The play covers a part of American history
Attending a live theater performance is always a treat. The Utah Shakespeare Festival is presenting a musical performance by the name of "Gold Mountain" at the West Valley Performing Arts Center. The theater is located at 3333 Decker Lake Drive. The show runs through November 20, 2021. Tickets are available.
A friend of ours who is on the Board of the Utah Shakespeare Festival invited us to see the play. The show was entertaining and educational. I would highly recommend that anyone who has the opportunity get tickets to see the musical. It has a cast of great singers and actors. Many have performed on Broadway in New York City. This is a wonderful chance to see a Broadway type musical right in our neighborhood.
The theater is a beautiful venue with a "theater in the round" type of staging. The actors are up close and personal. It is a wonderful show which teaches about American history. It is a story about Chinese immigrants who were railroad workers and helped to build the transcontinental railroad which joined the United States from East to West. It contains a love story as well.
The name of the musical is "Gold Mountain." The Chinese immigrants had gone to California in search of the "Gold Mountain" which was supposedly bringing riches to all who went there. The immigrants did not find gold so they eventually secured work laying railroad track. They did back breaking work for the railroad which was going from California Eastward. The joining of the East and West took place at Promontory Point in Utah on May 10, 1869.
The story features a young immigrant man who joins the crew along with his father. They have come from China to earn money to help the family. The young man begins a very dangerous job of lighting the fuse to blast in the mountainside.
The musical show was written by Jason Ma. It is directed by Alan Muraoka with choreography by Billy Bustamante. Music direction is by Amanda Morton.
Gold Mountain covers an important event in American history and shows the struggles of the Chinese immigrants.
There were stories of gold in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1866. People wanted to partake in the riches by finding gold. Thousands of Chinese men flocked to the United States to join in the gold rush and try to find their fortune in Gold Mountain. Many then went to work for the railroads. It was not an easy life, and they were treated unjustly because of racism.
Most of the story takes place outside the opening of a mine shaft where the Chinese workers do their labor. It shows the discrimination they faced by being paid less while working longer hours than their European counterparts. They were also required to pay for their tools and food which the other workers did not have to do.
The writer, Jason Ma, wanted to show the story of the Chinese laborers who were important to the completion of the transcontinental railroad.
As a personal friend of several of the descendants of the Chinese railroad workers, I have had discussions with them about this group of immigrants. They indicated that the Chinese were left out of the celebrations for the 100 Year Anniversary of The Golden Spike. The group made sure that the Chinese were included for the 150 Year Anniversary which took place in 2019.
This new musical has an award-winning writer, director, and cast with Broadway credits. They are creating a story that is very important to American history which took place partially in Utah. It is highly recommended as a musical to see.
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