Entertainment

Jamaica, Farewell Superbly Written and Artfully Performed

FT. LAUDERDALE – After a successful run in Los Angeles and sold-out performances in New York, Debra Ehrnhardt’s critically acclaimed one woman performance entitled Jamaica, Farewell, comes to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Amaturo Theater on November 23 and 24, Thanksgiving Weekend.

Jamaica, Farewell has been called an uproarious tour de force. It is a one person show unlike any other. Debra Ehrhardt is a captivating story-teller who, after each performance convinces an audience they have just seen a play with a full cast! It is set against the political upheaval in Jamaica in the seventies and is based on Ehrhardt’s true life story.

Jamaica, Farewell will take you on an unforgettable journey escaping poverty, revolution, prison time, rape and death in an island paradise brought to the brink of ruin by political turmoil. With the odds stacked against her, she pulls off a daring dangerous caper with the unwitting help of an American CIA agent in order to fulfill her lifelong dream– starting over in America.

Jamaica, Farewell is so superbly written–and artfully performed by its playwright/performer, Debra Ehrhardt–that you won’t want it to end. The play moves along quickly and the audience is immediately captivated as Debra seamlessly transitions between the more than a dozen characters in the play including her childhood friend, Charmaine; her mother, Kathryn; her father; her preacher; her boss; the radio announcer and the CIA agent, Jack. But what is most impressive is how believable she is as each character. You can readily discern when her childhood friend or her mother is speaking, for example.

Debra tells a captivating story beginning from her childhood in Jamaica where her best friend Charmaine, whose father works for Air Jamaica, is always going to America and returning with delicious goodies not available on the island and advises that “you can do whatever you want in America.” Debra’s desire to experience this land of opportunity is deeply aroused and with dreams of living in America, Ehrardt takes matters into her own hands.

Jamaica, Farewell is more than just another coming to America story–it is a story of a mother’s devotion to her family; a daughter’s unconditional love for her dad and a young woman’s determination to create a way where there is no way.

A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Debra Ehrhardt fled to the US during the politically unstable seventies. This is her third one-woman show. Previous productions include Mango, Mango which received two NAACP awards and Invisible Chairs, which was produced by David Strasberg at the Marilyn Monroe Theater in West Hollywood, California and later was optioned as a situation comedy by Fox Television. As member of the Writer’s Guild of America, she is currently adapting Jamaica, Farewell for the big screen.

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