Photo by Michael Brosilow Photography
Ashley Oveido and King Hang in Next Act Theatre's 'Sanctuary City'
One cannot imagine a timelier opening for Milwaukee’s fall theater season than Next Act’s Sanctuary City, Martyna Majok’s intense but satisfying play. The production opened this weekend and continues through October 5.
As the company’s Artistic Director Cody Estle put it during his remarks to the audience at a post-show opening night reception: “This play puts a human face on what is happening in the world around us.”
The focus of this electrifying play involves two teen immigrants who were brought to America as young children. (These days, they are often referred to as “dreamers.”) Both are being raised by single mothers, and now they face similar situations: both families have overstayed their U.S. visas by nearly a decade.
The two teens met in third grade and now attend the same high school. They bond over their shared circumstances and their growing dependence on each other.
The play opens in Newark, NJ, in 2001, shortly after 9/11. A 17-year-old “girl” (referred to only as G) taps at the window of a friend’s apartment. She needs shelter from the cold and protection from the physical abuse of someone at home, either her mother’s husband or boyfriend.
The young man (named only B for “boy”) is not surprised to see her. As we see in the next few scenes, it’s a situation that they have reenacted many times.
A Different Approach to Storytelling
In an unusual theatrical twist, the play’s early scenes are set on a completely bare stage. The actors must rely on their movements and voices to suggest a variety of settings and situations, which come in quick succession. A lighting change, or even the sound of a gong, signals that another scene is about to begin. Much of the credit for this onstage artistry goes to noted lighting director Jason Fassl.
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.
This unique approach to storytelling initially causes a sense of surprise, confusion and disorientation among audience members. That’s exactly as the playwright intends. Such feelings of uncertainty mirror what the two characters face on a daily basis.
Thankfully, snippets of dialogue often are repeated, so the audience’s sense of disorientation soon disappears. Director Jake Penner delivers these rapid-fire scene swaps with deft nuance, keeping the plot’s through-line always within reach.
The teens must rely on their wits and stamina to launch their dreams and ambitions. Lacking their families’ emotional and financial support, B (King Hang) and G (Ashley Oviedo) are faced with nearly insurmountable obstacles. Meanwhile, the future of their relationship also remains in doubt.
Inevitably, Their Relationship Changes Over Time
An unexpected break in her immigration status propels G to college on a scholarship. B also needs this financial boost, but he’s not so lucky. His dreams are put on hold while he toils at a low-level restaurant job.
In the second part of the show’s 90 minutes (no intermission), the series of brief scenes are replaced by a full set and a more “traditional” sequence of events. Several years have passed. Both friends have moved on, in different ways. G becomes immersed in college life, while B finds an apartment with his boyfriend, Henry (Joe Lino).
At first, Henry seems completely devoted to B. But the possibility of a happy ending for them eventually dims, as does the possibility that G will marry B in order to protect his legal status.
Actors Ashley Oviedo and King Hang give complex, heart-wrenching performances as characters caught in a web of government red tape. Their future is unclear: do they return to a country they barely remember, or stay in a country that doesn’t really want them?
Additionally, Joe Lino impresses as a gay man who is unable to marry his partner (in 2006) and give him legal protection against deportation. His frustration is palpable.
Majok is a talented playwright, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her 2018 play, Cost of Living. Moreover, she writes what she knows: Majok is a Polish immigrant whose family settled in Newark. Sanctuary City promises to challenge what you think you know about immigration in America.
Sanctuary City continues through October 5 at the Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St., just beyond Milwaukee’s Third Ward. For tickets, go to Nextact.org, or call the box office at 414-278-0765.
