The Immigrant (musical)
| The Immigrant | |
|---|---|
| A New American Musical | |
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| Music | Steven M. Alper |
| Lyrics | Sarah Knapp |
| Book | Mark Harelik |
| Basis | Mark Harelik's The Immigrant |
| Productions | 2004 Off-Broadway |
The Immigrant is a four-person chamber musical with music by Steven M. Alper and lyrics by Sarah Knapp, with a book by Mark Harelik. The show is based on Harelik's 1985 play of the same name.
A Jewish immigrant and his wife enter into the life of an American couple in Texas. In the end, there is a signal of a new start of friendship between the two families and the hope for future.
In 1909, Haskell Harelik, a young Russian-Jewish man, steps out of steerage into the port city of Galveston, Texas. Speaking no English, he wrangles together a wheelbarrow and a bunch of bananas and heads north into the great interior. When he reaches the tiny rural community of Hamilton, deep in the heart of Texas, he can go no farther. Exhaustion drops him in the front yard of Milton and Ima Perry. Acting with Christian charity, Ima convinces her husband to give Haskell a room for the night, but when she finds out Haskell is a Jew, she has second thoughts.
Six weeks later, the young immigrant is still in their home. Milton summons Haskell to his office to give him his walking papers, but he gets caught up in Haskell's innocence and excitement about this "new land," and ends up loaning him money for a new horse and wagon. Haskell quickly prospers and Milton keeps giving him assistance against his better judgement. Meanwhile, it revealed that Haskell has indeed been sending money to his wife, Leah, in Russia.
When Ima finds out that a group of boys from town have attacked Haskell on the road, her view of what she considered her good Christian community is shaken, and Milton feels he's made himself a target in the town by helping Haskell. He sets Haskell up in a new grocery store, but when Leah arrives unexpectedly from Russia, Milton and Ima both feel taken advantage of.
Haskell and Leah have moved into the attic above the grocery. Haskell has made a home for himself in Hamilton, but what feels like freedom and promise to Haskell feels like a life of isolation to Leah. Haskell tries to comfort her, but she seems inconsolable.
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