Somewhere over the border, 2023 & 2024
CITY THEATRE, SEPT 2023 & PEOPLE’S LIGHT, JULY 2024 Book, Lyrics & Music Brian Quijada Director Laura Alcala Baker Scenic Design Chelsea M. Warren Costume Design Damian Dominguez Lighting Design Cat Wilson Sound Design Stefanie Senior Projection Design Joe Spinogatti Production Photography Kristi Jan Hoover
*see ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS & REVIEWS/FEATURES below
OVERVIEW: The design is rooted in the streets of Chanmico, El Salvador and through whimsical and surprising transformations takes us along the yellow-cobblestone-brick road to the Mexico-US Border, to America and ultimately back home. Scenic design choices include a turn table yellow-cobblestone-brick road for travel sequences, a band upstage center, automated pivoting roofs from El Salvador, surprises from hidden doorways, and a burlap flower painted Kabuki Drop. The scenic gesture includes a wooden plank portal for projection titles and a cement wall-sky backdrop as a primary projection surface. This production speaks to the urgent story of immigrants in America with a blend of the playwright’s mother’s illegal immigration story and the Wizard of Oz.
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS
REVIEWS/FEATURES
Broadway World, Greg Kerestan, “Somewhere Over the Border Adds New Grooves to City Theatre: “Finally, attention must be paid to Chelsea Warren's set, Cat Wilson's lights and Joe Spinogatti's projections. This is one of the most elaborate sets I've ever seen at City Theatre, complete with transforming unit pieces, pop-outs, animated projections and a full-scale turntable for dancing on. Clearly, no expense has been spared on this show... all that's missing is a cast recording to purchase in the lobby. (Fingers crossed this show records with this cast, though I know it's a rarity.) Brian Quijada is a rising star, and if this show is his thesis for the career to follow, don't miss your opportunity to see it here first.”
On Stage Pittsburgh, Sharon Eberson, Review: Take the Quickest Path to City Theatre for a Magical Musical Migrant Journey: “The staging of Somewhere Over the Border, with scenic design by Chelsea Warren and direction by Laura Alcala Baker, makes the most of City’s Mainstage, with a turntable and movement representing the quartet’s great migration from Central America, through Mexico, by bus and on foot.”
Burgh Vivant, Michael Buzzelli, Nos vamos a ver al coyote- a review of “Somewhere Over the Border”: “Scenic designer Chelsea M. Warren brought the quaint village of Chinmico to the stage, with room for the marvelous band and a rotating platform at center so the characters can ease on down the road. Warren’s set has some pop up components that add to the whimsy of the show.”