Jamaican-born playwright and Broadway World Award winner David Heron is bringing his hit romantic comedy drama Love and Marriage and New York City back to the stage for its 25th anniversary—right as immigration once again takes center stage in national conversations.
The one-night-only revival will be presented as a staged reading on Sunday, June 22 at 7 p.m. at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center (JPAC) in Queens. It will serve as a featured cultural event during Caribbean American Heritage Month in New York City. Attendees will also be treated to a complimentary Caribbean cuisine reception starting at 5:30 p.m.
“Over twenty-five years after its world premiere in Jamaica, Love and Marriage and New York City remains as topical as ever, dealing as it does with the immensely critical and complicated subject of immigration,” said Heron, who will also direct and produce the performance. “In a realistic and humane way, it highlights the allure of the American dream to immigrants everywhere, and the extent to which people will go to achieve it—with romantic, dramatic and comedic consequences.”
Originally premiering in Kingston, Jamaica in 1999, the play tells the story of two Jamaican couples in late 1990s Manhattan who marry for green cards—only to discover that even transactional marriages aren’t immune to love and chaos.
Heron added, “After our great success with last year’s American premiere of Alwin Bully’s political drama McBee as our inaugural Caribbean American Heritage Month production, selecting Love and Marriage and New York City as our encore was a natural move to make, especially with everything happening in our current environment regarding immigration. The play has never been more relevant, it seems, than now.”
Reflecting on the time the play first reached American audiences, David Heron said: “The play’s American premiere took place just over a year before 9/11. America was so much more innocent then. The Twin Towers still stood. Travelling was relatively stress-free. There was no ICE or Department Of Homeland Security. There was the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service). So much was so different from now. But the one thing that has not changed is that the easiest and simplest way to acquire US residency and citizenship is to marry an American citizen.”
He continued, “I’ve recently spoken with immigration attorneys as well as individuals seeking to stay here permanently, and this absolutely remains the consensus. And while as of now the US government can do many things, the one thing it cannot do is tell you who to fall in love with and who to marry. So until someone comes up with a magic formula to determine which marriages are totally ‘genuine’ and which ones are for green card purposes—because in many instances, some unions are a combination of both—they will not be able to stop them.”
Since its debut, Love and Marriage and New York City has traveled widely, with successful runs in South Florida, the UK—including a stint at London’s Peggy Ashcroft Theatre—and Off-Broadway at the Billie Holiday Theatre, directed by Woody King Jr. It was later selected for the National Black Theatre Festival in North Carolina and also staged in Canada.
The production has earned Heron multiple accolades, including eight Actor Boy Award nominations in Jamaica and three AUDELCO nominations in New York. In 2006, he was honored by the New York City Council for Excellence in Theatre.
The upcoming staged reading will feature an ensemble cast of stage, film, and TV actors. Casting announcements are expected soon.
As with last year’s production of McBee, students 16 and older and theater interns across the Tri-State area will be able to attend for free through Heron’s Sure Thing Productions Free Student Ticket Initiative.
Tickets officially go on sale Sunday, April 20, with a limited number of early bird discounts available. The Jamaica Performing Arts Center is located at 153-10 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY 11432. For more information, contact Sure Thing Productions at 646-533-7021.
