"Jamaica Farewell"

One-Woman Caper From Jamaica to US: "Jamaica Farewell"

After successful runs all over the world, "Jamaica Farewell" makes a stop at Mesquite Arts Center on its current U.S. tour. Debra Ehrhardt's solo show is based on the mostly true story of her journey to the U.S. from Jamaica in the turbulent 1970s. As an 18-year-old secretary in Kingston, Ehrhardt bumped into a handsome CIA agent over a bowl of oxtail soup. She jumps on this chance opportunity and begins her escape to the U.S. with the help of the love-struck American. Her way out of Jamaica is blocked by many obstacles: an alcoholic father, a Bible-spouting mother, the price of airfare and U.S. government suspicions. Nevertheless, she begins a dangerous adventure that only the single-minded passion of a teenage girl would chance. The boundary between bravery and foolishness becomes blurred as she grows more desperate. When she agrees to smuggle a million dollars in cash to a mysterious contact somewhere in Miami, the agent becomes her unwitting accomplice. Every part is played by NAACP Award winner Ehrhardt, an actress capable of amazing mimicry. This one-woman caper's got generous dollops of humor, laughter and light and has been optioned for film by a major Hollywood producer.