New Play City of Immigrants Brings History to Life

city of immigrants

ArtsWave and the Cincinnati Hispanic Chamber of Commerce bring history to life with the new play, City of Immigrants, debuting June 28th.  Written by critically-acclaimed local playwright Joe McDonough, City of Immigrants follows the story of six fictional characters representing the six major waves of ethnic immigrants to Cincinnati over the past 180 years: German, Irish, African-American, Jewish, Appalachian, and Hispanic.  Directed by Darryl Harris, Associate Professor of Theatre at Northern Kentucky University, City of Immigrants premiered at the 82nd League of United Latin American Citizens National Convention and Exhibition in Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 28th  at the National Underground Freedom Center. 

 


Four free public performances remain. All performances begin at 7:00 p.m. and include time for a post-show community dialogue.  Additional public performance dates and locations include:

 

 

Friday, July 8th                   Fairfield Community Arts Center

Tuesday, July 12th             The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati in West Chester

Wednesday, July 13th        Irish Heritage and Cultural Center in Columbia-Tusculum

Thursday, July 14th            BLOC Mission Center: 927 McPherson Ave in Price Hill

 

 

 

City of Immigrants introduces six fictional characters who immigrated to Cincinnati over a 150 year period, including a young German woman living in Over-the-Rhine in 1850, an African-American former slave searching for her son, and a Latino family celebrating a birthday in Price Hill.   A series of over-lapping monologues weaves together their common experiences-- meeting new people, encountering discrimination, overcoming adversity, and bringing parts of their culture to a new home.  Some stories intersect in surprising ways, encouraging audience members to think about how their own family history connects them to fellow Cincinnatians. Each of the stories brings to life real events and circumstances of the different historical periods, right up to the present day.

 

Based on the educational monograph Cincinnati: A City of Immigrants written by Mary Ann Olding and published by the Cincinnati Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the play seeks to encourage community dialogue about the common immigration experience by dramatizing Cincinnati’s history.  This project is funded by ArtsWave as part of its commitment to support a range of programming that reflects and supports the community in all its diversity.