4 out of 5 stars

"When a new musical is about the power of music itself, the score had better deliver. “Goddess” is happily up to the challenge, thanks to composer Michael Thurber’s distinctive combination of airy theatrical melodies and a driving East African beat. The story, involving a club where denizens find freedom to live their own lives, feels too familiar, despite its unusual source -- a Kenyan myth about mother-daughter goddesses (director Saheem Ali wrote the book). But the cast pours themselves so fully into their stock characters -- and songs -- that they keep things fresh, and the show’s party atmosphere is irresistible. — Adam Z. Horvath

At the Public Theater, through June 8, 2025; publictheater.org. (Review date: May 21, 2025)