'Dreamers are gonna dream': Oklahoma actor back on stage with 'Hadestown' after DACA delay

With a hell-raising story mined from Greek mythology, the hot musical "Hadestown" has entranced audiences with its tuneful trek into "a world of gods and men" since it debuted Off-Broadway in 2016.

For the past two years, J. Antonio Rodriguez has played a key role in bringing the dramatic tale of star-crossed lovers Orpheus and Eurydice to stages across the United States, including his home state of Oklahoma.

"I love it so much. It's so great to just travel the country and be able to do 'Hadestown,'" the University of Oklahoma graduate recently told The Oklahoman by phone from the North American tour of the musical.

The first Hispanic actor to play the lead role of Orpheus, Rodriguez, who grew up in Ardmore, found himself caught up in drama this spring that had nothing to do with theater. He was forced off stage for a month, caught up in a limbo created by apparent bureaucratic backlogs and America's complicated approach to the hot-button topic of immigration.

“All my life, I've done everything right. I've never broken the law. ... Suddenly, I couldn't drive anywhere. I certainly couldn't work. So, it was just me sitting around, trying to control what I can control," he said. "It was really frustrating."

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Born in Mexico, Rodriguez, 26, is what's often referred to as a "Dreamer," one of the almost 600,000 young adult beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.

DACA is for immigrants who were brought the United States as children. It protects them from deportation and grants them permission to legally work in the country, but with certain provisions, including a requirement to reapply for their status every two years.

"It was great when it first started, because it gave people hope. It was like, 'Oh, great, I'm able to work, I'm able to go to college.' ... But there needs to be some reform. There needs to be a pathway to citizenship," Rodriguez said.

How does the DACA policy work?

DACA recipients are often referred to as "Dreamers," but that wasn't always the case. The DREAM Act, or the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, would have provided a way to legal status for people who were brought to the U.S. as children. First introduced in 2001, at least 10 versions have failed to pass through Congress.

When a version came close but failed in 2012, then-President Barack Obama issued DACA as an executive order. It was intended as a temporary relief until Congress passed more permanent solutions.

It never did.

In the meantime, DACA has faced frequent challenges. Last fall, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the policy violates federal law. The ruling didn't require the government to take action against current DACA recipients, but prohibited the approval of new applications.

Only immigrants who arrived in the U.S. prior to their 16th birthday, were younger than 31 as of June 15, 2012, were physically present in the U.S. then, and have lived continuously in the country since June 15, 2007, are eligible.

"We can't vote ... and we're still being used as political pawns, where people will talk about us once every four years," Rodriguez said. "We pay our taxes, we go to work and do our thing. But it can get very sad and demoralizing to live in the shadows."

On May 3, President Joe Biden announced that his administration is removing the prohibition on DACA recipients' eligibility for Affordable Care Act coverage. It's projected to help more than 100,000 "Dreamers" get health insurance.

"I’m proud of the contributions of 'Dreamers' to our country and committed to providing 'Dreamers' the support they need to succeed," Biden said in a statement. "Only Congress can provide 'Dreamers' permanent status and a pathway to citizenship. Congress must act."

How did the 'Hadestown' actor come to Oklahoma?

Born in the small Mexican town of Francisco y Madero, Rodriguez's parents brought him to the U.S. when he was 2 years old and stayed because of his health issues.

"We came legally, but then I guess it was a thing of overstaying. ... In Mexico, from what my mother tells me, I was in and out of the doctor's and the hospital a lot. There was something about the climate of where we lived that made me have rashes all over my body all of the time. I would have a hard time breathing, and I would get sick a lot," said Rodriguez, adding he has not been back to Mexico since, although he still has family there.

"So, they made the decision to go to Ardmore, which, to me, is the best thing that could have ever happened."

How did his Oklahoma childhood take Antonio Rodriguez to 'Hadestown?'

As a youngster, he developed his love for theater at Ardmore's Brass Ring Center for the Performing Arts.

"To watch kids that are your kids' age ... grow into the person they will be, it's really gratifying ... and he's an inspiration to those kids there now," said Derrick Harvey, an Ardmore attorney who is a friend of the actor's family.

"I've known the Rodriguez family since my kids were babies. We attend the same church. And they're not just beloved by me, but the entire community as well."

After graduating at the top of his high school class, Rodriguez enrolled in OU's musical theater school. Before and after he earned his degree in 2020 — "that sweet COVID year, so it was an at-home graduation" — he appeared in several Lyric Theatre shows, including "Singin’ in the Rain," "The Rocky Horror Show" and "Grease."

