Having lost his immediate family to a massacre in Russia, Jewish musician David Quixano immigrated to America to live with his uncle and grandmother in New York. David is entranced by Lady Liberty and the democratic ideals of America, which has inspired him to write an American Symphony. While trying to finish his symphony, he falls in love with a Russian Christian, Vera, who has her own dark past. Can they carve out a life together, despite opposition from both of their families?
First performed in 1908, The Melting Pot helped popularize the phrase that still shapes debates about American identity today. At once a love story and a provocative exploration of immigration, religious prejudice, assimilation, and belonging, the play asks questions that remain strikingly current: What does it mean to become American? What must immigrants leave behind–and what should they be able to keep? And can a nation built by people from different cultures truly forge a shared identity without erasing the traditions that make them who they are?”
