By Kristen Nevarez Schweizer

February 24, 2026

I walked into The Joan ready to do my job as a theater critic: take notes in the dark, clock the pacing, track the talent, file the metaphors, and write an unbiased review. The problem with that plan is that Cygnet Theatre’s Somewhere Over the Border reached straight for the tender places where I store my family stories.

Director and choreographer Carlos Mendoza’s version of Brian Quijada’s musical follows Reina (Vanessa Orozco) on a courageous, Wizard of Oz-tinged journey shaped equally by theatricality and the true ache of a real immigrant’s story. Single mother Reina leaves her son with her mother in El Salvador, while she travels to America in the hope of building a better future for herself and her child. Along the way, she collects friends and strength. The score offers nods to cumbia and mariachi, slips into half a bolero, then snaps into American rock and Lin-Manuel Miranda-inspired rap like a radio dial spinning through genres.

As a daughter of immigrants, I understand how many children are left behind as a parent crosses into America to build a safer life. It is not abandonment, it’s sacrifice wearing the mask of absence. Yet these stories have an often unconsidered years-later moment. The meeting again. The terrible, holy disorientation of a parent facing a child they lived and worked and risked to provide for, but they don’t know their face, their voice, their life. This show finishes by lingering in that space—where love exists, but recognition has to be relearned.

Cygnet Artistic Director Sean Murray first encountered this show in 2020 (though the world premiere was ultimately delayed due to COVID-19), and his theater picked a brave time to stage it for San Diego audiences. This 2026 West Coast premiere is elevated with elegant elements by director Mendoza, with the playwright Quijada’s permission, including adding the role of Reina’s son, Young Fernando, played by Dahni Solorio. 

Solorio’s clear-voiced solo in the second act is one of the most touching moments of the production. When the boy walked on stage, a mother in my row of the audience reached for her partner’s hand.

“How was being in this show?” I asked Solorio at the opening-night after-party.

“Really fun,” he said. (A compliment, considering Solorio’s impressive resume includes The San Diego Opera’s El Milagro del Recuerdo, The Old Globe’s Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and San Diego Musical Theatre’s Mathilda, to name a few.)

I asked, “And, what do you think Somewhere Over the Border is about?” 

Solorio, ever the budding thespian, tapped a finger on his chin in a thoughtful pose before he smiled and answered, “Well, it’s about hope, isn’t it? Everyone does what they do because they’re hopeful.” 

I’ll leave it up to other critics whether Somewhere Over the Border works out theatrically. Tanya Orellana’s set is stunning, Ryan Fallis’s desert ICE search lights are appropriately jarring, and Blake McCarty’s projections transport the audience alongside the characters, but it’s hard to get a clear view when your eyes are filled with tears.

Somewhere Over the Border runs February 18–March 15, 2026, at The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center (2880 Roosevelt Rd, San Diego). Showtimes: Weds–Fri 7 PM, Sat 2 PM & 7 PM, Sun 2 PM. Tickets are listed from around $54, with previews and subscription options available.