****/4 Albany Park Theater Project’s “Port of Entry” is truly a masterwork of immersive storytelling— this is documentary theater at its best because of its on point and unmatched ability to capture the spirit of the diversity of the community with grace and precision. Set within a meticulously reimagined Albany Park apartment building which has been designed for this production with incredible realism, the production transforms the space into a living breathing archive of immigrant experiences. Audiences are guided through intimate, site-specific vignettes that we learn as we are invited behind real apartment doors, with each unique story serving as an invitation to witness the quiet, everyday acts of courage, challenge and uncertainty that make up the fabric of this neighborhood.
I have seen other immersive theater productions and I am a huge fan of this art form (most notably Southern Gothic and shows that followed at the now defunct Windy City Theater), but what distinguishes “Port of Entry” is its deeply embedded authenticity paired with a deep undercurrent of empathy. The ensemble’s performances, drawn from extensively personal oral histories, achieve both documentary fidelity and emotional immediacy. This is not just art….it is truth, told with remarkable tenderness and theatrical vitality. The direction, staging, and design achieve a rare synergy; lighting, sound, and décor coalesce to evoke not a theatrical illusion but a lived environment teeming with memory and life. It is art, dance, music, family and the critical aspects of everyday life.
If you attend with someone, you may very well be split up and have some shared but also different experiences thru the evening. You might attend a Quinceanera with a frightening current day twist involving ICE; you might find yourself in a bedroom learning the history of those who occupied it in days past; you might even find yourself at dinner with a Filipino family undergoing challenges addressed without a word. It’s hard to disclose much more without encouraging you to just go see the production when tickets are available (and these are the toughest tickets in town to get). “Port of Entry” showcases the resilience and dignity of Albany Park’s diverse immigrant communities. This production is more than a play, more than an evening out—it is our civic responsibility to experience it with its underlying hospitality and invitation and indeed urging of understanding and acceptance.
EDITOR NOTE: This production is a limited view and thus is sold out for the time being. When they add more dates, we will make sure that we publish same so that more of you can have the opportunity to experience this amazing theatrical ( and life sharing) experience. Here is my original review from 2023.
**** The Albany Park Theater Project, a group of talented young performers and Third Rail Projects (New York), creators of specific, immersive performance art have put together a remarkable work entitled “Port of Entry”. In these times, when more and more immigrants desire to come to our country and start their new lives, they have found a way to create a work that illustrates some of the joy and sadness connected to this “journey”. I know that over the years, I heard many a story about my grandparents and their trip to this country. I also heard many stories about relatives who were forced t leave their homes and find a new life. Not easy.
When I was acting and did “A Fiddler on the Roof”, in the role of Tevye, I experienced having to leave and start fresh as that is part of what the play is about. During my years with DeVry Institute, I enrolled many men from India, China, Poland, Turkey, Israel and other European countries. With student visas, they were able to come here, get their education and become a part of the American Way. But we all know that many of those who come here, do not comply with the laws and regulations. They find a way.
“Port of Entry” is a unique two hour production that is more composed than written and the stories are real, taking place over almost a century. We begin our journey in the lobby of what used to be a moving and storage company located in Albany Park at 3547 West Montrose. We are separated into groups of 8 ( there are a total of 28 people allowed per performance). We watch as families from different countries, enter with suitcases and boxes, It is a courtyard with three entrances to different sections of the apartment building. I remember my first apartment was built that way and in fact was reminded of that building on Sheridan Road at Estes.
As the families finish their entrances, a family member/guide takes each group into the building and our journey begins. Each family we meet is unique in that they are very different from the previous one. In our first apartment, we helped to put things away and sweep the floors. One of the others and I were asked to explain and help these immigrants with using a micro-wave ( we made Mac ‘n cheese). I try not to give away the stories involved as that would ruin the experience for you. It is indeed an experience.
When we walked the hall from apartment to apartment, we could put our ear to the doors and hear sounds of music being practiced, families enjoying dinner, and other familiar sounds, although not always in a language that we understood. Along the way, we met Indians, Asians, Latinos, Israelites ( I think, although they could have been Russian or German Jews who escaped the Nazis). One of the young ladies, took me out in the hall t bounce a ball and talk about her ability to play Rugby. She then had me hanging pictures of her family on the walls of the hall.
At one family’s apartment, we helped prepare a recipe, making a meal for a nearby family. The people in this apartment building , being of a similar nature, found each other to be sort of the family they left behind. One could feel the warmth. In this one apartment, we were witness to two siblings having a personal problem and we all became a part of the tension. We then went to a Hispanic household where we played a Spanish “bingo” game until there became a problem that was about the youngest daughter’s upcoming Quinceaneros (Sweet 15 celebration). She tried on her dress and we all danced with her and then made flowers to decorate the gates of the apartment building. That was the end of our observation of 100 years of people coming to Albany Park and all of the cast members told us their names , we applauded and then our experience was over. Yet the memory will remain for a long time- just as it did for these people who left their homes (and families) to live in a new world.
If you are unfamiliar with Albany Park, this experience will teach you a great deal. This is the North Side “melting pot neighborhood”. On the South Side, Pilsen was a great neighborhood for immigrants (still is). If one walks around the area today, one still sees signage on windows in several languages. I guess it still serves as a “Port of Entry” for many. The highly orchestrated performance art is two hours with stair climbing, standing, some light physical duties. Children under 14 are not admitted. Only a few patrons can be allowed to use wheelchairs and no cell phones or bags can be carried during the performance. Let yourself be one of the guests and allow these people to share their lives with you. You won’t regret it.
“Port of Entry” is limited in numbers per performance and is a “pay what you choose” You can ONLY book online at boxoffice@portofentrychicago.com
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