Playwright Nicholas Griffin refreshed South Floridians, especially those residing in Miami-Dade County, on the conflicting times in 1980 in his one act drama “English Only”, a Miami New Drama production running now through February 22 at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach.
In 1980, then Cuban dictator Fidel Castro sent more than 125,000 Cubans to Miami over a seven month period from Mariel Harbor. The event, known as the “Mariel boatlift”, brought chaos to Miami as, although some Miami-Dade County residents welcomed the new immigrants, many others did not.
This is the era that Griffin focused on: understanding the history of the conflicting debate on who these new immigrants were ,who wanted them in Miami and how the residents of Miami-Dade County would respond to the new crisis in 1980.
Although Miami-Dade County (then called Dade County) officially embraced bilingualism, recognizing Spanish as the county’s official second language in 1973, the chaos resulting from the Mariel boatlift stirred a debate about whether Spanish should continue to be recognized as an official language from the county.
Cast as the primary instigator is Miami radio talk show host Stan Rogers, (actor Rene Granado) who views the new immigrants as illegal aliens, criminals and murderers. Granado also portrayed a Spanish radio talk show host who wanted to welcome the new immigrants to Miami.
When Rogers encouraged Miamians to “speak out and take action”, he heard from Emmy Shafer (Laura Faye Smith)”, who surprised Rogers by responding positively to his pleas.
Shafer led a petition along with her friend Linda Mugleston (Barbara Simmons) to place an ordinance titled “English Only” on the ballot in the upcoming November 1980 election. If the ordinance passed, English would become the sole language of government business in Dade County.
The 90-minute play centers on the debate over the “English Only” ordinance that featured a vigorous debate between Shafer, calling herself the leader of “Citizens for Dade United” and Manny Diaz (Andhy Mendez), a young Cuban American attorney who was a leader of “Spanish American League Against Discrimination” or SALAD.
The debate was the climax of the play, chronicling (from the viewpoints of both Diaz and Shafer) why Diaz and Shafer were both sincere in their platforms. However, the buildup to the debate that featured internal behind the scenes strife between Shafer and Mugleston as well as between Diaz and his co-worker Lucy Alvarez (Carmen Pelaez) gave insight into what led up to the debate, how the debate contrasted the opposing viewpoints of Diaz and Shafer and how the surprising turn of events ended the play.
What makes the play so authentic is the convincing portrayal of Diaz and Shafer by Mendez and Smith. Both actors gave insight into their characters as not being stereotyped for their positions.
Mendez gives Diaz a positive view of the Cuban- American. “I am very proud of my heritage, but at the same time I speak English and am proud to be an American” is one of the best lines in the play attributed to Diaz.
Smith makes Shafer a sincere individual, rather than a bigot who opposes any new immigration.
“The success of every American is the ability to speak one language, to share the same goals as we survive by communicating in the same language and make our principles known” said Smith convincing as Shafer
The behind the scenes work of director Margot Bordelon, costume designer Beth Goldenberg and lighting designer Solomon Wisebard, among other personnel created a set that looked like Miami in 1980, .
To find out the aftermath of the “English Only” ordinance, one must see “English Only”.
The real Manny Diaz went on to become mayor of Miami (2001-2009) and the real Emily Shafer, a Jew who survived living in a German concentration camp in World War II, came to the United States at age 16 and learned to speak English from books.
Given that current legislation has recognized English as the official language of the United States (an Executive Order passed by President Donald Trump in March, 2025) and a Florida law mandating that drivers license exams will be conducted exclusively in English (Feb. 6,2026) gives “English Only” a contemporary perspective.
Playwright Nicholas Griffin’s one act drama “English Only” is a Miami New Drama production running now through February 22 at Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Tickets range from $40-$80. For tickets and more information, call 305-674-1040 or go to miaminewdrama.org.
