Aspiring novelists and playwrights are often advised to “write what you know.” UH-Manoa Master of Fine Arts candidate Alison Bruce-Maldonado takes it to heart with “Dolls: A Toy Story,” the musical she’s created as her thesis project for a double degree in playwriting and directing.

The story takes place in an American toy store in the 1940s. Lena is Black and dreams of a career in fashion design. Timothy is white and plans to become an engineer. When Lena and Timothy fall in love they face a grim and uncertain future. Interracial marriage is illegal in more than half of the 48 states, racial segregation is enforced in the nation’s capitol and throughout the “Jim Crow” south, and mixed race couples face hostility in many other parts to the country as well.

The story hits very close to ho

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