''The Immigrant'' is a four-person
chamber musical with music by
Steven M. Alper and lyrics by
Sarah Knapp
Sarah Knapp is an American actress, writer, and lyricist, probably best known for writing the lyrics for '' The Immigrant''. As an actress, she appeared in the off-Broadway shows ''Opal'' and ''The No-Frills Revue''. Knapp also appeared on Bro ...
, with a book by
Mark Harelik
Marcus Frank Harelik (born June 5, 1951) is an American television, film, and stage actor, and playwright.
Early life
Harelik was born in Hamilton, Texas.
In 1909, Harelik's Russian Jewish grandfather, Haskell Harelik—upon whom Harelik's ...
. The show is based on Harelik's 1985 play of the same name.
A
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigrant and his wife enter into the life of an
American couple in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. In the end, there is a signal of a new start of friendship between the two families and the hope for future.
Synopsis
Act I
In 1909, Haskell Harelik, a young
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n-
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
man, steps out of steerage into the port city of
Galveston, Texas. Speaking no
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, he wrangles together a wheelbarrow and a bunch of bananas and heads north into the great interior. When he reaches the tiny rural community of Hamilton, deep in the heart of Texas, he can go no farther. Exhaustion drops him in the front yard of Milton and Ima Perry. Acting with
Christian charity, Ima convinces her husband to give Haskell a room for the night, but when she finds out Haskell is a Jew, she has second thoughts.
Six weeks later, the young immigrant is still in their home. Milton summons Haskell to his office to give him his walking papers, but he gets caught up in Haskell's innocence and excitement about this "
new land," and ends up loaning him money for a new horse and wagon. Haskell quickly prospers and Milton keeps giving him assistance against his better judgement. Meanwhile, it revealed that Haskell has indeed been sending money to his wife, Leah, in Russia.
When Ima finds out that a group of boys from town have attacked Haskell on the road, her view of what she considered her good Christian community is shaken, and Milton feels he's made himself a target in the town by helping Haskell. He sets Haskell up in a new
grocery store
A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...
, but when Leah arrives unexpectedly from Russia, Milton and Ima both feel taken advantage of.
Haskell and Leah have moved into the attic above the grocery. Haskell has made a home for himself in Hamilton, but what feels like freedom and promise to Haskell feels like a life of isolation to Leah. Haskell tries to comfort her, but she seems inconsolable.
Act II
Leah is pregnant with her first child, but is unhappy. Haskell sends her to visit the Perrys. Ima and Leah realize how much they have in common. While Leah's need for a mother and Ima's need for child bring them together, Haskell and Milton still can't settle their differences. Nonetheless, they form a father-son relationship.
Ima urges Milton to get
baptize
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
d, but Milton refuses. Haskell and Leah have three more kids. However, when Haskell accidentally insults Milton during dinner, Milton storms out of the house. He isn't heard from for a long while, and Haskell goes to find him.
They find Milton, who's
immobilized by a
stroke. With difficulty, Haskell thanks Milton for saving his life. Only after Haskell leaves does Milton mumble "goodbye."
After Milton dies unbaptized, Ima is desolate and runs to Leah's arms for comfort. Haskell brings home a young
sapling
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
to plant in hope of their salvation. The story ends as Haskell, Ima, and Leah gather around the young tree, pressing their hopes and their faith into its new leaves, knowing it will outlive them all.
Musical numbers
;Act One
*The Stars / Opening - Haskell
*A Stranger Here - Ima, Milton, Haskell
*Simply Free - Haskell
*Changes - Milton, Haskell
*Travel Light - Leah, Haskell
*Keep Him Safe - Ima
*Changes (reprise) - Haskell
*I Don't Want It - Leah
*The Stars / Finale Act I - Haskell
;Act Two
*Take the Comforting Hand of Jesus - Ima
*Padadooly - Ima, Leah
*The Stars - Leah
*The Sun Comes Up - Milton, Haskell, Ima
*Candlesticks - Leah
*Safe and Sound° - Leah, Haskell
*Where Would You Be? - Milton
*No Place To Go - Haskell
*Take the Comforting Hand of Jesus - Ima
*The Stars / Finale - Leah, Ima, Haskell
°On the
cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...
