A couple of years ago, when Cygnet Theatre’s artistic director Sean Murray booked the musical “Somewhere Over the Border” for this spring, the state of things for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. was different. Now, it’s dreadful.
Maybe that’s why the hope-fueled “Somewhere,” which opened Saturday at The Joan theater in Arts District Liberty Station, is resonating so deeply with audiences. Tickets sales are strong and a good portion of opening-night audience members were weeping during the play’s heartbreaking second act.
A scene from Cygnet Theatre’s “Somewhere Over the Border.” (Karli Cadel)
Under Carlos Mendoza’s taut and nuanced direction and choreography, “Somewhere Over the Border”delivers an emotional sneak attack. The first act plays out like an upbeat and comic “Magic School Bus”-style journey to the promised land of California. But the dangerous reality of crossing the border and the racism, poverty and job discrimination waiting for crossers on the other side is sobering.
Salvadoran American playwright and composer Brian Quijada based “Somewhere” on his mother Reina’s harrowing immigration journey from her native El Salvador.
The two-hour, two-act play begins in El Salvador on the brink of a deadly civil war in 1978. Single mom Reina, 17, decides to head to the U.S. for a better life, but quietly leaves her infant son behind with a note asking her mom, Julia, to care for him until she can make enough money to return for the boy.
Quijada used Dorothy’s journey to Oz in L. Frank Baum’s novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” as the framing device for his musical, and much of the play’s first act features humorous tributes to the fellow travelers Reina picks up along her way to the “majestic green,” which is not an emerald city but a green card to work in the U.S.
Edward Padilla, left, Luis Sherlinee, Vanessa Orozco and Luzma Ortiz in a scene from Cygnet Theatre’s “Somewhere Over the Border.” (Karli Cadel)
First she meets the scarecrow-inspired Cruz, a wily Guatamalan banana farmer who hopes to study agriculture at a U.S. university. Then comes the Tin Man-inspired Silvano, a heartbroken innkeeper who “oils” his creaky joints with swigs of tequila and dreams of one day reuniting with his family in Pittsburgh. Finally there’s the cowardly Leona, a Mexican nun who wants to be an American rock singer but she’s too afraid to make the crossing. Once the quartet finally arrives in Tijuana, a wizard-like smuggler arranges their death-defying crossing.
Fernando Vega stars as the Narrator, Quijada’s alter-ego, performing fast-paced raplike song-stories that stitch the scenes together.
Vanessa Orozco is a vocal powerhouse as Reina, who belts out ballad after ballad and credibly portrays her character’s desperation and determination. As Reina’s protective and angry mother Julia, Crissy Guerrero is an equally strong singer, opening the second-act with the fiery song “Red Skies.”
Luzma Ortiz provides the show’s main comic relief as Leona, as well as the optimistic, America-loving woman Antonia. Luis Sherlinee is warm and amiable as Reina’s protective brother and the brainy Cruz. Edward Padilla has an endearing paternal presence as the innkeeper Silvano and hometown restaurant owner Napoleon. And Dhani Solorio stars as Reina’s young son, Fernando.
Music director and conductor Lyndon Pugeda leads a lively Latin-flavored band backstage. Tanya Orellana designed the cyclone-inspired scenery, which is enhanced by Blake McCarty’s projections. Ryan Fallis designed lighting, Janet Pitcher designed costumes and Jordan Gray designed sound.
“Somewhere” arrives at Cygnet at an unprecedented time in the U.S., when undocumented immigrants are being forcefully rounded up, detained and deported by the thousands. But Quijada’s empathetic musical is absolutely not about politics. It’s about real and found family, hope and home.
‘Somewhere Over the Border’
When: 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Through March 15
Where: Cygnet Theatre at The Joan, 2880 Roosevelt Road, Arts District Liberty Station, San Diego
Tickets: $44 and up
Phone: 619-337-1525
Online: cygnettheatre.org