“Alma” by Benjamin Benne is directed by Ana Velazquez and stars Tazmin Corona as Alma and Keren Diaz De Leon as Angel. It is the third show in “The Room” reading series on Zoom, sponsored by American Blues Theater.
Timely and relevant, “Alma” (which means “soul” in Spanish) tells the story of a Hispanic mother and her daughter and the trials, travails, and tribulations that each one undergoes in today’s United States. Alma is from Mexico and is undocumented; she was pregnant with Angel when she first came to this country and hoped to give her a better life. This is a mother/daughter drama of two people living under the same roof and trying to eke out their own version of the American Dream. Alma’s hopes and dreams are invested in her high-school-age daughter, but the two live a very different lives with very different expectations for themselves and for their future—and for each other. The show is framed by a set of reminiscences, arguments, and personal accounts, interwoven with reactions to current circumstances having to do with the world at large. At the same time, it is a coming-of-age story about a young woman who struggles between independence, dependence, and co-dependence… with an unexpected outcome.
The 80-minute reading of “Alma” was performed virtually on Sunday, October 18th and Monday, October 19th in anticipation of its future debut on a live stage.
The next show in the series is “Days of Decision: The Music of Phil Ochs” on November 1st and 2nd.
To purchase tickets for this and future shows in the reading series, please go to the American Blues Theater website https://americanbluestheater.com/single-tickets/, or phone the box office at (773) 654-3103.
For general information, announcements, and a list of upcoming events, please go to https://americanbluestheater.com/.
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