New Joisey. Home of Six Flags, Jersey Shore and well…nothing else. Except for Carlo Alban. Carlo’s one man show on illegal immigration really hit home. No one ever really gladly admits that they were (or are) illegal, however, Carlo does both. Nonetheless, I was genuinely impressed with Carlo’s performance.

The level of personal that Carlo’s performance was such a crucial part of what made this play important to me. He held nothing back, giving his audience (even if it was only about 15 of us) his entire history. The story of how he came here, what happened when he got here, the story of how he got his citizenship and all of the years in between. The thing that touched me the most was Carlo’s relationship with his brother. I knew from the first time he mentioned his brother staying home that it would come back to bite his family in the we all know what. Having siblings, I can’t imagine ever leaving one of them behind in another country, even if it was for the best.

Carlo’s acting really had us all feeling the same emotions he was. From the first scene to when he was smoking with his “friend” all the way through to where he was fighting with his brother in the living room after 9/11. Every single scene had a different emotion that he forced upon us without us even realizing it was happening. The most passionate scene, I think, was when Carlo shot the paintball gun for real. Not only did it scare the crap out of me but it keep the audience engaged.

I think that Intringulis was a very passionate and personal play that really touched my heart and made me see a whole different side to illegal immigration. It just goes to show that there are two sides to every story.