New musical presented at NMSU reading

An all-star cast and crew will present a staged reading of “The Golden Door,” a new musical by New Mexico State University Theatre Department assistant professor Lisa K. Hermanson at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at Corbett Center Student Union (auditorium, Room 247 on the second floor) on the NMSU campus. The performance is open to the public, and there is no charge to attend.

“I’m really excited to hear the musical out loud, see how it lands and people’s responses, and gather feedback to continue working on refining the (now entire) musical for the next step in its progress towards (someday) a full production,” said Hermanson.

She began writing the musical in 2019 and has had staged readings of its first act in Richmond, Virginia, and, two years ago at NMSU as part of the Theatre Department’s High Desert Play Readings series.

The cast features Peyton Womble as Ilse, Mattie Ruminer as Marna, Diego Lara as Anders, Meagan Higgins (also the production’s co-producer) as Ilse’s mother, Ben Garcia as Frederick, Knut Brekke as Uncle Nicklas, Greta Greenblatt as Lina, Delaney Dwyer as Andrew, Karlten Freidrich as Mr. Williams, Joy Lightfoot as Mrs. Williams, Edward Leyva as George Williams, Katie Mayers as Anna, Sage Drake as Ingrid and Grace Mellen as Katerina.

The show is directed by Heather Striebel, Ph.D., who is professor in costume design in the Theatre Department. Conner Striebel is the assistant director, and Al Berry is the stage manager.

“My musical started as a thesis project for my graduate degree in 2019 and was originally an origin story into my own family’s history: where my grandparents came from, what it was like crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards Ellis Island in the 1920s, things like that,” Hermanson said. “It quickly became clear the story was not just about my family, but many others. So many of us came to this country from somewhere else. I think people forget that, especially when the immigrants in our family tree were one, two generations ago or more, and either don’t (didn’t) talk about their experiences or have passed on.

“America is a country founded on immigrants,” she said. “In writing ‘The Golden Door,’ it’s been a way for me to dive deeper into and reflect on that. This was a relevant topic when I started the process of writing; it’s interesting to me that now, in 2026 when the musical finally has a second act, how the relevancy has not faded – rather, quite the opposite.

“Seeing my musical continue its progression to full production is such a beautiful, fulfilling, and humbling experience. During our first rehearsal, the energy of the actors in the room was palpable and really exciting. This is a great group of people, and I’m honored and thrilled to work with them.”

For more information, contact Hermanson at lisakh@nmsu.edu.