PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia-based actor and playwright Robi Hager recently finished a musical he hopes to bring to the big stage soon.
The musical, “Little Duende,” uses fairies and an enchanted world to comment on the current immigration crisis and issues surrounding dual citizenship. A big part of the story involves the main character dealing with a wall at a national border.
“When we get to the ‘Northern Wall,’ things shift not only for her but for us as the audience,” said Hager, who moved to America from Mexico City when he was 14 years old.
“We no longer are in the fairytale mythological world. We are in real world, today, Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas. And what is happening currently at the border specifically with children who are being put in these detention centers and cages. It’s a little bit like the shattering of the American dream when a lot of people arrive to the U.S. seeking refuge, when it’s like. ‘Oh, this is different. This is not what I had pictured.’”
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Hager added that "Little Duende" specifically looks into the journey of children.
“I grew up with stories, legends, fairy tales,” Hager said, “so I feel like that was a way I could connect to shows and musicals, so I wanted to bring that out in this version. To invite our audience in, and really lock them in so we can lift the veil to show them this is no legend, this is no fairytale. This is something that’s really happening today.”
He added that his time in Philadelphia has influenced his writing and creative process, including with this musical.
“There’s a lot of history here. There’s a lot of sort of like ancestry that is here with us. I kind of tap into that a lot and try to tell stories that have been passed down to me,” said Hager.
He hopes an industry reading of Little Duende early next month will help him get backing to help bring the musical to the stage.