Storyline: Jewish immigration to the United States wasn't exclusively
through Ellis Island in New York Harbor or even to the major east-coast
cities from Baltimore to Boston. Ten thousand Jews immigrated through the
port of Galveston, Texas between 1907 and 1914. They included Haskel Harelik
who settled in Hamilton, Texas and, with the sometimes grudging help of a
Texas banker and his wife, built a fruit cart, turned it into a successful
business and earned the money to bring his wife over from Russia. This
musical centers on the relationship of the two couples over the rest of
their intertwined lives. An
intriguing fact about the show is that the story is based
on the family history of Mark Harelik who wrote
the book for this musical. (He's the co-author of
Hank Williams: Lost Highway which
recently played the Wayside Theater.) He happens to be the grandson of the
Jewish immigrant whose story this is. He wrote the story first as a play,
not a musical. It has had some success in that format. But the use of music
to capture time, place, cultural overtones and emotional nuances adds a
certain richness to the package. To accomplish this he teamed up with Steven
M. Alper and Sarah Knapp who have produced the scores for The Library,
The Audition, Me Again and Chamberlain: A True Civil War Romance, among
others.
The recording features performances by the
four member cast and a four-player band led by musical director Kimberly
Grigsby. Adam Heller's accent "Americanizes" in logical steps as his time in
Texas passes, as to a lesser extent, does that of Jacqueline Antaramien as
his wife. Walter Charles gives a gruff exterior touch to the part of the
banker, which then mellows with time. Cass Morgan handles the role of his
wife, Ima, giving a believable touch of desperation to her desire to have her
husband share her religious commitment.
While the booklet for this release includes
the full lyrics and a short essay, it has no synopsis of the plot and no
information on the production history. The storyline above helps a bit, but
a more detailed description of the function of each song would help even
though the lyrics frequently provide most of the information needed. To fill
the other oversight, here's the production information that should be in the
booklet: The Off-Broadway production with this cast of four performers
opened November 4, 2004 on Stage IV of Dodger Stages on New York's West 50th
Street. It closed on November 28, earning nominations for two Drama Desk
awards: Best Book and Best Orchestrations. The musical had its premiere
January 17 - February 23, 2002 at The Denver Center for the Performing Arts,
which also presented the premiere of the play on which the musical is based,
The Immigrant: A Hamilton County Album during the 1984/85 season. |
