NEW YORK – “My ‘green card play’ Love and Marriage and New York City was not only a critical and commercial success. Importantly, it earned me the green card that changed the entire course of my life and career.” So says Jamaican-born playwright and actor David Heron.
Heron will produce and direct the 25th Anniversary Performance of Love and Marriage and New York City at The Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Jamaica Queens on Sunday, June 22 at 7pm. A complimentary Golden Krust Caribbean Cuisine reception will precede the show at 5:30pm.
Encore Performance
The one-night-only cultural event will be presented as a staged reading production. It celebrates New York’s annual Caribbean American Heritage month festivities, held throughout the city each June.
But according to Heron – winner of the 2023 Broadway World Award for Best Supporting Performer in Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Colonial Theatre of Rhode Island– the event also marks a milestone in his own career, which was made possible when he immigrated to the US following the international success of the play.
“Many people over the years, especially in the American entertainment industry, have assumed that I wrote Love and Marriage after years of residing in the United States,” he says. “But actually the opposite is true. I wrote the play and produced the world premiere production in Jamaica in 1999, and it then had its American premiere in South Florida in 2000 and basically took off internationally after that. Back to back UK tours, an Off Broadway run at The Billie Holiday Theatre and then our official selection for the National Black Theatre Festival in 2007, were successes that enabled me to acquire my green card and move to New York to build the career I have today. And so the great irony in my life is that I wrote a play about Jamaicans trying to get green cards, and wound up being a Jamaican who got my own green card because of it. So this is truly a full circle moment.”
In Love and Marriage and New York City, two Jamaican couples living in Manhattan – Jessica and Theo, Natalie and Damian- get married strictly for green card purposes- only to discover that when love enters the equation, marriage is never purely about business.
The 2025 Silver Anniversary production cast is comprised of Denise Hunt as Jessica (How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Digicel’s Rising Stars), Accolade Global Award winner Shevrado Oliver (the upcoming feature Behind Closed Doors) as Damian, Oniros Award winner James Duke Walker ( Roadside Assistance) as Theo and Gabrielle C. Archer (Off Broadway’s The Store) as Natalie.
Hunt returns to the cast after first playing the role of Natalie in the 2003 UK touring production.
Script for Green Card Marriages
Heron wrote the script based on anecdotes he had heard about green card marriages from people he knew. Also, he based it on his own research on the subject. He soaked up the “New York vibe” over many visits to the city through the years. He was inspired by popular rom-coms of the 1980s and 1990s including Working Girl, As Good As It Gets, and Notting Hill.
With his green card in hand, Heron would go on to further stage success as an actor. He appeared in Off-Broadway productions of classic works including The Emperor Jones at The Irish Repertory Theater, Moon on A Rainbow Shawl at The New Federal Theatre, and Pecong at The National Black Theatre.
For Pecong, he earned an Audelco Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. Regionally, he appeared in the world premieres of Marley- The Musical at Baltimore Centerstage and Robinson Crusoe at the Orlando Shakespeare Festival. He has also emerged as one of the few Caribbean-born actors consistently performing Shakespeare on large main stages across the USA.
The youngest of seven children, Heron attended Wolmer’s Boys School and The University of The West Indies. There, he majored in Communications. He was an active performer for most of his young life, eventually joining the renowned University Singers and The UWI Drama Society. Upon graduation, he stepped back from the performing arts for several years while immersed in his corporate career.
However, he returned to the theatre as a playwright with his first play, Ecstasy, which became a runaway success. Intermission and Against His Will followed before Love and Marriage and New York City, with two more plays, Redemption and 4Play, coming afterwards.
The Next Generation
David Heron is now a naturalized citizen. He is devoted to his family. Heron is happy that some younger family members are serious about their careers. This includes his grandniece Lauren “LC” Campbell and grandnephew Adam Christian.
“Lauren is a true multi-hyphenate who sings incredibly well. She also loves acting and directing. Adam is a passionate thespian and made his professional acting debut playing my son in the pilot of the TV series From Yard. This was a huge moment for me. I look forward to them joining their uncle here in the Big Apple one day, so we can take over the town! Hopefully, the journey that began for me with Love and Marriage and New York City has landed me in a place where I can support them when the time comes.”
Love and Marriage Tickets
The Silver Anniversary Performance of Love and Marriage is in New York City. It is sponsored by several organizations. These include the Jamaica Tourist Board, Mesidor PLLC, Results Promo and Marketing, and IMC Media.
Tickets for the event are available at loveandmarriagetheplay.eventbrite.com. High school and college students can attend the performance for free by calling 646-533-7021.
The Jamaica Performing Arts Center is located at 153-10 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, New York, 11432.
