“Plays at Pops” Play Commission

The Poppenhusen Institute (built 1868), a historic building in College Point, Queens that housed the first free kindergarten in America and the first free evening classes for adults, has commissioned me to write a history play about the German immigrants who settled the area in the 19th century. The play (set in 1892) follows two new arrivals, Jurgen (father) and Annalisa (daughter) as they pass through Ellis Island (Jurgen is detained for health reasons), then Annalisa lands with her brother (Hermann) and sister-in-law (Susanna) in College Point. Annalisa is swept up with Susanna, a recently activated suffragette, fighting for the women’s right to vote as part of the newly formed National American Women's Suffrage Association.

The play will be presented in the museum on June 29, 7 pm and June 30, 2 pm.

Poppenhausen Institute, 114-4 14th Rd, College Point, NY 11356.