←Recommendations of Ellis Island Ahead!

This is a great piece for a school looking for a large cast/ensemble play to produce. Or for a professional or community theatre group looking to do an engaging educational play. The history is in bite-sized, musical pieces and very fun and easy to digest. Students will be inspired to do extra research working on this play or even viewing it! It's a win/win for your next theatrical production!

In this beautifully crafted story, Nora Louise Syran reminds us of the history of Ellis Island as central to immigration in late 19th and early 20th century America. This play presents a great opportunity for actors and audiences alike to appreciate the hardships that immigrants have always faced and the contributions they have made and continue to make. The structure, which consists of short scenes, actors playing multiple roles, and some music lends itself to an intimate reader’s theater or a fully staged production. Opportunities are boundless. This should be staged often!

How do you tell the stories of the hordes of people who passed through Ellis Island? Syran has done just that with her magical play "Ellis Island Ahead!". In fact, she's telling the story of all America and of all immigrants whether they went through E.I. or not.
 
I marvel that a play can seem so epic and yet so intimate at the same time. Syran gives us a grand tour of Ellis Island, the place, and Ellis Island, the point in time, using fast-moving scenes and ever-changing characters (with myriad languages, accents, stories, songs, poems, and more). Excellent!

To a degree Ellis Island Ahead reminded me of the musical Tintypes. Nora Louise Syran is the master of mid-size ensemble pieces and this educational/entertaining should be a hit! High energy quick paced dialogue juxtaposed against an ensemble that was equal parts chorus/story tellers. Fun, important, and clever. Well done!

Being British, I had less of a knowledge about the influence of Ellis Island and the history it represents to the people of the USA. However, as I read through this piece I was educated and entertained by the stories and representations by the characters. the central narrator of the janitor was a lovely pin that held the whole piece together. I can see this piece being great for educational purposes in schools. This is a perfect place for those, who, like me see a great benefit in being educated as well as entertained.