How this Delaware production group created an immigration story inspired by Shakespeare

Philadelphia writer Liz Filios felt inspired in 2019 to create a play that would highlight the experiences of immigrants who moved to the United States, specifically targeting Latinx and Hispanic audiences in Delaware.

After pandemic-related delays and script revisions, her vision came to life last month, as Filios and Delaware Shakespeare (Del Shakes) teamed up to present the musical, “Twelfth Night, O Lo Que Quieras.”

The play is a reimagined take about immigration from Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, “Twelfth Night, or What You Will,” said Filios, who pitched the idea to Del Shakes producer David Stradley two years ago.

"As they were developing this idea, Liz and another co-writer thought it would interesting to include bilingual musical elements," Stradley said. "They believed it should be an important part of the story."

The play, which runs more than two hours long, was later turned into a Spanish-English musical, he added.

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpen Call: Del Shakes brings reimagined, bilingual 'Twelfth Night' to neighborhoods

“The original story of Twelfth Night as Shakespeare wrote it is about twins, Violeta and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck from a storm and land on the coast of another country,” Filios said. “They spend the rest of the play trying to adapt to their new surroundings and reunite with each other.”

In Del Shake’s production, the plot of the story is the same; however, the twins are separated and making their way to Illyria — a land similar to the contemporary United States.

The central message of the play, Stradley said, is to explore immigration rights, celebrate the stories of Latinx immigrants and ask audience members how they can improve situations for people coming into America.

“There seem to be some real big parallels with what’s happening with many migrants in the United States today and it’s also a story that the [Delaware Latinx community] could identify and resonate with,” Filios said.

As part of the group’s annual Community Tour, the group offered free performances of the play at “non-traditional” theater spaces such as adult schools, prisons and re-entry programs.

On Sept. 29, the group began its tour at Las Americas ASPIRA Academy, a bilingual charter school in Newark. Other locations included the Latin American Community Center, the Wilmington Public Library, Camp Rehoboth and the William C. Lewis Dual Language Elementary School, according to a news release.

Groves Adult High School in Wilmington, a longtime partner of the group with a significant Spanish-speaking population, witnessed two performances of the play on Oct. 18 and 20.

“The arts are a really important part of education and they always do a wonderful interpretation of Shakespearean plays,” said Kellie Tetrick, the principal of the school. "Each one of our students has different experiences with coming to our country and a big reminder at the end of the play is that our country is built on the backs of immigrants.”

Last week, Del Shakes concluded their 2022 Community Tour schedule of “Twelfth Night, O Lo Que Quieras” after 15 performances at Delaware venues and one in Philadelphia.

According to the United States Census Bureau, as of July 2021, Delaware is home to 91,350 people who identify as Latino and there are about 62.6 million Latinos in the United States, making Hispanics the nation’s biggest racial or ethnic minority.

To learn more about Delaware Shakespeare and its Community Tour, visit delshakes.org.

Have a tip or story ideas? Contact local reporter Cameron Goodnight at cgoodnight@delawareonline.com, or by calling or texting 302-324-2208. Follow him on Twitter at @CamGoodnight.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Shakespeare puts on bilingual play about immigrant experience