ExtraO1dinary Aliens!
Written by Carolina Ðỗ; Directed by Vas Eli
JACK | 20 Putnam Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238
March 7 - 14, 2026
Photo Credit: Tudor Cucu
At its heart, ExtraO1dinary Aliens! is a love story. Not just romantic love, but the stubborn, resilient love between immigrants and the people who stand beside them while navigating the labyrinth of the United States immigration system. Written by Carolina Ðỗ and directed by Vas Eli, the play blends the intimate with the surreal to explore belonging, bureaucracy, and the ever-shifting promise of the American dream.
The production is staged in a thrust configuration that pulls the audience directly into the story. A projection screen introduces the piece with a playful nod to Star Wars style iconography, hinting that we are about to enter a different universe . With projections designed by Michi Zaya and lighting by Jiahao “Neil” Qiu, the visual world shifts fluidly between grounded reality and cosmic curiosity. Yet what unfolds is unmistakably rooted in real life.
The play follows several intersecting relationships, each navigating immigration from a different angle. Corneliu (Vas Eli), a Romanian artist in the United States on a visa, faces the sudden unraveling of his legal status after returning home for surgery. His partner Kay (Julie Tran), a U.S. citizen of Vietnamese descent, is determined to help him remain in the country they both call home. Their story unfolds alongside that of David (Marlon Xavier), a Mexican national working in a restaurant with Corneliu while worrying about his cousin Primo, who lies in a hospital. Linh (Belle Le), a Vietnamese national who unintentionally overstayed her student visa, must navigate the system while facing a personal health crisis.
Hovering over these lives is an American government official (played menacingly by Matthew Zimmerman) whose job is to enforce immigration law and investigate undocumented residents. And then, in the play’s most whimsical yet piercing twist, there is an actual alien from Pluto, Xerxes, played with curiosity and quiet wonder by Maria Müller. After studying Earth through the lens of National Geographic and similar books about Earth’s cultures, she arrives fascinated by the United States. Mr. Government Official falls in love with her, and the two spend a year traveling before she becomes disillusioned by what she finds.
It is a bold structural choice, but one that works. The alien perspective becomes a mirror held up to America itself. Seen from afar, the country represents possibility. Seen up close, the system can feel bewildering, unforgiving, and deeply human in all its contradictions.
Ðỗ’s writing is experimental, imaginative, and intellectually curious while remaining grounded in recognizable human experience. The script moves fluidly between languages including English, Spanish, Romanian, and Vietnamese. For audiences accustomed to the polyphonic reality of New York City, hearing these languages onstage feels both natural and refreshing. It reflects the lived texture of a city where every neighborhood holds a different cultural story.
The cast meets the demands of the piece with remarkable stamina. At nearly two hours, the actors are running a theatrical marathon, shifting between emotional registers and narrative threads while maintaining clarity and momentum. The ensemble’s commitment keeps the story vibrant and alive.
Eli’s direction supports the script’s experimental structure without losing sight of the human stakes. The staging is thoughtful and precise, allowing the fantastical elements to coexist with grounded moments of intimacy and vulnerability. Experimental meets kitchen-sink realism.
What lingers after the curtain is not just the narrative itself but the broader questions it raises. Immigration in the United States is often discussed in abstractions or political slogans, but the reality is far more complicated. For many people around the world, simply leaving one’s country requires resources, permissions, and risk long before the question of entering another country even arises.
The play quietly reminds us that immigration pathways exist but are often complex and difficult to navigate. These include family-based sponsorship for spouses, children, or parents of U.S. citizens; employment-based visas sponsored by employers; humanitarian protections such as asylum or refugee status; and the Diversity Visa Lottery for individuals from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States. Each pathway carries its own bureaucratic hurdles and emotional costs.
Rather than presenting a political argument, ExtraO1dinary Aliens! asks the audience to sit with the human stories inside these systems. It is storytelling that encourages empathy rather than slogans.
In the coming days, the company will host community gatherings and workshops, continuing the conversation beyond the performance itself. That commitment reflects the deeper mission of the work. This is not simply a play but an invitation to reflect on who we are as a country and how we choose to treat those who arrive seeking opportunity, safety, or love.
The United States has long described itself as a nation of immigrants. ExtraO1dinary Aliens! reminds us that behind that phrase are real people navigating complicated systems while trying to build lives that matter.
And sometimes, it takes the perspective of an alien from Pluto to help us see ourselves more clearly.
Click HERE for tickets.
Review by Malini Singh McDonald.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on March 10th, 2026. All rights reserved.