Manny Diaz (Andhy Mendez) and Emmy Shafer (Laura Faye Smith) find themselves on opposing sides of a debate in the world premiere production of "English Only" by Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
What are the odds? One day after Florida began requiring driver's license tests to be given in English only, Miami New Drama (MiND) opened its gripping world premiere production of "English Only," an absorbing play by Nicholas Griffin based on actual events or1980. Truly, you cannot ask for a timelier piece. It runs through Sunday, Feb. 22 at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach, where MIND is the resident company.
So much in Griffin's historical drama reflects the zeitgeist that your head spins when you consider it all: language, power, public anxiety over crime, division, immigration, identity, culture-and who gets to be a “real” American.
Rene Granado appears as one of two radio personalities. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
The play takes place in Miami, 1980, during the tense aftermath of the Mariel Boatlift. This was a mass emigration of immigrants who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between April 15 and Oct. 31, 1980. In total, the Mariel Boatlift brought more than 125,000 Cuban refugees to U.S. shores.
A public backlash —fair or unfair — tied the mass emigration to crime, job loss, and cultural anxiety. The response included a citizen-led petition to place an “English Only” ordinance on the ballot. Under the measur, English would become the sole language of government business in Miami-Dade County. More specifically, officials couldn't use county funds for translation or non-emergency Spanish services. (In 1973, the county commission declared Spanish as the county's second official language.)
Voters overwhelmingly approved the English only ordinance, which remained in effect until 1993. That is when officials repealed it, following political restructuring and redistricting.
Griffin's lean and focused play, which runs roughly 90 intermission-less minutes, dramatizes what occurred before, during, and after Emmy Shafer and her co-activist, Barbara Simmons, collected enough signatures to place the language ordinance on the ballot. Shafer and Simmons operated under the title “Citizens for Dade United.”
Griffin's play pits this group against the Spanish American League Against Discrimination (SALAD). The play's real-life characters include Manny Diaz, who was then a young attorney representing SALAD-and would eventually become the city of Miami's mayor, holding that post from 2001 to 2009. The real Diaz was a part of the opening night audience.
Barbara Simmons (Linda Mugleston, middle) lets Manny Diaz (Andhy Mendez) know how she feels while Emmy Shafer (Laura Faye Smith) listens. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
Under New York-based new play specialist Margot Bordelon's mostly tight, fluid direction, MiND's production of "English Only" zips by. The rapid pace is purposeful — the urgency mirrors the speed with which real-life developments unfolded. The play opens, appropriately, with broadcast journalists announcing headlines in rapid succession, nearly speaking over each other. This captures the high-stakes tension of the moment.
The intensity continues as Griffin introduces us to Stan Rogers. He's a shock-jock–like radio personality, a composite of real-life Neil Rogers and Stan Major. One thing the production doesn't make clear is that performer Rene Granado portrays two different radio personalities—Rogers and an unnamed Spanish-language personality. Both operate at the same desk and same broadcast booth center stage, with prominent subtitles translating Spanish into English.
Granado oozes sarcasm and smugness as Rogers, one of several characters the performer portrays. He seamlessly transitions from one to the other, making the characters believably different. In another role, he plays another flashy character with a believable Southern drawl.
Lucy Alvarez (Carmen Pelaez) talks on the phone. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
Speaking of accents, Laura Faye Smith, as Shafer, speaks in a manner that makes you believe her character is from Russia or its environs. When we first see Smith's Shafer, she's talking to Rogers and seems a bit insecure. But as the production progresses, she grows in confidence without becoming arrogant. She holds her head high, stands tall despite her short stature, and an air of contentment surrounds her. It's as though she firmly believes she's doing the right thing. Smith's Shafer never gleefully attacks her primary opponent (Diaz) or others. Rather, she politely refers to Diaz as “Manuel,” and generally speaks in measured, civil tones.
Little about Shafer suggests a typical campaigner against bilingualism. Indeed, she speaks multiple languages and is a Russian Jewish immigrant who survived a concentration camp. Some people may not even take Shafer seriously when they consider that she's a part-time model and restaurant hostess. But Shafer stands as an example of the fact that people are complex-often, you can't lump them into neat categories or make general assumptions based on few facts.
As for what motivated her to campaign to make Dade County English only in 1980, we learn her impetus-and it neither demonizes her nor places her on a pedestal.
Lucy Alvarez (Carmen Pelaez) talks to radio personality Stan Rogers (Rene Granado). (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
Some characters in "English Only" are more complex than others. For instance, Griffin doesn't develop Simmons as deeply as you might hope. She doesn't appear all that complex either, as Linda Muggleston portrays her. With reddish-brown hair, glasses perched almost on the bridge of her nose, speaking loudly, and with an aggressive edge, Muggleston's Simmons suggests a gossipy, closed-minded, small-town character in attack mode. But again, don't assume anything based solely on appearances; she's a retired accountant from New York City.
“What are we going to do?” Shafer asks Simmons.
“End this bilingual crap,” Simmons responds vehemently.
Similarly, some of Shafer's supporters refer to the boatlift as “the invasion of illegal aliens.” (Does that ring a bell?)
Of course, those are fighting words to characters such as Diaz. He's a proud Cuban-American who stands firm while representing SALAD's interests. Andhy Mendez deftly plays Diaz as you might expect: his manner is serious, he carries an air of urgency, and a no-nonsense demeanor. Mendez's Diaz, with neatly combed dark hair and sporting a dark suit, looks the part as well. This is an ambitious man who won't let Citizens of Dade United win easily and strip Dade County of its official second language. Granado, as Rafael, and Carmen Pelaez, as Lucy Alvarez, also bring fire to SALAD's side.
Cast members of "English Only" at Miami New Drama. From left are Andhy Mendez as Manny Diaz, Carmen Pelaez as Lucy Alvarez, Linda Mugleston as Barbara Simmons, and Laura Faye Smith as Emmy Shafer. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
Behind the scenes, set designers Christopher and Justin Swader have created a spacious, upscale, and detailed set that's wide enough to divide into at least two sets. SALAD's office rests on Stage Right, while Shafer's elegant residence stands on Stage Left (and the radio booth is in the middle). Having the sets side by side allows for quick, smooth transitions between scenes. Solomon Weisbard's realistic lighting, Beth Goldenberg's character-appropriate costumes, and Salomon Lerner's clear, crisp sound design also contribute to the production's overall success.
Bordelon deftly moves the actors around the stage while knowing when to ratchet up intensity and when to slow things down. Bordelon, like some cast members, returns to MiND after turning in previous solid work on the Colony's stage. Griffin is also no stranger to MiND. He wrote the non-fiction book, "The Year of Dangerous Days: Riots, Refugees, and Cocaine in Miami in 1980" in 2020. Griffin adapted the book for MiND's 2024 fine production of "Dangerous Days."
With "English Only," Griffin has written an absorbing play that refuses to amount to a dry history lesson. Rather, it's an urgent play for our time that leaves us with plenty to think about-without offering easy answers. We leave the theater forced to confront how history repeats itself, and how, as Rogers says, “When good people do nothing, then nothing good gets done.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Miami New Drama's world premiere production of “English Only” by Nicholas Griffin.
WHEN: Through Sunday, Feb. 22.
WHERE: The Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach
TICKETS: $40-$90.
INFO: Visit www.miaminewdrama.org or call (305) 674-1040.
