Robert McQueen has directed his share of musicals, but he was struck by the unique intimacy of The Immigrant, a production he’s directing for the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company.
“It’s lovely because it’s a real sort of chamber musical – which are pretty hard to come by – there’s a small cast, a compelling story and it’s very simple in form,” McQueen said. “When you find them, they’re really worth exploring.”
Running Oct. 31 to Nov. 22, the musical version of The Immigrant, which premiered as an off-Broadway production in 2004, is based on Mark Harelik’s 1985 play about a young Jewish immigrant who flees Russia in 1909 and ends up in the small Baptist community of Hamilton, Texas.
McQueen speculated that Harelik pushed to turn the original play into a musical in order to give the material “a second life.”
The music is composed by Steven M. Alper, with lyrics by Sarah Knapp and musical direction by Shelley Hanson.
Harelik based the story on the experiences of his grandparents, Haskell and Matleh Harelik, who were the product of what was known as the Galveston Plan. This immigrant assistance program, operated by several Jewish organizations between 1907 and 1914, was set up to divert Jews fleeing Russia and eastern Europe from crowded eastern seaboard cities like New York and Philadelphia and disperse them across the United States.
Though in real life, Haskell and Matleh escaped the pogroms of eastern Europe at the turn of the century and settled in Galveston, Texas; in the fictionalized account, Haskell, the protagonist of the musical, played by Sean Arbuckle, wanders farther afield from Galveston into the interior of Texas.
He reaches Hamilton, a town of just over 1,000 people, and decides to stay.
McQueen noted that the script makes no mention of other Jews coming to live in the town.
In the play – as in real life – Haskell, who starts out as a vendor wielding a banana cart, is taken in by a Texan couple, Milton and Ima Perry, played by Steven Gallagher and Kathryn Akin, who are compelled, out of a sense of Christian charity, to help the stranger, despite their concerns about discovering he is Jewish.
Milton, a banker, cannot help but be moved by Haskell’s sense of optimism and a friendship blooms between them as he helps Haskell launch his career.
With his assistance, Haskell advances to operating a horse-drawn fruit cart and eventually to opening a successful department store.
He ultimately brings his wife Leah, played by Tracy Michailidis, over from Russia to join him.
McQueen said the play, which spans a lengthy period, from 1917 until 1943, moves from being a classic immigrant story to focusing on the relationships of and between the two couples.
“At the beginning of the play it’s a huge thing for the Texan couple when they realize Haskell is both Russian and Jewish. But it becomes about people discovering commonalities and ways to coexist – to find each other in ways that transcend the things that make us different,” McQueen noted.
Based in New York City, McQueen, who is originally from Western Canada, has previously directed plays for Toronto’s Acting Up Stage Company, run by artistic and managing director Mitchell Marcus, as well as for the Canadian Opera Company and Vancouver Opera.
He’s relished working on The Immigrant, as it’s given him the opportunity to dive into researching stories of the real Harelik’s life, as well as lives of immigrants like him.
“You can find an immigrant story in any family. We’ve been focusing on revealing the richness of this particular story through these four very strong actors,” McQueen said.