“No draft! No war! US out of El Salvador!” chanted DC activist and musician Luci Murphy, while teaching crowds to sing in the 1980s. Death squads and other forms of violence and oppression were supported by American tax dollars, the chant reminded the audience.
“Somewhere Over the Border” takes place against the unpredictable killing, deprivation and oppression of 1980s El Salvador.
17-year-old Reina is newly pregnant. Living with her mother and brothers in Chanmico, El Salvador, she works multiple jobs. The ever-present violence of El Salvador renders making a living impossible. Hearing a customer talk about visiting their daughter in America, Reina decides to make the journey with her baby. Her brother, a customer, and her employer all contribute to paying the smuggler. Without informing her mother, she departs is leaving her baby with its grandmother.
The show is a musical.
Director Raymond O. Caldwell and Choreographer Tony Thomas pepper the narrative with the playful whimsy and magical realism of a fairy tale. They employ memorable moments from the MGM musical The Wizard of Oz as touchstones to narrate Reina’s efforts to find a home.
Reina’s strict mother, sweeping the house, implores her daughter to see her discipline differently. “I am not a witch,” she says.
Actors spin a multi-leveled platform about the stage for scene changes. At one moment, it is the family home. It later transforms into an intercity bus, its graceful spinning suggesting an Ozian tornado.
Chanmico’s residents and her fellow travelers all have their counterparts in the Oz story. A former customer appears on the road to the USA as a Nun who lacks the courage to pursue her dream of being a rock star. The Cowardly Lion? Reina’s brother is a banana farmer and aspiring agronomist. The color of his bananas emulates the yellow of the famous brick road, while his personality resembles the Scarecrow. Her employer, an alcoholic, heartbroken motel owner, could be the Tin Man.
Leaning decisively in the direction of hope, the production never denies the reality of random and inevitable grief. “The world makes one single promise, and that promise is death,” Reina’s mom early on characterizes the lessons learned from El Salvadoran life. “Keep your hopes high and your head low,” various characters repeat as they greet or part company.
The production is refreshing. The versatile set, crisscrossed by hung laundry, provides a color coda to the musical’s delightful songs and the winning cast. Spoiler alert! The ending is so satisfyingly happy it reduced the audience to tears.
“This world is filled with stories. Stories that honor the journey,” a character says. Somewhere Over the Border is one of those stories.
Somewhere Over the Border runs 90 minutes with no intermission. Visit Mosaic Theatre for tickets.
Gregory Ford is the Anacostia Coordinating Council Arts & Culture Critic. He is also an actor and singer. He is a member of Verbal Gymnastics Playback Theater troupe. He has written for Capital Community News and continues to write for dctheaterarts.org, focusing on College and University Theater Productions. He is a clinical psychodrama practitioner. Mr. Ford lives in Northeast Boundary in Ward 7.
