Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department faculty and alumni are in the cast and production team of Teatro Vista‘s world premiere of Brian Quijada’s musical Somewhere Over the Border, running May 12 through June 12 at the Windy City Playhouse, located at 3014 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago.

Tommy Rivera Vega

Jennifer Aparicio

The cast features Columbia College Theatre Department faculty member Tommy Rivera-Vega. Columbia College alum Jennifer Aparicio ’07, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Theatre Technology program, is the show’s production manager.

Inspired by his mother’s real-life border crossing from El Salvador to the U.S., mashed up with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Quijada’s Somewhere Over the Border is an uplifting new work of musical theatre that embraces fact and fantasy to depict one young girl’s pursuit of the American dream. Set in the 1970s and propelled by an original score including cumbia, Mexican mariachi boleros, and American rock and hip hop, Somewhere Over the Border is both fable and family history – a testament to the determination born of love. For tickets, click here.