Dixon Road: singing and dancing the immigrant experience
15 Jun 2022

by Drew Rowsome - Photos by Dahlia Katz

Every day is an opportunity

Yes, Dixon Road is an inspirational musical that aims to dramatize the resilience and spunk of immigrants, in this specific, immigrants from Somalia. But the experience is universal, as we are all immigrants and the plotline and themes of Dixon Road inevitably echoes many other plays and musicals that reflected whatever minority group the author grew up in. I couldn't help but think of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs and I mean that as a compliment. Fatuma Adar's book and score is as intricately constructed, with casually dropped phrases or lyrical melodies popping up later as 'aha' moments, as that of the Broadway workhorse. We can only hope that Dixon Road too is the first of a trilogy.

If some of the plot beats feel familiar and flirt with cliché, Dixon Road gets away with it by embracing the absurdity of Canadian culture. As the grandmother who stays behind intones, "You would sooner find me having tea with hyenas than living in that nation of snow and non-believers." We see how alien North American culture actually is in visually inventive numbers with appearances by Oprah Winfrey and a pizza chain mascot. The Somalian elements are alas used sparingly, the costumes are colourful and there are sprinklings of what I presume is traditional Somalian music, but the dominant musical forms are traditional Broadway and a hybrid of rap and spoken word. The two forms appear initially to be placed in opposition to mirror the conflict between generations, but that quickly goes out the window and all that matters is selling the idea. It may just be personal taste, I do like melody, but the traditional score seems stronger: when the emotion is too much to express, it must be sung. 

The singing is for the most part powerful, though it is hampered by the environment. While the amphitheatre in High Park is a stunning setting, the acoustics swallow much of the lower end and amplify the high end. At first it hampers the vocals but when Michael-Lamont Lytle launches into an ironic and bitterly comic salute to the immigrant experience and being Canadian, the cast is galvanized. By the time we reach the closing number of the first act, the ampitheatre is overflowing with sumptuous sound. Group numbers seem to bring out the best in the cast (a sly allusion to the power of community?) with solo numbers somewhat swallowed by the cavernous sky. Gavin Hope, who has the most tragic trajectory, is very affecting and milks a stoic vulnerability that reaches across the footlights. Shakura S'Aida and Starr Domingue as the matriarchs are hilarious, but rip up the stage in a trio number with lead Germain Konji (Blackout).

Perhaps the Simon comparison comes to mind as one of the central conflicts is that Batoul (Konji) wants to be a writer, a career that is not "practical." It is a slim conflict on which to hang a show and Batoul fades into the background while Hope's father's struggle to regain his dignity and optimism takes centre stage. It is quite harrowing and, alas, quite realistic. This creates a jumble as the second act rushes to tie up loose ends and never quite figures out who we are rooting for and are supposed to take aspiration from. But it all moves so quickly, colourfully and melodically that I was shocked to discover that we had gone way into overtime on the advertised length. Dixon Road is so engaging and heartfelt that the time flies.

Director Ray Hogg keeps the emphasis on the characters but takes time for a few flourishes, one that is breathtaking and heartbreaking. There is a bit of trouble moving set pieces on and off but I am going to treat the incessant spinning of screens and a couch as a metaphor for the confusion of the immigrant experience, as echoing the revolving devouring door of the airport. Attention must be paid to the ensemble players - Krystle Chance, Omar Forrest, Rose-Mary Harbans and Travae Williams - who pop in and out of costumes and characters and add immeasurably to the vocal sonics. And who, when they get the opportunity, strut their stuff with gusto. It is hard for such a small cast to create crowd scenes and to generate exuberance in dance numbers, but with everyone giving it their all, it works. 

It is a shame that Dixon Road is getting such a short run. A lot of work and thought has been layered on top of the sweat and emotion, and each performance will undoubtedly get even better. Hopefully it will return in a more lavish production but it would be a shame to miss this intimate heartstring-tugging version. I wandered out into the night singing one of the refrains - "Take a chance, take a chance" - and happily inspired.