Review: SANCTUARY CITY at Geva Theatre

Currently playing on Geva Theatre’s Fielding Stage is “Sanctuary City”, a powerful—and timely—story about the American dream and the concept of home.

“Sanctuary City” is a play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok. In post-9/11 Newark, NJ, two teenagers who were brought to America as children become one another’s sanctuaries from harsh circumstances. When G (Cheryse Dyllan) becomes naturalized, she and B (Shawn Denegre-Vaught) hatch a plan to marry so that he may legally remain in the country and pursue the future he imagines for his life. But as time hurtles on and complications mount, the young friends find that this act challenges and fractures the closest relationship either has ever had.

“Sanctuary City” gives the audience a devastating glimpse into the everyday existence of an undocumented immigrant; one where there is little hope, no reprieve, and no rest in sight. B’s story is one in which he can’t live openly and freely, can’t pursue his dreams, and functionally has nowhere to call home. His mother has long left him to return to their country of origin, and despite being an overachieving student his immigration status makes higher education unobtainable. His plight traps him in a hamster wheel of grinding out long hours at under-the-table service jobs, only to rinse and repeat the next day. He has little memory of his home country, but his DREAMer status makes it impossible for America to ever seem like home, either. “Sanctuary City”, while devastating, illustrates America’s hypocrisy and utterly broken immigration system.

“Sanctuary City” is a bit hard to digest at first, with its beginning 30-40 minutes presented as rapid back-and-forth cuts between different moments in B and G’s friendship, which struck me as a somewhat dizzying storytelling vehicle. That said, the play’s second half packs an emotional wallop that’s well worth the wait. In the play’s back half, we meet Henry (Robert Denzel Edwards), B’s boyfriend, whom G immediately identifies as an existential threat in B/G’s marriage plot (if authorities were to discover Henry, it would become clear that B/G’s marriage was for show, potentially leading to imprisonment for G and deportation for B). Edwards is astounding, delivering a performance that is at times confrontational, sympathetic, enraged, and confounded. His chemistry with both Denegre-Vaught and Dyllan is palpable and authentic, and his character rounds-out the play’s message; that for DREAMers like B, living a full, happy, authentic life is impossible.

“Sanctuary City” is a gripping, heartbreaking play that will have you contemplating the concept of the American dream—and whether it’s still possible—long after leaving Geva. For tickets and more information, click here.

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