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SYNOPSIS

Shanghai, 1941. The show opens with the Steinburgs, a Jewish Viennese family of refugees, disembarking a ship. They are greeted by a declaration that refugees are to move to the crowded Hongkew ghetto, the poorest neighborhood in Shanghai.

Xinfan, a local rickshaw driver, is angry about the arrival of yet more Europeans. His attitude begins to shift when Itsik Steinburg, a once-renowned physician, offers to treat his injury for free. As a relationship between the two men takes root, unbeknownst to them, a friendship blossoms between their daughters. Roza, however, is unaware that Xuelin plays with her in defiance of Xinfan’s orders.

Weeks go by and Itsik struggles to find work. Eva takes a job in a café to assist with the family’s finances, hurting her husband’s pride. This strains their marriage, but the truth that eventually emerges from their confrontation breathes new life into their relationship.

On the streets of Shanghai, Xinfan and his friends spot Itsik sulking and try to cheer him up. After a few drinks, Xinfan and Itsik open up to one another, sharing painful memories from their pasts that have led to their present challenges.

As the Japanese become more violent and news about occupation of other countries spreads, rumors about Nazis coming to Shanghai also begin to circulate.

One day, while Xuelin and Roza play, Roza accidentally hits a Japanese soldier with a toy. The soldier becomes enraged and points his rifle at the two girls. Xinfan enters transporting a customer, spots the girls, and begs the soldier not to hurt them. Roza runs away. Xinfan drags Xuelin home, furious that she disobeyed his rules. His mother, Shufen, confronts him about the authoritarian way he has been raising his child since his wife’s death.

Xinfan confides in Itsik that his wife’s death was the result of Japanese retaliation for his involvement in Chinese resistance efforts.

The Ye Family has invited the Steinburgs over for Chinese New Year. Shufen has prepared a special meal in their honor. Unfortunately, that special meal is…a whole roast pig. Roza surprises everyone when she is able to interpret, explaining to Shufen that Jewish people cannot eat pork. Soon after, Eva announces that she is pregnant. Everybody rejoices at this rare bit of good news. Judith, a member of the Jewish community, enters breathless to report that the Nazis have arrived with a death plan for the Jews who escaped to Shanghai.

The American military arrives to bomb Shanghai. Roza gets stuck under falling rubble, which sits on her lungs, leaving her gasping for air. Xinfan saves her at the very last moment.

The war has been over for six months. Both families gather at the same harbor upon which the Steinburgs first disembarked, Eva holding the newest member in her arms. They now prepare to leave for America. The families say their final farewells, wishing each other peace and safety, knowing they will likely never meet again.

ABOUT THE PROCESS

Our first collaboration took place in November of 2022 when we met at Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. We are a Chinese-American and Jewish-Canadian writing team. Jill Ohayon is the daughter of a Moroccan Jewish immigrant, and Andy Li is the son of Chinese parents who grew up during the Cultural Revolution before immigrating to the U.S.

After discussions about growing up within our respective cultures, we felt excited about the extensive overlap that we discovered. We then wrote a piece about a Chinese family and a Jewish family at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve. After that, we became inspired to further explore the connections between our two communities, both in terms of our overlap in values and family dynamics as well as in terms of our shared history. We realized that the history of the Jewish refugees and Chinese locals under Japanese occupation in Shanghai during World War II is not widely known. We felt compelled to write a piece that tells this story.

The piece and its characters are an amalgamation of the people and stories we engaged with through research. We were moved by the resilience, joy, and sense of community that shone through in the memoirs and archival footage from this period in history. The Garden Bridge is also inspired by our own families and our own individual experiences as children of immigrants.

In June of 2024, we completed a residency at The BringAbout with Jennifer Jancuska, Resident Choreographer of Hamilton on Broadway, in which we explored movement as a language with actors including Betsy Morgan (Kimberly Akimbo) and Veronica Faioni (Lempicka). We have also developed our show with director Nick Corley and actors Austin Ku, Jordan Kai Burnett, and Demond Green. We have explored sound design with Mark Bennett, done scene work with Phillipa Soo and James Yaegashi, and completed a writing residency at Goodspeed Musicals. Our show was a finalist for The Musical Stage Company’s Aubrey and Marla Dan Fund and the Manhattan School of Music Lab Series, and one of nine semifinalists for the CreateTheater Musical Series. Most recently, a selection of songs was presented at New York’s Breaking Sound Series. It has also been selected as the recipient of the spring 2025 Casa Uno Residency.