Golden Thread has produced the world premiere of a deeply moving story of an American immigrant experience. Night Over Erzinga, just opened at South Side Theatre, Fort Mason Center, travels from the Armenian genocide of the early Twentieth Century to JFK’s assassination and show-biz in Massachusetts. Playwright Adriana Sevahn Nichols weaves in her own background as an Armenian-Dominican Republic refugee to create a story both tender and brutal with a texture of warmth, nostalgia, hope, and horror.
In over two hours – which could have been shorter – she tells of the flight of a nervous, introverted young woman who escapes the Middle Eastern state’s brutality to become a stage star in Worcester Mass. She even gets to perform with Danny Kaye. Music and performance become her life. In the U. S. she marries and has a baby with a somewhat talented singer who also immigrated to the U. S. He came from the Dominican Republic and wants to sing opera but is stuck with show tunes.
Meanwhile, her father comes to visit from Armenia. The question arises, what happened to mother? Her ghost appears randomly during the play to help things along. But that is in Act II, after she has immigrated. In Act I, mother undergoes extensive, useless electroshock therapy, no match for what the brutal Armenian hussars did to her sister, which comes out near the end of Act II.
Alice (Juliet Tanner) seeks a normal life in America, but she cannot escape her past. It shows up in multiple scenes in a metaphorical suitcase, whether it is the one she left Armenia with, the one her father brings when he visits or the one she will not abandon her daughter to. “I am not going to pack up her life in a little suitcase.”
Act I is a tedious, underdeveloped setup. The long Act II pays off with gripping family tensions, humor and some very poetic language. Act I is an icy description of a savage land, almost didactic. But Act II is worth the wait. It delves deeply into the hearts and minds of people struggling to make it in a foreign country. For Middle Eastern insight, very important these days, this evokes heartfelt insight to the people of another land.
Night Over Erzinga continues through October 9 at South Side Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Marina and Buchanan Streets. Tickets ($20 to $36) are available online at goldenthread.org or by phone at 415.345.7575.
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