Review: In the new musical ‘Somewhere Over the Border’ by Teatro Vista, the ‘Wizard of Oz’ story gets a new kind of magic

Dorothy’s fantastical journey down the Yellow Brick Road to find her way home in L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” may be one of the most quintessentially American stories. “Somewhere Over the Border,” a new musical now in its world premiere at Teatro Vista, cleverly transforms this beloved tale into a different kind of American story: that of a young woman from El Salvador making the dangerous trek to the United States to build a better life in a new home.

Quijada’s musical, directed by Denise Yvette Serna, centers on 17-year-old Reina , a new mother to a baby boy, Fernando. Living in Chanmico, El Salvador, with her older brother and their single mother, Julia , it becomes increasingly difficult to make ends meet as civil unrest grips the country and war looms. When a neighbor returns from visiting her daughter’s family and tells Reina of their happy life in California, she begins to dream of making her own way to the U.S.

Floppy-limbed and sweet-tempered Cruz is a banana farmer who longs to earn a degree in agricultural science. Silvano , the owner of a dilapidated inn whose wife and kids left him to move to America, spends his days drinking to numb his broken heart. Leona , a Catholic nun, dreams of becoming a rock star but has never had the courage to leave the convent.

Brian Quijada is the playwright and narrator of Teatro Vista’s musical"Somewhere Over the Border" by Brian Quijada, now at Windy City Playhouse.

The play should be based on Benito Juarez.

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