''¡Americano!'' is a musical telling based on the real-life story of Antonio (Tony) Valdovinos, a resident of the United States who learns that he is not a U.S. citizen when he tries to enlist in the
U.S. Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
.
The script was written by Michael Barnard, Jonathan Rosenberg, and
Fernanda Santos;
Carrie Rodriguez composed the music. Barnard, Rosenberg, Santos and Rodriguez are credited together as lyricists.
Synopsis
Inspired by the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
when he was in sixth grade, and not wanting to pursue his father's career in construction, Tony goes to a Marine enlistment office on his 18th birthday. He is surprised to learn that he is an undocumented immigrant, and is upset with his parents for not telling him. Tony's friend Joaquin invites him to a meeting about the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a Immigration policy of the United States, United States immigration policy that allows some individuals who, on June 15, 2012, were physically present in the United States with no lawful immigra ...
program that offers the possibility of legal work for those like him who were brought to the United States as children. He becomes a political activist to find a way to serve.
Development
The play began development in 2015, when a public radio story about Valdovinos came to the attention of theatre producer Jason Rose and the Phoenix Theatre's long-time artistic director, Michael Barnard.
The Off-Broadway performance was produced by Jason Roses' company, Quixote Productions in association with
Chicanos Por La Causa, a social advocacy organization that fights discrimination against Mexican-Americans.
Valdovinos's status as someone brought to the United States as a child without documentation makes him a "Dreamer", a reference to the
DREAM Act
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal that would grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, for illegal immigrants who entered the Unite ...
, a legislative proposal to create a right to work and path to citizenship for those brought to the United States as children.
Speaking about the play, the real-life Valdovinos told the ''New York Times'', “Dreamers have lost hope and live with fear. Part of the message here is don’t lose the courage — continue holding on to hope. Nothing comes easy. Elections matter. Policies matter. People matter. ‘''¡Americano!''’ is about that.”
Productions
The play's world premiere was on at the
Phoenix Theatre Company on January 29, 2020.
It had its Off-Broadway debut at
New World Stages
New World Stages is a five-theater, Off-Broadway performing arts complex in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is between 49th and 50th Streets beneath the plaza of the Worldwide Plaza complex at Eighth Avenue.
...
on May 1, 2022 where it was scheduled as a
limited run. It closed June 19, 2022.
Both productions were directed by Michael Bernard and starred Sean Ewing as Tony; Sergio Mejia was the choreographer for both productions.
Casting
Reception
Reviews of both productions note the strength of the singing and choreography, and Rodriguez's
Tejano
Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent.
Etymology
The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...
- and
indie-rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by th ...
-inspired score.
Writing for ''Theatre Mania'', reviewer Zachary Stewart writes that it is an "unapologetically sincere flag-waving American musical — and that feels like a breath of fresh air in an age of snark and cynicism."
Jose Solís called it "a story as urgent as it is entertaining."
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Americano (musical)
2020 musicals
Biographical musicals
Off-Broadway musicals
Musicals set in the 21st century
Musicals set in the United States
Musicals set in the 2000s