, "Shabbos" is listed instead of "Safe and Sound".
Background
The show is based on the story of Harelik's Jewish grandparents, Matleh and Haskell Harelik, who traveled to
Galveston, Texas to escape
pogroms of
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
in 1909.
Productions
''The Immigrant: A New American Musical'' was developed
off-off-Broadway
Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...
at CAP-21 and appeared for a limited, two-week run at the CAP-21 Theatre in 2000. The cast featured Evan Pappas as Haskell Harelik, Jacqueline Antaramian as Leah Harelik,
Walter Charles
Walter Charles (born April 4, 1945 in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) is an American actor and singer.
Charles made his Broadway debut in '' Grease'' in 1972. Additional Broadway credits include '' 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue'' (1976), ''Sweeney Tod ...
as Milton Perry, and Cass Morgan as Ima Perry.
The musical underwent more changes in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, and then received a production at the Westport County Playhouse in
Westport, Connecticut
Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
History
...
.
A 2013 regional production of The Immigrant at Seven Angels Theatre in
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...
featured Max Bisantz as Haskell, Rita Markova as Leah, and Paul Blankenship as Milton. In this production, lyricist
Sarah Knapp
Sarah Knapp is an American actress, writer, and lyricist, probably best known for writing the lyrics for '' The Immigrant''. As an actress, she appeared in the off-Broadway shows ''Opal'' and ''The No-Frills Revue''. Knapp also appeared on Bro ...
performed the role of Ima and composer
Steven M. Alper served as musical director and conductor.
2004 off-Broadway
An
off-Broadway production produced by Hello Entertainment began previews on October 8, 2004 at
Dodger Stages, and officially opened on November 4, 2004.
The show was directed by Randal Myler, with scenic design by Brian Webb, costume design by
Willa Kim
Wullah Mei Ok Kim (Korean:; Hanja:; June 30, 1917 – December 23, 2016), known as Willa Kim, was an American costume designer for stage, dance, and film.
Life and career
Kim was born near Santa Ana, California in 1917 and graduated Belmont Hig ...
, lighting design by Don Darnutzer, and sound design by Peter Fitzgerald.
The show featured the same cast as the original production, though Adam Heller replaced Evan Pappas as Haskell. ''The Immigrant'' closed on November 28, 2004, after 29 performances. This production was nominated for two
Drama Desk Awards for
Outstanding Book of a Musical and
Outstanding Orchestrations.
Recordings
An
original cast recording
Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...
of the
off-Broadway cast was released by
Ghostlight Records
Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by Kurt Deutsch with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their secon ...
on July 26, 2005.
Reception
The show was generally well received, getting rave reviews from ''
The Denver Post
''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'', ''
Miami Herald'', and ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
''.
Laura Hitchcock claimed, in her ''Curtain Up'' review, "Few musicals take on religious issues and rituals in such depth and Harelik does it with subtlety and without condescension." On the score, she said that "Alper and Knapp's music hauntingly utilizes the Klezmer and ethnic themes to project Haskell's roots." ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' review mentioned that ''The Immigrant'' is a "deeply satisfying new musical, with much on its mind about history, humanity, man and God and the American Dream, is beckoning to theatergoers with a taste for rich characters in a tale that touches the heart, glows with humor and soothes the ear."
[Lawrence van Gelder]
THEATER REVIEW; A Welcome to America That Touches All Bases
''The New York Times'', September 28, 2000
References
External links
The Immigrantat the
Lortel Archives
The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway.
The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundatio ...
/
Internet Off-Broadway Database
The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway.
The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundatio ...
''The Immigrant'' on Ovrtur*
Galveston Movement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Immigrant, The
Off-Broadway musicals
2000 musicals
Musicals based on plays
Texas in fiction