Ellis Island at Aventura Arts & Cultural Center

Ellis Island... Gateway to a Dream is a musical journey that follows a group of immigrants during their time on the Island. Their experiences are typical of the many thousands who came to America in the early 1900's. From the excitement and delight of a young woman who proclaims that, in this land she, too, can "Run A Machine" to the humorous confusion of an interviewer who cannot pronounce an immigrant's name; from the happiness of a mother about to be reunited with her son to the poignant reflections of a father starting anew, their stories are varied and filled with wonder. At the end of the journey, lights change, time shifts and we return to the present with the knowledge that behind the many names on the wall are real people with real stories. Ellis Island is a symbol of every person who ever came to these shores from a far away place to make a new home.