He joined the national tour of "Hadestown" in February 2022 as an understudy for Orpheus and as a swing performer covering multiple roles. Before he was officially promoted to the lead role in March 2023, he played Orpheus during the show's October 2022 OKC run.

"I'm proud of my Mexican culture and my Mexican heritage ... but Oklahoma — Ardmore specifically — that is my home. That is where I love to be. It's my favorite place in the world," he said.

"It may not say so on a piece of paper, but to me, I'm American. ... I would like to visit Mexico, but the United States is my home."

How did a delay in his DACA renewal force the 'Dreamer' off the stage?

In December, Rodriguez said he filed his two-year DACA renewal application. He got a notice of receipt from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in early January.

"In the past 13 years ... it's never taken longer than five days. But as it was getting closer to March 13, the expiration date, I started to get worried," he said.

"I called USCIS two or three weeks before, and I was like, 'Hey, I'm just calling to make sure everything is going well. I see (online) that no one has looked at my case.' ... They just informed me that there were backlogs or backups — and they don't ever tell you anything. They never explained why."

He anxiously awaited an update, but the March 13 deadline for his DACA approval came and went. So, when he stepped off the stage after that night's performance, he, like Orpheus, found himself caught between worlds.

"It literally felt like limbo. The parallels between me and Orpheus at this point were just dead on," he said with a chuckle. "But it was a pretty dark time."

Since his partner, Cecilia Trippiedi, is a "Hadestown" swing performer and the dance captain, Rodriguez decided to keep traveling with her so that at least he wouldn't be alone.

"I was unable to be paid anymore. But they were still able to keep me on my contract, just to say that I still had the role. But I wasn't actually doing the shows," he said.

"It was three weeks of not belonging anywhere."

How did the Oklahoma 'Dreamer' find his way back to the stage?

With the support of the tour team for the Tony Award-winning show, Rodriguez gave interviews about his plight in theater publications like Playbill and Broadway World. He also emailed the White House and reached out to the Oklahoma Congressional delegation.

On April 3, a staffer for Rep. Tom Cole contacted him. The next day, the actor got his DACA approval.

"I think she was able to get them to expedite the request. ... The support has just been amazing. But what I want to voice and really talk about is that this shouldn't be a thing that anyone has to go through, no matter what connections you have or don't have," Rodriguez said.

"I'm not the only one experiencing this. There are people I know that have waited six, eight months to even hear anything back, which must be so scary. So, it's crazy to think that I'm one of the lucky ones."

Since he could legally work again, the actor was given a week and a half to prepare to resume the role of Orpheus.

"We recognize Antonio's predicament as an issue confronted by many immigrants striving for their place in our society. We are thrilled audiences will see him in 'Hadestown' once again, where his unique talent will continue to dazzle and inspire audiences across the country, just as he is an inspiration to all of us at 'Hadestown,'" the show's producers, Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold and Tom Kirdahy, said in a statement.

On April 16 in Syracuse, New York, Rodriguez headed back “Way Down Hadestown." He said it went very well.

"I don't know if I was more happy to be back in 'Hadestown,' or if I was more happy to be back with all the people that I love. I think that was what made it more special," he told The Oklahoman by phone moments after leaving the stage for his first performance in a month.

"But the best moment for me was at the very end, after the bows when I was walking off stage, just being able to breathe knowing that I did it. I did my job."

What's next for Oklahoma 'Dreamer' J. Antonio Rodriguez?

Even "The Road to Hell" doesn't go on forever: The "Hadestown" national tour closes May 26 in Toronto. Rodriguez's contract ends on May 12, but he's grateful to know he should be able to perform until his last day.

He and Trippiedi have found an apartment in New York City, and they'll soon be back to the "audition grind" to find their next theater jobs — at least until his next DACA application is due in two years.

"That's definitely scarier now ... but 'Dreamers' are gonna dream," he said.

The actor said he's not going to stop talking about the challenges DACA recipients face now, especially since his parents recently established legal residency and are on track for U.S. citizenship.

"I'm so happy for them. ... But the hope for all the 'Dreamers' is that there is a pathway to citizenship finally made for us. Many of us are paralyzed by fear from speaking out, because, while we are members of this society, every two years, we are reminded that we really aren't," Rodriguez said.

"I didn't realize just how much support I had until I said something. ... The more outcry there is, maybe something will finally be done. Then, we can finally stop dreaming about the better tomorrow and the better outcome, and it will finally become a reality."

Contributing: USA Today.