Tears and sad goodbyes mark the occasion as a mother bids her children farewell. Knowing only that they will live happier, fuller lives far from home, she watches her son and daughter board the airplane heading north.

It’s 1961. The two children are escaping the chaos that enveloped revolutionary Cuba by leaving everything they know and love behind. They fly to the United States to start a new life, unaware that this moment will define their respective existences.

This story would be a work of flawless fiction for most playwrights. But for Nilo Cruz it’s much, much more. The 2003 Pulitzer Prize winner came to the United States on a freedom flight from Cuba as a 9-year-old. His latest play, Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams, is more than just a story for Cruz because it explores the same emotions and difficulties that all immigrants – and specifically refugees – experience when leaving their homelands.

It’s only fitting that Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams will appear at Victory Gardens Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Victory Gardens – Chicago’s No. 1 presenter of new plays for more than 30 years – introduced the Windy City to Cruz’s work in 2003, with his Pulitzer Prize-winning Anna in the Tropics. That production had one of Victory Gardens’ most successful runs in its history, and the theater eagerly welcomes Cruz back this season.

Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams opens at the Victory Gardens Theater Nov. 14, with previews running until Nov. 13.

Performances will run through Dec. 18. Tickets cost from $25 to $40. Tickets and showtimes are available online at www.ticketweb.com or by calling (773) 871-3000.

– Michael Burgner