08/07/2026
🚨
🏙️ ✊🏼 We are proud to present Grand Pistachio's "Layer the Walls - Part 1: Turn of the Century" for public and school audiences on November 14 & 15. This timely theater piece for young audiences and people of all ages focuses on immigration and stories of systemic discrimination and resilience. At the NYC Tenement Museum, 40 layers of wallpaper were found on the walls of an old apartment. Each piece had been applied by a new immigrant family – every layer filled with hopes, dreams, and incredible stories of survival. Using puppetry, masks and live action, "Layer the Walls" honors the voices of people often forgotten in history books. As layers of the set are peeled away, the characters’ stories of immigration are revealed; reminding us of the prejudice our country has faced in the past to more effectively examine the challenges we face today.
🗽 "Layer the Walls - Part 1: Turn of the Century" spans 1870-1909, including stories of an Irish immigrant who helps build the Brooklyn Bridge, Italian brothers who survive the blizzard of 1888, and two Jewish teenagers who join the Garment Workers Strike of 1909. Each performance is followed by an audience talk-back session.
🧱 📝 In the Shea Center lobby, there will be a "Community Wall" installation – a structure that looks like part of the set – in which audience members are invited to write their own stories of migration/immigration on pieces of wallpaper and tape them to the wall.
🎭 This engagement is supported by the Mid Atlantic Presenter Initiatives (MAPI), a program of Mid Atlantic Arts.
🎟 Get your tickets today! https://sheacenter.vbotickets.com/events We strongly encourage calling the box office at 973.720.2371 for school reservations.
