Produced by Theresa Wozunk, LIBERTY: A New Musical of Monumental Proportions features a book and lyrics by Dana Leslie Goldstein and music by Jonathan Goldstein. Currently preparing for a commercial run, LIBERTY tells the story of America's most famous immigrant who arrives from France in 1884 amid anti-foreigner fervor.
As described by producers, with powerful political forces working against her and only a precious few on her side, Liberty ultimately wins over the people of the United States and takes her rightful place on the pedestal. LIBERTY serves as a theatrical reminder not only of what this country was meant to become, but how we have, in recent years, lost sight of the "Golden Door."
The project, which last was seen in a full concert presentation on September 29, 2009 at Theatre Row, has struck a particularly strong note with one Brooklyn youngster, who has donated his Bar Mitzvah earnings to the show so that it might see light again - on Broadway.
Says Bar Mitzvah boy Jesse Naranjo of his decision to donate his $2,700 payday in the New York Daily News: "I think [immigrants] go through a lot of prejudice. People are really disrespectful to them...I think they work so hard, and they go through a lot of trouble that's not necessary."
Born to a Colombian immigrant father, Naranjo is closely connected with the American immigrant experience.
Says Wozunk in response: "He is such a good kid. He puts other people in the bigger picture before himself...He's so tuned into the world and all the injustices that are thrown upon so many. He's seen firsthand the way immigrants are treated through his mother's work and his father. To understand all that, and then to want to give back, well, he's just very evolved."
To read the full report in the New York Daily News, click here.
For more information on LIBERTY, visit www.libertythemusical.com.
