Open Door at La Mama's The Annex

La MaMa E.T.C. presents Open Door - a theatre work with song, by Federico Restrepo and puppet theatre troupe Loco 7, at La Mama's The Annex from 1 - 17 Dec 2006.

Open Door: centers on the main character, a displaced Colombian living in an apartment building which houses the many people that make up New York City. In addition to the main character there are ten other characters representing peoples from diverse cultural backgrounds, North American, South American, African, Middle Eastern, European, Asian; friends and strangers, living in the same apartment building, meeting and exchanging stories that reveal there past personal stories and present state of minds. The main set will transform to reveal where these characters came from; the struggles that lead them to their new home and the current life they experience as strangers in a strange place, that can often times be overwhelming.

The characters ask questions: Do we as humans want to experience that which we do not know? Are we only that which outwardly identifies us, race, color, sex, and religion? Will we ever fit in and be accepted as �real� Americans or will we be stuck facing the same issues that lead us from our homelands, i.e. poverty, war, religious discrimination, imprisonment, and possible death? Will we be kicked out of the United States? Will we be able to find a good paying job? Will we ever feel safe and secure?

Directed, choreograhed and designed by Federico Restrepo, Open Door is performered by three musicians and twelve dancers/puppeteers.

The work features original music by Elizabeth Swados, with lyrics by Federico Restrepo and Elizabeth Swados.