In 1909, Haskell Harelik, a young Russian-Jewish man, steps out of steerage into the port city of Galveston, Texas.

He sets Haskell up in a new grocery store, but when Leah arrives unexpectedly from Russia, Milton and Ima both feel taken advantage of.

The story ends as Haskell, Ima, and Leah gather around the young tree, pressing their hopes and their faith into its new leaves, knowing it will outlive them all.

[4] A 2013 regional production of The Immigrant at Seven Angels Theatre [5] in Waterbury, Connecticut featured Max Bisantz as Haskell, Rita Markova as Leah, and Paul Blankenship as Milton.

In this production, lyricist Sarah Knapp performed the role of Ima and composer Steven M. Alper served as musical director and conductor.

An off-Broadway production produced by Hello Entertainment began previews on October 8, 2004 at Dodger Stages, and officially opened on November 4, 2004.

[9] The show was generally well received, getting rave reviews from The Denver Post, Miami Herald, and Chicago Sun-Times.

[10] Laura Hitchcock claimed, in her Curtain Up review, "Few musicals take on religious issues and rituals in such depth and Harelik does it with subtlety and without condescension."

On the score, she said that "Alper and Knapp's music hauntingly utilizes the Klezmer and ethnic themes to project Haskell's roots.

"[11] The New York Times review mentioned that The Immigrant is a "deeply satisfying new musical, with much on its mind about history, humanity, man and God and the American Dream, is beckoning to theatergoers with a taste for rich characters in a tale that touches the heart, glows with humor and soothes the ear.