As a psychotherapist, Marc Joseph witnessed the sufferings of detainees at Fort Allen in Puerto Rico and Krome Detention Center in Miami in the early 1980s.

One particular incident had a profound impact: A 21-year-old Haitian man named Prophet Talleyrand hung himself at Fort Allen.

'I wrote a song called `Refugee' for him,'' said Joseph, 54, who lives in Miami Shores.

Joseph used that song as the basis for a screenplay about the Haitian refugee experience.

His play, Refugee, a musical, is playing at ArtSouth in Homestead this weekend.

Refugee tells the story of Haitians fleeing oppression in Haiti -- only to encounter difficulties entering the United States and adapting to American life in Miami.

ArtSouth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing the arts to South Miami-Dade, is located at 240 N. Krome Ave. in Homestead.

Refugee's director, Yamit Lemoine said the story of Luc Monpremiere, the lead character in the story, is one that all Haitians can relate to.

'I've had some Haitians who have seen the play and cried-and they say `This is what I went through,' '' said Lemoine, who is Israeli but married to a Haitian.

Joseph, who came to the United States from Haiti at age 10, based the script on his own personal experience and his professional work.

''I got the material by working with Haitian refugees for a long time,'' said Joseph, who has interviewed more than 300 Haitian refugees during his career.

Although Joseph wrote the screenplay in the early 1980s, he shopped the play around for decades looking for financial backing.

Joseph finally found interest two years ago and the play debuted in 2007 at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, called the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts at that time. The play, which is 90 minutes, includes 12 actors and five musicians. Roughly a third of the play's dialogue is in Creole.

Rosa Brito, the executive director of ArtSouth, says the nonprofit is changing its program from solely a visual arts center to a performing and visual arts center. Refugee will be the center's first play.

''The theme is so appropriate now,'' Brito said. ``The message it sends is so important.''

Lemoine says the play appeals to both older and younger generations.

''It's unique because of the musical aspect: Haitian folklore type of music and hip-hop and rap,'' said Lemoine, who also lives in Miami Shores.

Lemoine said the play is also entertaining and educational.

''A lot of people are not aware of this poor country in our hemisphere and not aware of what is going on politically, economically, socially,'' he said. ``It's important to expose this play to everyone who is not Haitian.''

Claude Dameus, who plays Luc Monpremiere, said the musical is a realistic portrayal of the plight of the Haitian refugee.

''It's really unfair the way they [the U.S. government] treat Haitians,'' added Dameus, 28, who lives in North Miami. ``When you get here, you get treated like a criminal.''

Joseph, who plays the bass guitar during Refugee, says the play spotlights the ''double standards'' of U.S. immigration, referring to the differences in Cuban and Haitian immigration policies.

''I would like to see a little more consistency and more compassion from the American government,'' Joseph said.

Dameus hopes the play stimulates a dialogue. ''Hopefully, this will make a change,'' he said.

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