To Forgive (Ilcahuilia) — A New Musical, in English, Spanish and Nāhuatl

To Forgive (Ilcahuilia), a new musical. As two nations fight over land, they fight to find a home. Book, music and lyrics by Eduardo Enrikez, additional music and arrangements by Andrew Orbison.
A Romeo-and-Juliet romance between an American woman and a Mexican militant unfolds against the 1848 war that drew the U.S.–Mexico border — watched over by a mystical, spiritual presence who insists the wound never closed.

The story

As two nations fought over land, they fought to find a home.

Daniel Williams, an American captain, and Andreas, a Mexican militant, fight on opposite sides of the 1848 war that redraws the map between their two countries. It’s Daniel’s own sister, Isabella, who falls for Andreas instead — a love that survives capture and a peace treaty that never quite makes peace. Watching over all of it is Nahuatl, a mystical, spiritual presence who has seen this land change hands for five hundred years, and who makes sure the audience knows: the border drawn in 1848 is the same one still being fought over today.

Listen

A first look at the score — demo excerpts, in order of appearance. Full tracks available on request.

“America”
“War Games”
“The Proposal”
“Home”
“Restez Ici”
“Iluminame”
“Battle Hymns”
“Los Caminos”
“Lluvia”
“Our Story”
“America” Reprise
“Fight For Love”
“Vuela”
“If Our Worlds Collide” Reprise
Finale

One wound, three languages

The show doesn’t translate between English, Spanish, and Nāhuatl so much as let each one carry a piece of the same idea — forgiveness — that no single language holds on its own.

English
“You are my home.”
Isabella, in the show’s final duet
Español
“Para poder amar, hay que perdonar.”
“To be able to love, one must learn to forgive.”
Nāhuatl
“Tetoneuh, ceya.”
“Pain, love” — the ritual phrase that opens and closes the show

Why now

The show’s own lyric steps forward to say the wound is still open — “hoy en pleno siglo XXI”, today, in the 21st century — without a single line of added commentary. The border this story draws in 1848 is the one still being argued over now, and the show trusts an audience to feel that without being told.

Nāhuatl isn’t a phrase dropped in for texture. It opens the show, closes the show, and carries the piece’s entire mystical, spiritual register — a structural use of language few musicals attempt.

History

The show has been developed through four workshops — three in Los Angeles, one in New York — refining the book, the score, and the trilingual staging with live audiences at each stage.

Cast size

Nine principal actors, built for doubling — three of the nine roles pair an American character with a Mexican counterpart, letting one actor carry both halves of the story. The show scales up cleanly with an ensemble for the larger numbers, or plays lean for a workshop or a smaller house.

About the Creators

Eduardo Enrikez

Eduardo Enrikez is an award-winning Mexican-born actor, writer, producer, and filmmaker whose career spans theatre, film, and television in the United States and Europe. A graduate and Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Eduardo began his professional career in the UK, where his credits include the original West End production of On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan at the London Coliseum, as well as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, Eating Raoul, Time Square Angel, Saturday Night Fever, and Hair.

His extensive American theatre credits include American Mariachi, Destiny of Desire, Miss Saigon, Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Blood Brothers, Ragtime, Into the Woods, The Wedding Singer, and A Christmas Carol, with work at leading regional theatres including South Coast Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Goodman Theatre, and others. His performances have earned honors including an Inland Empire Award for Best Actor and an Ada Award for Best Actor, along with multiple nominations.

On screen, Eduardo has appeared in The Bridge, Locked Up Abroad, Bluff, Stigma, Emilio, Jornada al Norte, Dog Tags, and Sin Frontera. His performance in Sin Frontera received Best Actor recognition at the Seattle Shorts Film Festival, and the film went on to screen at numerous festivals.

As a writer, Eduardo created the musical Ilcahuilia (To Forgive), inspired by Mexican history, cultural identity, and the enduring question of what defines home. The musical has received readings in New York and Los Angeles.

He is also the writer and star of The Last Song, an acclaimed solo theatrical work centered on a once-proud mariachi singer confronting the end of his life through music, memory, love, and regret. The production has been presented in Los Angeles, London, and Edinburgh, where it has been described as an Edinburgh Festival favourite and a London Critics’ Choice.

Eduardo’s work is deeply influenced by his Mexican heritage and his passion for storytelling through music and theatre. His career reflects a commitment to creating work that connects cultures, explores identity, and gives a voice to stories that cross borders.

@eduardoenrikez

Andrew Orbison

Andrew Orbison is a New York City–based music director, conductor, composer, and arranger who was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA.

Off Broadway: Drag: The Musical (MD/Conductor/Keys, New World Stages), winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Show; Slam Frank (MD/Conductor/Keys); Rolling Thunder (Conductor/Keys, New World Stages); Music City (Conductor/Keys). TV: It’s A Dog’s Life theme (Co-Composer, Disney).

Regional: The Final, Final Farewell Tour of Dick and Delores Del Rubio (Composer/Dick Del Rubio, US Tour/Edinburgh Fringe); Did You See What Walter Paisley Did Today? (MD/Conductor, World Premiere — La Mirada Theatre); Ilcahuilia: A Musical (Arranger/Orchestrator/MD); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (MD/Conductor).

Andrew is currently the MD and keys player for Classic Replay: 90’s MixTape Live!, which is touring across the country. He also loves traveling, finding new restaurants, and puppy kisses. Love to his partner, Gootz!

andreworbison.com · @andreworbison