The Broadway-aimed musical Americano!, inspired by the life of DREAMer and political strategist Tony Valdovinos, will premiere at Phoenix, Arizona’s The Phoenix Theatre Company, January 29 – February 23. Opening night is January 31. Americano! is presented by The Phoenix Theatre Company and Quixote Productions (Jason Rose, producer), Tony Award-winning producer Ken Davenport (Altar Boyz, Godspell, Kinky Boots and Once on This Island) is the executive producer.
With America once again embroiled in heated debates about immigration, Americano! is the true story – the life, the challenges, and the perils – of Tony Valdovinos, a DREAMer. Tony walked into a Marine Corps office at Camelback High School in Phoenix on his 18th birthday to enlist, only to discover his parents hadn’t told him he was an undocumented immigrant. But he didn’t give up on serving the only country he had ever known-he did it in alternatively powerful ways instead. Americano! casts a deeply human light on what it means to be a DREAMer.
Americano! features an original score by critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Carrie Rodriguez (“Lola,” named as one of NPR’s top 50 albums of the year), with a book by Michael Barnard (Producing Artistic Director, The Phoenix Theatre Company) and Jonathan Rosenberg. Michael Barnard also serves as the director of Americano! which features choreography by Sergio Mejia, and musical arrangements by Sergio Mendoza with Marco Rosano. Former New York Times Phoenix Bureau Chief Fernanda Santos is the creative consultant.
Tony Valdovinos, whose life story serves as the inspiration for Americano!, also serves as a consulting producer. “I knew it was a big opportunity,” says Valdovinos. “I was approached by these fellows that wanted to write a story of an immigrant. They had read an article about me. I met with them and I told them my whole life story. Imagine someone calling you out of the blue and then a year or so later, you hear 20 songs involving the most intimate details of your life? Here were 17 artists investing their best talent in the depiction of some of my most personal challenges. But this journey is worth it to share the story of DREAMers and what their families are going through. And it will also put a smile on their faces.”