Written by Hortense Gerardo. Produced by Brian Boruta. Directed by Michelle Aguillon. Scenic Design by Al Forgione. Lighting and Projection Design by SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal. Costume Design by Maureen Festa. Sound Design by James Cannon. Presented by Umbrella Stage Company, Concord, MA, through April 23rd.
by Linda Chin
Named after a fictitious suburb of Cleveland where a dual-doctor couple from Manila has been recruited to work as medical residents, Middleton Heights is a new play that ambitiously spans five decades and three generations of an Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) family’s immigrant experience. Infused with Tagalog and Ilocano words and references and filled with vivid vignettes that are culturally specific and universally relatable, the script is informed by Hortense Gerardo’s twin professional vantage points as an anthropologist and playwright. And though Gerardo contends that this is not an autobiographical play, it does reflect her own lived experience – including being the daughter of two physicians, growing up in a Cleveland suburb, and having roots in the Philippines.
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