Cooperative Performance presents a premiere, Ellis, a work pulled together from a diverse group of personal narratives about being an immigrant in the U.S. The show’s creators Kelly Coffey and Don Russell, in collaboration with Alejandra Gonzalez and Alverno College, bring together stories of those who have come here from Latin America, Europe, India and elsewhere. Stories of displacement, identity and belonging scatter across an intimate stage as spoken through an ensemble from a variety of ages and ethnicities.
Seating is onstage. Audience and actors are one in a conceptual space where we are all immigrants. There are more than half a dozen stories that cascade across the stage over the course of a single hour without intermission. It’s quite a journey. From the story of a man who has become obsessed with donuts from a chain restaurant to the story of Punjabi cuisine to a family of Italian Americans being bullied in another era, humor, love and human drama are packaged tightly enough to fit into a tidy, little suitcase that leaves plenty of time for contemplation into the evening.
Of particular note are a couple of topical tales including one in which Gonzalez tenderly talks about romantic attraction and the unique dating concerns of those lacking citizenship. It’s the type of story anyone would want to snuggle up with. Later on, the show tilted to heroism from an altogether darker end of immigration as Kait Muehlhans delivered a story of an anonymous DREAMer. A mixture of spoken word and movement illustrate the horrors of being an undocumented victim of a crime. It is one of the more memorable moments in a vivid show.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Through Feb. 24 at Alverno College’s Pitman Theatre. For more information, visit cooperativeperformance.org/current-season.
