Manuel vs. The Statue of Liberty

A decade ago my friend Noemi wrote a musical about Manuel, a Dreamer whose parents brought him to the United States as a child. The father returned to the Dominican Republic. His mother stayed and raised him in New York, they overstayed their visas to give him a better life. (Note: more people here illegally entered legally than crossed illegally at the border.) It is called Manuel vs. The Statue of Liberty.

This is based on a true story of a young man who went on to study Classics at Princeton University. In Noemi's version, Manuel ends up in a boxing ring physically fighting the Statue of Liberty, a non-gender conforming role that evening played by a tall white man. I've seen the role portrayed by a transgendered woman (forgive me if my wording is wrong, feel free to correct me). I'm embarrassed I have not seen a performance since 2016, though I have talked to her about it as she continues to develop the show.

On the eve of the inauguration, we gathered at the Triad Theater to celebrate the award winning work of Noemi de la Puente (book and lyrics) and David Davila (music and lyrics). I have seen versions of this show and was thrilled to be in the front row of the club hearing the music again, the song "Contender" always gives me goosebumps (clip from 2016). This reminds me, I need to order the concept album which is available on all streaming platforms, and ask Don to turn it into a CD I can keep in the car to listen to as I drive. Noemi commented the irony of the timing was not lost to her, and she expects this to be driven underground until we have a new administration, but for tonight (and the next four years) we should celebrate each other, and be kind to each other. That's a paraphrase of what two weeks later what I remember her saying.

It was so much fun being able to celebrate this success with Noemi. She radiated pride and joy as she saw her story being presented five feet in front her, surrounded by the love of friends and family. I'm so glad we could be there. May it find a theater and change hearts.

Bumped into Annette and her friend

Cast photo -- yes, I wanted to move the bottles in the front