JUST “OFF BROADWAY,” BUT REACHING THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF AMERICA – Waterwell’s “The Courtroom” & “The Flores Exhibits” Paint a Chilling Picture Of Justice That All Americans Should See!  — Retired Immigration Judges & Pro Bono Advocates Join “A-List” Actors In Giving Human Voices To The Dispossessed Struggling For Their Lives In A Badly Broken & Dysfunctional System That All too Often Leaves Humanity Behind As It Mindlessly Grinds Down Lives!

Arian Moayed
Arian Moayed
Actor
Lee Sunday Evans
Lee Sunday Evans
Artistic Director
Waterwell
Jeffrey S. Chase
Hon. Jeffrey S. Chase
Jeffrey S. Chase Blog
Hon. Robert D. Weisel
Hon. Robert D. Weisel
Retired U.S. Immigration Judge
Member, Round Table of Retired Immigration Judges
Hon. Elizabeth Lamb
Hon. Elizabeth Lamb
Retired U.S. Immigration Judge
Member, Round Table of Retired Immigration Judges
Elora Mukherjee
Elora Mukherjee
“American Hero”
Clinical Professor of Law & Director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic
Columbia Law School

Here’s a recent anecdote from my good friend, colleague, and leader of our Round Table of Former Immigration Judges,  Hon. Jeffrey S. Chase:

 

More theater news!  On Monday, the director of The Courtroom emailed me in Rome to ask if I would perform at a special performance at the Lucille Lortel Theater in NYC on Wednesday night, in which three Tony winners were making guest appearances.  Curtain was at 7 pm; our flight was scheduled to land at JFK at 4 pm.  Just as we were about to board the flight, a delay was announced due to mechanical problems.  We took off an hour and a half late, and were told we would be further slowed by strong headwinds.  As I was worrying about making it in time, it occurred to me what a charmed life I am living in which worrying whether I will return from a 10-day vacation in Italy in time to act with three Tony Award winners constitutes a problem.

 

Landing at almost 6 pm, we cleared customs and jumped in a taxi; we arrived at the theater about 15 minutes into the play.  I had emailed my daughter in NY asking her to bring one of her fiancé’s ties and a printed copy of my script (since we write out own remarks) to the theater.  I performed my part; my wife and daughter each got to meet their theater idols; and my daughter and I attended the after-party in the West Village.  I had been awake since 1 am NYC time, and got home at 11:30 pm.

 

At the party, I was talking with Arian Moayed (Stewy in “Succession” on HBO) and Kelli O’Hara (Tony Award winner who played the lead on Broadway in both South Pacific and The King and I).  Kelli had played the IJ in Act I, and said that she had been in the audience at one of the very early performances, at which our group’s Betty Lamb had performed.  Both Kelli and Arian said how powerful and impressive Betty’s performance had been!

 

I’m hoping others from this group get the opportunity to perform in the future.  The Chicago IJs in our group probably know the real-life lawyer in the case, Richard Hanus, and you certainly know the real-life IJ, Craig Zerbe.  The ICE attorney was Gregory Guckenberger.  Do the last two realize they are being portrayed by actors of such caliber in a play that made the New York Times Best Theater of 2019 list?

Click on the link below to listen to the 37 minute podcast:

https://broadwaypodcastnetwork.com/the-backdrop/episode-2-waterwells-the-courtroom/

 

  • Episode 2: Waterwell’s THE COURTROOM

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EPISODE 2: WATERWELL’S THE COURTROOM

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Waterwell Theater Company’s latest play, The Courtroom, has no playwright. Or even a theater. But as Waterwell founder (from HBO’s “Succession” and Tony nominee) Arian Moayed and Artistic Director Lee Sunday Evans tell Kevin, that’s the point. They found their inspiration — and their script — in the actual language of a deportation trial. And as immigrant rights advocate/attorney Elora Mukherjee reveals, they also found themselves pulled to ground zero of today’s drama: all the way to the border.

Resources

The Courtroom returns for monthly performances at civic venues in NYC through November 2020. For information and tickets visit https://waterwell.org/.

View The Flores Exhibits at https://flores-exhibits.org/.

For other resources and to get involved, visit https://www.newsanctuarynyc.org/.

Jeffrey S. Chase, a former immigration judge, was the legal advisor for The Courtroom. Read his article “The Immigration Court: Issues and Solutions” here.

Follow guest Arian Moayed on Twitter at @arianmoayed.

Credits

The Backdrop is hosted by Kevin Bleyer and produced by Nella Vera.

The Backdrop artwork is by Philip Romano.

Follow Kevin Bleyer and Nella Vera on Twitter: @kevinbleyer / @spinstripes

 

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© 2019 BROADWAY PODCAST NETWORK. All Rights Reserved. Site by AAC.

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Congrats and thanks to all involved. This should be “required theater” at all Federal Judicial Conferences.

PWS

02-15-20