2018 feels like a good time to experience Aladdin Ullah’s Dishwasher Dreams. In a world which is vilifying immigrants on a daily basis, it’s refreshing to actually listen to the story from the other side. Mr. Ullah tells his family’s tale in the form of a comic monologue since he has had a career in stand-up. At eighteen years old his father arrived from Bangladesh, settled in Spanish Harlem and got a job as a dishwasher. Near the end of this very personal and introspective play, he notes that America “was the place you can come to and feel welcome. I wonder if anyone feels that way today.”
Dishwasher Dreams is nothing if not timely. The stories recounted here are quite personal, often funny and occasionally very moving. The tears well up in Mr. Ullah’s eyes a number of times which makes his heartfelt delivery more poignant than merely listening to the words. His mother is a particular character to enjoy. She doesn’t quite understand his infatuation with the Yankees, noting “why would I want to see men in pajamas playing with sticks?” As portrayed here, she is a classic immigrant mom like many you have seen or heard about before, full of quips and full of love.
Like many Americans, she struggles with race when one of her sons dates a black woman. She learns English from Sesame Street. Every Sunday the family travels downtown to watch Bollywood films to remember who they are despite the boys wanting to see Jaws or Star Wars. Familiar terrain indeed but nicely executed with a reflective lens that the passage of time allows.
Dishwasher Dreams does need some fine tuning and nuanced direction but the backbone is strong. Since the structure is largely a comic monologue, Mr. Ullah speeds through many sections like we are in a nightclub. That may work for the punchlines but not when he is performing the many people we are fortunate to meet. The pace makes certain sections confusing to follow. A slower delivery with more delineation of voice or physical mannerisms would greatly enhance the storytelling.
Mr. Ullah’s father was a dishwasher who knew Sidney Poitier as “Sid,” another immigrant dishwasher before he became an enormously famous Oscar winning Hollywood star. His father’s dreams were not nearly as big or perhaps they were. To live a life free. To raise a family and be happy. To dream. Why is that so hard for so many people to empathize with?