Borderlands Theatre is mounting its first-ever original musical at Leo Rich Theater, a project that was five years in the making.
"Anita" opened in preview performances on Thursday and will run through April 19.
Borderlands Associate Artistic Director Milta Ortiz wrote the book while the music, infused with cumbia, bolero, reggaeton, R&B and pop, was composed by Quetzal Guerrero, a singer-songwriter and classically-trained violinist.
Ortiz and Guerrero started working on the musical in 2020, inspired by the stories about undocumented minors being separated from their parents at the border and housed in shelters.
The story, though, goes much deeper.
Borderlands Theatre is mounting its first original musical, "Anita," at Leo Rich Theater through April 19.
"It focuses more on the resilience and the joy and pride of Anita that is inspiring to people around her, that makes them want to help her follow a dream," Ortiz said.
The story begins as Anita remembers the moment she is separated from her parents. While they flee agents, Anita is caught and taken to a shelter.
In the shelter, Anita meets five girls, all minors of various ages from grade school to high school.
This might remind you of the musical "Annie," but in "Anita," the "orphan" has no Daddy Warbucks to rescue her from her plight.
"Anita" has a resourceful little girl and a savvy PR agent named Luz, whose job it is to make the Southwest Skies shelter appear more like a Hilton than a hellhole.
"When she meets Anita, they have a connection, and sort of as a PR ploy, she decides to help Anita," Ortiz explained. "In the end, Luz realizes there's more to life than what she had planned for herself."
In one scene in the pueblo marketplace, the girls sing a fiery salsa song in Spanish called "Ten Cuidado" — "be careful" — that warns Anita that life can be dangerous.
"The lyrics are saying, 'Be careful. Look out. You know, it's not safe, but here in this place, we have everything you need. You won't go hungry. We have your back here, but still be careful, because not everywhere else is like that'," Ortiz said.
Borderlands Theatre is staging its first original musical at Leo Rich Theater.
Another song, "Young Americans," expresses the sentiment of being the next gen making their place in the world. A reprise sung by the girls talks about being the "young Americans; don't be afraid of us," Ortiz said.
"There's a lot of the sentiment of 'we are humans, and we are part of this culture, of this American culture, and we're here to share joy and pride'," she explained. "I think the goal of the musical is for people to see the little boy in the bunny ears who was separated from his (father) for a week."
Ortiz was referring to the incident in late January when 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was wearing a hat with baby blue bunny ears, was separated when ICE apprehended his father in Minneapolis, and later detained with his father.
"We sort of give voice to him. You see him in the news, you've seen his photo, and now you get to see a more fleshed out character of somebody that's representative of Liam," Ortiz said. "I think the best feedback that I got from the development readings was people saying, 'I feel seen. I feel heard', and it's immigrants that are saying this."
The debut of "Anita" comes after a handful of public readings and workshops over the past five years in which the play was massaged, including cutting some 40 pages. Ortiz said the play has had additional revisions right up to Thursday's preview.
Ortiz said Borderlands, which she runs with her husband, Marc David Pinate, hopes to do a musical every other year "or sooner, if we can find musicals that fit our mission" to amplify Borderlands voices and stories.
This is the first time Borderlands has performed in Leo Rich, 260 S. Church Ave., since 2018.
Opening weekend performances are at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 4, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 5. Performances are at 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays through April 19; there are no performances April 11-12.
Tickets are $52.15 with discounts available through borderlandstheater.org/anita.
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