Artists across US take to stage to protest Trump policies
PRINCETON, N.J. — In 1921, Congress passed an emergency immigration law limiting the number of foreigners allowed into the United States based on their country of birth, a fearful backlash to the increasing numbers of Poles, Greeks and Italians who arrived in America after World War I.
In response, American composer Cole Porter — best known as a composer and songwriter — wrote a rare ballet in 1923 criticizing America’s hostile stance toward immigrants.
Nearly a century later, the ballet is being revived by a Princeton University music professor troubled by President Donald Trump’s actions on immigration. On Thursday, the school will debut its modernized version of Porter’s “Within the Quota.”
The ballet is one of several productions happening across the country in reaction to the administration’s immigration policy, including a Boulder, Colorado, play featuring immigrants and immigration officers and a Los Angeles play touching on themes of terrorism and immigration detention centres.