In the new musical “On This Side of the World,” East West Players brings to life dozens of stories of Filipino immigrants’ experiences in the U.S.
It all starts with a one-way ticket and a character named Jemalyn who plans to be a high school teacher in the Bronx.
“At the beginning of the flight, amidst her apprehension … she remembers that in preparing for this flight … she had actually collected stories from immigrants who went before her, and so she spends the flight recollecting stories, but also connecting with her fellow passengers and helping them with their own apprehensions and their own anxiety about going to a place that's totally new,” says co-creator, composer, and lyricist Paulo Tiról.
“On This Side of the World” features music and dance from many different aspects of the Filipino experience. Photo by Jenny Graham.
Blending the musical worlds of America and the Philippines was a special challenge for the team.
“We think of the show as an anthology of short stories. … So you meet lots of different characters, and each has a different musical style or genre, whether it's pop music or an operetta style of music, a ballad or a torch song, or music that's reminiscent of 90s R&B –– all of that is included,” says director and co-creator Noam Shapiro. “Part of that is because a lot of the popular music in the Philippines, as I've learned from working with Paulo, is really informed by American popular music as a product of American colonialism about a century ago.”
Love songs are a big part of the production too. “There are love songs — which are also inspired by my experience, my friends’ experiences — where people are able to find home because they find love in a place they never expected,” says Tiról, who moved to the U.S. from the Philippines at age 34 in 2012.
Another challenge for the show was figuring out how to portray the great distance –– both geographically and chronologically –– as many Filipino immigrants come to America on three-year work contracts, unable to return home until they are completed.
“It’s 8,491 miles [to the Bronx],” says Tiról. “If you're in a three-year contract, it's going to be 1,095 days till you see people again. It's a 12 timezone difference, but at certain times of the year, it's a 13 timezone difference.”
“Six individuals who really do feel alone with their concerns board this plane and by the end of this flight, they've become a bit of a community, each recognizing one another's fears and apprehensions about starting this new life,” says Noam Shapiro, co-creator of “On This Side of the World.” Photo by Jenny Graham.
Shapiro saw a way to illustrate the distance through the story. “The structure of the show is such that the six individuals who really do feel alone with their concerns board this plane, and by the end of this flight, they've become a bit of a community, each recognizing one another's fears and apprehensions about starting this new life. And so you sense … that they are just six travelers out of so many … who have made the journey across borders, both land and sea to get to the United States.”