In 2004, an immigrant from the Philippines who was married to a U.S. citizen came to this country on a K-3 visa. After inadvertently registering to vote at the DMV in Chicago, receiving a voter registration card in the mail and voting, her removal proceedings were set in motion. It began in immigration court and eventually her case was heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
The proceedings are the focus of a new stage production, “The Courtroom,” based on actual court transcripts arranged by Arian Moayed, a Tony Award nominee and the co-founder of civic-minded theater company, Waterwell.
Tonight the show will be performed live at The Greene Space, directed by Obie Award winner Lee Sunday Evans and featuring Tony Award nominee and four-time Obie Award winner Kathleen Chalfant, Happy Anderson, Tony Award winner Ruthie Ann Miles, Michael Braun, Hanna Cheek, Michael Bryan French, Mick Hilgers, Linda Powell and Kristin Villanueva.
Beginning at 8:30pm, WNYC’s Micropolis host Arun Venugopal will moderate a conversation about immigration, deportation and the production with cast members as well as Judge Elizabeth Lamb and Fordham Law Professor Gemma Solimene. (Please note the performance itself will not be available for streaming).