OUER, and several award-winning shorts such as On the Horizon and The Messiah’s Daughter.
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Malikah Marie Stafford is a playwright, television writer, singer, actress and spoken word poet from Atlantic City, NJ. Her original television pilot, Mixed Up, is available on Amazon Prime Video. In addition to this, her original play, Domino, was a finalist for the 2024 Goldberg Playwriting Prize and a second rounder in the 2024 Austin Film Festival. Her screenplay, Miss Black & Beautiful, was a semifinalist in Screencraft’s 2024 Virtual Pitch competition. She is also the recipient of the 2025 Clifford Odets Ensemble Play Commission—sponsored by the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. In her work, Stafford explores the variations of marginalized human experiences to create pathways of healing and inspire introspection.
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Chinese American soprano Abagael Cheng is an opera singer, creative producer, and organizer who strives to move audiences toward social activism through storytelling. She aims to deepen relationships within and between communities by centering politically relevant narratives and collaboration in her productions. Most recently, Cheng created and produced an original interdisciplinary recital at Culture Lab LIC, The Hunger & The Haunt, which explored how folks from the AANHPI diaspora reclaim connection to their heritage and discover pathways toward ancestral nourishment. Cheng is a 2025 grant recipient of Flushing Town Hall and Queens Arts Fund.
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