Lead in Broadway Tour Sidelined by DACA EAD Delays

Oklahoman J. Antonio Rodriguez held one of the lead roles in the touring production of the Broadway musical Hadestown: Orpheus. Unfortunately, Rodriguez can no longer perform. In fact, he hasn’t performed since March 13. And the reason has to do with paperwork and government delays.

Rodriguez is undocumented. Nevertheless, he had authorization to work in the U.S. pursuant to the DACA program. He timely filed to renew his employment authorization, but it hasn’t yet come through. And so, Rodriguez is sidelined from the Hadestown production.

You can read the full story on Playbill. And big thanks to immprof (and musical fan) Elizabeth Keyes (Baltimore) for the tip. It’s an absolutely infuriating tale.

As Rodriguez told Playbill: “It just… really sucks.”

-KitJ