“ALMA”: Performances are underway for “Alma.” Written by Benjamin Benne; and directed by AZ Espinoza, the play runs through October 20 at Passage Theatre. Above, the confrontational relationship between Angel (Diana Maldonado), left, and her mother, undocumented immigrant Alma (Jessy Gruver), masks — and partially stems from — desperate motives held by both characters. (Photo by Habiyb Shu’Aib)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Passage Theatre is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by opening its 40th anniversary season with Alma. Benjamin Benne’s powerful play is by turns poignant, angry, funny, and tender — but throughout it is poetic and compelling.

The story depicts the lives of Alma and Angel. Alma (portrayed with deliberate precision by Jessy Gruver) is a Mexican undocumented immigrant who works as a single mother to support her (deceptively) stereotypically rebellious teenage daughter, Angel (played by Diana Maldonado, in an apt foil to Gruver’s performance as the title character).

Alma and Angel live in La, Puente, Calif. The play is set in early December 2016; the election of former President Trump is a major plot point. Both mother and daughter face a crucial test, the results of which could impact their ability to be together.

The script accomplishes much. It explores Mexican history and culture; seemingly opposite aspects of familial love (as a mother, Alma is by turns a stern disciplinarian and tender nurturer); and the all-too-topical subjects of our political discourse, particularly to do with existing or proposed U.S. immigration policy – which directly influences both characters’ motivations.

Benne is Chance Theater’s 2025 Resident Playwright, a Playwrights’ Center Core Writer, and has been named by the Los Angeles Times as part of “LA Vanguardia: The Latino innovators. Instigators, and power players braking through barriers.”

Alma received its world premiere at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre (in Los Angeles) in 2022. Subsequent productions have included ArtsWest, American Blues Theater, and Chance Theater. The play has won accolades including American Blues Theater’s Blue Ink Playwriting Award, Arizona Theatre Company’s National Latinx Playwriting Award, and the Orange Curtain Review Award for Best Writing.

AZ Espinoza directs Passage’s exquisite production. Espinoza guides the actors through performances that seamlessly move from one mood. and aspect of a family relationship, to another.

Espinoza also gives production time to set the scene and support the script’s themes to the fullest extent they are able. This is noticeable right at the beginning.

Sound Designer Adiah D. Hicks and Lighting Designer Calvin Anderson open the production by setting the scene as thoroughly as a novel. Sounds of nature, such as crickets chirping, are accompanied by a peaceful starlit sky. The idyllic mood is interrupted by the sounds and lights of a police car. This immediately establishes a theme that can be extrapolated from the show: the peace of nature versus the noisy intrusion of human laws and boundaries.

Grisele Gonzalez’s elaborately furnished set establishes a cozy home. A crucifix hangs at the top of the cheerful yellow wall, underlining the importance of faith to this family. Also prominent is an unpredictably functioning (cathode-ray tube) TV, which often oppressively blares commentary about immigration, particularly the speeches of then-President-elect Trump.

Alma’s yellow wall and colorful tablecloth (colors of which are echoed by a blanket) reflect the Mexican hacienda style of interior decoration. Costume Designer Anna Sorrentino reinforces this by outfitting Alma in similar colors, accentuating the extent to which Alma’s Mexican heritage is part of her identity. Angel, by contrast, is at one point given a Lion King shirt, suggesting more of an immersion in mainstream American pop culture, despite her (justifiably) harsh criticism of U.S. policies on several matters, especially immigration.

The cozy, lived-in atmosphere of the set, like the outwardly typical generational tension, is deceptive. The home appears to be a safe haven, but the coziness is deceptive; we will discover that Alma and Angel could lose their home (and life together) without warning.

Alma’s relationship with her daughter is loving but tense. When we first meet the characters, arguments arise from typical issues surrounding teenagers and their parents: proper nutrition (Alma is incensed that Angel forgot the lunch that she prepared for her, and ate junk food instead), independence versus following house rules (the two women spend several minutes demanding that the other avoid crossing a given boundary in the apartment), and future ambitions (Angel’s goals tie in with the nature motif of the opening sound collage).

The tension between mother and daughter reaches a level that leads to Alma threatening Angel with a chancla, or sandal. (Later this will be contrasted by a tender scene in which the two arrange each other’s hair.)

Gruver and Maldonado make these early argument scenes entertaining to watch. Both actors are adept at using body language to project attitude; Gruver’s brusque, fastidious poise contrasts with Maldonado’s more relaxed posture, mixed with numerous eye rolls.

As best as possible, Alma and Angel try to help each other prepare for an upcoming exam. Alma quizzes Angel on vocabulary words for the SATs, while Angel quizzes Alma on information she will need for her imminent citizenship exam. Pointedly, Angel delicately skips over a question when testing her mother.

Alma is dismayed by Angel’s apparently lackadaisical attitude regarding the importance of her SATs — for which, we discover, Angel has not even registered, though Alma hopes that her daughter can still get in if she shows up. Angel, in turn, pushes back against Alma’s determination to arrange her future.

All of this familial tension, like the coziness of the set, is deceptive. Both Alma and Angel hide desperate motivations for their behavior. Much of the success of both actors’ performances is marked by the fact that we do not discover this until they need us to — and when we do, it is heartbreaking.

Obviously, Alma is all too relevant, speaking loudly to our current sociopolitical moment. (A choice is made to break the time setting, and broadcast comments about Haitian immigrants that Trump has made this year.)

At the same time, it would do a disservice to the play to focus on this aspect of it at the expense of appreciating the beautiful human interest story it tells to make its points. Alma reminds us that a crucial ability of theater is to rehumanize people who have been dehumanized.

Producing plays that do precisely that has been something that Passage does particularly well, especially in recent seasons. The company opens its 40th anniversary season by continuing that trend with a play whose script and production are inspiring in their power and beauty.

The name of the city in which this play is set, La Puente, is Spanish for “the bridge.” May plays such as Alma serve as a bridge that leads us to greater tolerance and deeper mutual understanding.

“Alma” will play at Passage Theatre in the Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 East Front Street in Trenton, through October 20. For tickets, show times, and further information call (609) 392-0766 or visit passagetheatre.org. To watch “Naturalized Souls: Barriers to US Citizenship — A Community Dialogue Discussing Themes of Passage Theatre’s Production of ‘Alma,’” visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRZZFMLktTY.