MALVERN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — You’ve likely heard Dorothy sing about going somewhere over the rainbow, but People’s Light Theatre in Malvern is taking audiences down a different kind of yellow brick road.
“Somewhere Over the Border” is a musical about a woman from El Salvador fleeing to the United States, told as a riff on “The Wizard of Oz.” Director Laura Alcalá Baker said the playwright, Brian Quijada, drew on his mother’s true story.
“Brian and I have been good friends for many years and I know that this story has been in his heart for a very long time,” said Alcalá Baker.
It’s a story of a community that is not often seen on stage, she noted.
“So often, theater audiences can be homogenous,” she said. “It is most important if we want to see the world that we live in to bring stories that represent that. This is one of those.
“We want art to be accessible, to be in their hometown, and to invite them in. And the only way to feel invited, to feel at home is if your stories are being told on that stage.”
The musical includes a variety of genres, from cumbia and mariachi to rock and hip-hop.
“You will see and hear the diaspora of Latin music,” Alcalá Baker said, “like we are going through actual miles. And as we hit each spot, then a new kind of music infuses itself in.”
Fans of “The Wizard of Oz” are bound to pick up on lots of Easter eggs, too. “We’ve got Tin Man references, we’ve got flying monkeys references … the world transforming into color.”
Alcalá Baker said this musical re-telling has a true, heartfelt story at its core — one that she believes is necessary in light of political conversations around immigration.
“It’s challenging to do art that cuts so close to the vein during this time, but it’s so joyful,” she said, “and I think that’s what makes the difference. … Even in the depths of this darkness that she has to escape, it’s a beautiful, epic, musical journey that takes her along the way to this new life.”
“Somewhere Over the Border” is running at People’s Light Theatre in Malvern through Aug. 11. Tickets and discount details can be found here .
This production is a partnership between People’s Light, Pittsburgh’s City Theatre and Pittsburgh CLO.
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