American Dreams turns the path to citizenship into an interactive game show (photo by Cherie B. Tay)
Town Hall: What Does It Mean to Be a Citizen?, Monday, October 19, free with RSVP, 7:30
October 20-25, Working Theater, suggested $30
October 27 – November 1, Hartford Consortium, suggested $25
November 10-15, Marin Theatre Company, price TBD
www.americandreamsplay.com
“It’s a game. It’s a show. It’s AmERica!!!” an announcer declares at the beginning of American Dreams, an interactive online play that skewers US immigration policy and ethnocentricity in funny, clever, and, ultimately, harsh ways. With the country in the process of deciding whether to give President Donald Trump, a former reality TV star, another four years in the White House, the show is on a virtual nationwide tour, stopping October 20-25 at New York City’s Working Theater. First staged at the Cleveland Public Theatre two years ago, Leila Buck’s play has been reimagined for the internet, set up as a game show that gives one of three immigrants the chance to win American citizenship.
Cohosted by the deceptively smarmy Christian White (Jens Rasmussen) and bright and perky Sherry Brown (Buck), who are over-the-top gleeful until they turn the tide, the game show is divided into four sections: “How America Works,” “America’s Favorites,” “Aliens with Extraordinary Skills,” and “American Dreams.” Battling it out to live in the United States legally are Adil Akram Mansour (Andre Ali Andre), a chef and philanthropist from Bethlehem (“not the one in Pennsylvania”); Alejandro Rodriguez (Andrew Valdez), a former National Guard medic from Mexico; and Usman Bhutt (Imran Sheikh), a Pakistani illustrator who loves Star Trek. “For the past two seasons,” Sherry says, “we have been offering once-in-a-lifetime chances to people searching for a brighter future in the land of freedom and opportunity. And while this season we can’t be in your town halls, theaters, and auditoriums, we are so glad to be welcomed into your homes.” Chris adds, “On each show, three contestants compete for the equivalent of Columbus’s gold.” Sherry: “One lucky winner will receive, right here, tonight, immediate citizenship to the greatest nation on earth. Our online studio audience has been approved by the highest levels of our government to be the people —” Chris and Sherry: “— who choose the people.” Sherry: “So your votes will determine our contestants’ destinies, as you decide who has the chance to live the American Dream.” It’s more than their destinies that are at stake.
Bree Coffman (India Nicole Burton), deputy director of culture for the US, keeps in touch with the audience throughout. “We all have the power to help shape and control the future of this country — one citizen at a time,” Coffman explains early on. As the game continues, you’re likely to find out that these immigrants know more about America than you do, but that is not necessarily going to mean they’re on the path to citizenship as various roadblocks, arbitrary and not, interfere with their quest, mimicking real life.
Cohosts Christian White (Jens Rasmussen) and Sherry Brown (playwright Leila Buck) lead the way in American Dreams (photo by Cherie B. Tay)
Co-commissioned by ASU Gammage and Texas Performing Arts and presented by Working Theater as well as Round House Theatre, Salt Lake Acting Company, Marin Theatre Company, HartBeat Ensemble, the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, and University of Connecticut’s Thomas J. Dodd Center, American Dreams achieves its goal of making the show a communal experience; the audience, visible in Zoom boxes, gets to fill out surveys, ask questions, cheer, and vote. Director Tamilla Woodard (Men on Boats, La Ruta) uses split screens to make it look like the contestants are in the same studio, even though they’re beaming in from wherever they’re sheltering in place; Woodard mixed Zoom, Skype, and other platforms to create what she refers to as a “beautiful monster.” The cast has a lot of fun, especially during one segment that is heavily improvised, making each performance unique. Even at ninety minutes, American Dreams feels too long, but you might want to stick around for the talkback anyway, which offers further insight into the development of the play. At one point, a prerecorded announcement tells us, “Your participation is key to protecting our democracy. If you see something, say something. The security of the greatest nation on earth depends on you.” As Buck points out, if only it were that easy.
In conjunction with the show’s run at Working Theater, there will be a free, virtual town hall on October 19, at 7:30, held in partnership with Portland’s Boom Arts, addressing the question “What does it mean to be a citizen?” featuring a keynote by actor Carlo Alban, followed by a panel with Nura Elgmagbari of the Portland Refugee Support Group, Richard Lujan-Valerio of the Latino Network, Juanita Sarmiento of Rural and Migrant Ministry, and actor, playwright, and native communities advocate DeLanna Studi (Cherokee), moderated by North Star Fund deputy director Elz Cuya Jones. Tune in and make a difference. Oh, and vote.