The new Off-Broadway musical ¡Americano!, based on the true story of undocumented immigrant Tony Valdovinos, has received mixed reviews from New York theater critics. The creative team includes Michael Barnard (book, additional lyrics, direction), Jonathan Rosenberg (book, additional lyrics), Fernanda Santos (book), Carrie Rodriguez (music, lyrics), Sergio Mejia (choreography), Caesar F. Barajas (fights), Jonathan Ivie (music direction, arrangements), Sergio Mendoz (arrangements), Robert Andrew Kovach (sets), Adriana Diaz (costumes), Jamie Roderick (lights), and Kevin Heard (sound).
The cast includes Sean Ewing (Tony), Legna Cedillo (Ceci), Alex Paez (Martin), Johanna Carlisle-Zepeda (Felicita), Ryan Reyes (Fro), Carolina Miranda (Jessica), Lucas Coatney (Joaquin), and Justin Figueroa (Carlos Ledesma), with Yassmin Alers, Lucas Coatney, Juan Luis Espinal, Anne-Lise Koyabe, Alessandro J. Lopez, Robbie Serrano, and Pablo Torres. The production plays a limited engagement through June 19 at New World Stages. Below is the song “Dreamer” performed by Ewing and company in rehearsal.
Talkin’ Broadway (Howard Miller): There is a cast of 15 playing 18 named characters, all having their own piece of the story to tell … a lot of ground to cover in a little over two-and-a-half hours, which leads to what amounts to a hasty slideshow of a narrative. … ¡Americano! is a personal story that becomes increasingly insistent on being seen and heard. … If as the extensiveness of its creative elements suggests, this show has an eye on a Broadway transfer, it would help oodles to simplify pretty much everything, from the multiple plot elements which introduce and then dismiss far too many characters and situations, to the too-many songs and dance numbers that fill the stage.
Theater Mania (Zachary Stewart): This is an unapologetically sincere flag-waving American musical — and that feels like a breath of fresh air in an age of snark and cynicism. The first act goes down better than the second, when Tony sets about solving his problem through activism. … We cannot help but feel like Tony — that a big secret is being kept from us … a dissonance neither they nor the director were able to resolve. That major-ish problem aside, ¡Americano! proves to be a delight. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and it doesn’t pretend to. It’s just a good old-fashioned musical about a promise America really ought to keep already.
Theater Pizzazz (Marilyn Lesyter): ¡Americano! is an ambitious work, full of energy and zesty music — with hats off to a cast that works hard and with intense commitment to deliver maximum impact … a boon to a piece that’s very much hit or miss. … Barnard’s work is sound, keeping the energy up and action flowing — a positive for a weak book that’s often expository (as are the lyrics) and wanders from the central theme. … ¡Americano! is often too heavy-handed and simply isn’t very compelling. All’s the pity, for there is an important story in Tony Valdovinos’ journey; it’s just not the one being portrayed.
Time Out (Regina Robbins): ¡Americano! is full of lessons about community, family, love and resilience. This new musical’s good intentions are obvious. Unfortunately, so is a lot of the writing. … Ironically, the show is most engaging when its characters are doing everyday, all-American things like prepping for a picnic or dancing in a high school gym — which runs against the message the show tries so passionately to convey. ¡Americano! wants us to take its immigrant characters’ real problems seriously, but the more serious they become, the less real they seem. 2 out of 5 stars.