Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter, written and performed by award-winning actress Valerie David, is a gripping, award-winning solo show that mirrors today's growing intolerance of race and religion. Due to religious persecution during the 1941 “Farhud” pogrom that took place in Baghdad, Valerie’s paternal Middle Eastern Jewish family was forced to flee Iraq and build a new home in America. This play highlights her family’s struggle to immigrate to a new land and transcend their harrowing past, so that love and the importance of family triumph. It’s not just a Jewish story, but a narrative that anyone can relate to, with having to immigrate to another country, being forced to evacuate during wartime, suffering bullying, and the ramifications of having to adapt to a foreign culture that’s not so welcoming. Baggage From BaghDAD finds humor and hope, even in the darkest of times. It recounts how this painful legacy shaped Valerie’s own life and her evolving relationship with her father, uncovering a story of survival, identity, and ultimately, reconciliation. Her poignant storytelling offers both historical education and emotional resonance. Through vivid characters, humor, and heart, she invites audiences to examine today’s refugee crises, rising prejudice, and the intergenerational impact of war and displacement. Her family's personal narrative mirrors broader global issues, from the struggles of Ukrainian and Gaza refugees, the Gaza/Israel conflict, and the current resurgence of Anti-Semitism and religious discrimination worldwide. Directed by award-winning director Karen Carpenter with Sound and Projections by award-winning designer Andy Evan Cohen. For more information, visit https://pinkhulkplay.com/baggage-from-baghdad-solo-show/

Cast & Creative Team
Writer/Performer: Valerie David
Director: Karen Carpenter
Sound & Projection Designer: Andy Evan Cohen