Musical based on life of Arizona ‘Dreamer’ headed to New York City

PHOENIX — A musical based on the life of an Arizona “Dreamer” is headed to New York City for an off-Broadway production.

“¡Americano!” will be shown at the New World Stages and run April 21 through June 19. Tickets went on sale Thursday.

The musical tells the true story of Tony Valdovinos. He grew up in Phoenix and tried to enlist in the U.S. Marines.

“I was not aware that I was undocumented and didn’t have any sort of legal standing in the country,” Valdovinos, now a DACA recipient, told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Valdovinos was 2 years old when he and his family came to Arizona from Mexico.

He grew up thinking he had legal status. He found out otherwise through the recruitment process and couldn’t enlist. But he figured out a different way to serve.

He started working on election campaigns, including being the field director for Ruben Gallego’s run for Congress in 2014. Gallego, a Marine, won the election, fueling Valdovinos to start a political organization called La Machine to help elect politicians who support “Dreamers” like him.

The Phoenix Theatre Company premiered “¡Americano!” in February 2020 and set box-office records.

“It was very well received here, which I was really pleased to see,” Michael Barnard, who directed and co-wrote the musical, told KTAR News 92.3 FM. “We worked very hard to make this a human story as opposed to a political story.”

Barnard said “¡Americano!” ran for five weeks. It could’ve gone on but was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It allowed people, I think, to see the plight of a dreamer from a different perspective and realize the immense commitment of dreamers wanting to give back to this country,” he said.

Barnard and Jason Rose, the show’s lead producer, spent the next two years trying to get the musical to New York City.

They needed to raise $3 million to finance the production. The Arizona-based organization Chicanos Por La Causa became one of their biggest contributors.

Valdovinos said he’s excited to continue sharing his story, which started in New York. He recalled being in sixth grade when he watched the twin towers collapse on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

“It just truly changed my perspective of what being safe was and what being an American really meant,” he said, adding that it motivated him to want to become a U.S. Marine.

Valdovinos said he hopes those who see the musical in New York City will walk away inspired “to not give up on being an American and doing everything possible to support our community.”

Related

Arizona Opera's 2022-23 season to feature five productions in Phoenix and TucsonMadison Center announces lineup for 2022 Broadway seasonArizona Theatre Company announces schedule for 54th seasonDisney's 'The Lion King' coming to ASU Gammage in July; tickets on sale next monthTucson Police identify, charge mass shooting suspect who left 9 injuredNBA star James Harden among investors bringing Smiling Moose Sandwich Grill to Scottsdale