Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:
NEW PLAYS BY MANDO ALVARADO,IKE HOLTER
AND SANDRA DELGADO ON TAP FOR
TEATRO VISTA'S 2016-17 SEASON
CHICAGO'S #1 LATINO THEATER TO DEBUT PREMIERES OF
MANDO ALVARADO'S PARACHUTE MEN,
IKE HOLTER'S THE WOLF AT THE END OF THE BLOCK
AND SANDRA DELGADO'S LA HAVANA MADRID
Chicago can't get enough of Ike Holter, and we agree. He's the author of 3 recent hits, critically acclaimed Hit the Wall, Exit Strategy and Sender. Here at ChiIL Live Shows we can't wait to check out The Wolf at The End of The Block, commissioned by Teatro Vista!
We're not as familiar with the work of South Texas playwright Mando Alvarado, but we're bemused by the concept of Parachute Men. We're also willing to bet his dramatic comedy about three brothers who suck at being brothers, suck at love and suck at being men will absolutely not suck as a production.
Playwright Sandra Delgado and Teatro Vista were granted the prestigious Joyce Award to support the development of La Havana Madrid. We're quite excited to see this immersive documentary theatre experience which will feature a live band, and provide a theatrical, cinematic and musical history of Latino Caribbeans from mambo to salsa.
Teatro Vista 2016-17 playwrights
Ike Holter, Mando Alvarado, and Sandra Delgado
Teatro Vista Executive Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez and Managing Director José Antonio Cruz announced three ambitious, exciting world premieres for Chicago's #1 Latino theater company's upcoming 2016-17 season.
Parachute Men by South Texas playwright Mando Alvarado lands first at the Richard Christiansen Theater at The Biograph at Victory Gardens Theater, where Teatro Vista is in residence. Ensemble member Tommy Rivera-Vega leads the cast in Alvarado's dramatic comedy about three brothers who suck at being brothers, suck at love and suck at being men. Gutiérrez directs. Previews start September 10. Press opening is Friday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through October 16.
The Wolf at The End of The Block by Chicago playwright Ike Holter, commissioned by Teatro Vista, is the company's winter premiere. Ensemble members Sandra Márquez and Gabriel Ruíz lead the cast in Holter's highly-charged exploration of racial profiling, media manipulation and family relationships in Chicago. Holter is the red-hot author of the recent hits Hit the Wall, Exit Strategy and Sender. Previews start January 28. Press opening is Friday, February 3 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through March 5.
Teatro Vista's season finale is the world premiere of La Havana Madrid, a theatrical, cinematic and musical history of Latino Caribbeans in Chicago by ensemble member Sandra Delgado. Fellow ensemble member Cheryl Lynn Bruce directs Delgado's immersive documentary theater experience, complete with live music, based on the true story of the 1960's Chicago nightclub, La Habana Madrid. Previews begin April 14. Press opening is Friday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through May 21.
Single tickets to Teatro Vista's season go on sale August 1 via the Victory Gardens box office, (773) 871-3000 and online at teatrovista.org. Single tickets are $20-$35, with discounts for early bird purchasers, students, seniors and groups of 10 or more.
The Richard Christiansen Theater at the Biograph Theater at Victory Gardens Theater is located in the heart of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. Metered, street, nearby garage and valet parking is available.
The theater is also easily accessed on the CTA Red, Purple and Brown lines via the Fullerton stop. Likewise, the #8 Halsted and #74 Fullerton CTA buses stop at the corner of Fullerton and Halsted, just 1/2 block south of the theater.
More about Teatro Vista's 2016-17 season
Parachute Men
A world premiere by Mando Alvarado
Directed by Teatro Vista Executive Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez
Featuring ensemble member Tommy Rivera-Vega
September 10 - October 16, 2016
Previews: Saturday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, September 11 at 3 p.m.; Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, September 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Opening/Press Night: Friday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Performances through October 16: Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m.
It's Christmas Eve. Three brothers - who suck at being brothers, suck at love and suck at being men - are reunited when the oldest, Eric, returns on the anniversary of their mother's death. After a few hours, it's clear that the pecking order has changed and the battle begins to see who can take that baby step into manhood first.
Mando Alvarado (playwright) is an award-winning playwright/screenwriter from South Texas. His play Basilica premiered Off-Broadway at the famous Cherry Lane Theater in NYC. His play Post No Bills received its Off-Broadway premiere at Rattlestick Playwright's Theater. His new play, Diablo Love, had its world premiere at Central Park's Summer Stages, which also produced Alvarado's A King of Infinite Space, a Hamlet/Pearl Jam mash-up and Sangre, an adaptation of Blood Wedding. He also co-wrote the book for the bilingual musical A Yellow Brick Road, an adaptation of Wizard of Oz for Theatreworks USA which received its critically acclaimed Off-Broadway premiere at The Lortel. His short play, Up the 405, premiered as a part of LA Views for Company of Angels in Los Angeles. He is a contributing writer for Theater 167's You Are Now the Owner of This Suitcase. He also participated in the Freight Project where he developed his play (O)n THE 5:31 which was commissioned for Rising Phoenix Rep's Cino Nights at the Seventh Street Small Stage. His first feature film, Cruzando, which he co-wrote and co-directed with Michael Ray Escamilla is available on DVD and was distributed by Vanguard Cinema. He is a member of Rising Phoenix Rep, alum of INTAR's Hispanic-Playwright-in-Residence Laboratory 2006-08, and a graduate of The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He worked on Tyrant for FX and is currently working on Greenleaf for the OWN Network.
Ricardo Gutiérrez (director) is the Executive Artistic Director of Teatro Vista where he recently directed In The Time of the Butterflies. Other Teatro Vista directing credits include Between You, Me and The Lampshade, A View From The Bridge, Momma's Boyz, i put the fear of mexico in'em, and La Mágica posada. Gutiérrez served as the artistic director of Nosotros in Los Angeles and The Canterbury Theatre in Indiana. He is the co-founder of the Alliance of Latino Theatre Artists Chicago (ALTAchicago) a service organization dedicated to promoting and fostering Latino/a theatre artists in Chicago. As an actor, Gutiérrez most recently appeared in In The Heights at The Paramount and in the world premieres of Song For The Disappeared and Fish Menat The Goodman. Later this year he will be appearing in Destiny of Desire at South Coast Repertory and at the Goodman Theatre. Gutiérrez has appeared on stage at the Actors Theatre in Louisville, The Denver Center Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Victory Gardens and Lookingglass Theatre. Recent television credits include Chicago PD, Sirens and Boss.
The Wolf at The End of The Block
A world premiere by Ike Holter
Commissioned by Teatro Vista
Featuring ensemble members Sandra Márquez and Gabriel Ruíz
January 28 - March 5
Previews: Saturday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday,
January 29 at 3 p.m. Wednesday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, February 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Opening/Press Night: Friday, February 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Performances through March 5: Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m.
Chicago. Fall. One night, a boarded up bar on the dark side of the block becomes a terrifying crime scene. In the following 48 hours, the neighborhood digs deep into escalating mystery, working against time to separate fact from fiction. But as the clock ticks down, the clues spiral into a razor sharp jigsaw, and what began as a simple mystery quickly twists into a personal, pointed and political thriller.
The Wolf at The End of The Block is a full-length play with five characters, three of which are Latino. The play is set in Chicago and explores the issues of racial profiling, media manipulation and family relationships. Highly charged, Holter's story is brutally raw, funny and deftly pierces universal truths.
Playwright Ike Holter's work has been produced at Steppenwolf Garage, A Red Orchid, The New Colony and The Inconvenience, where he is a founding member and resident writer. He's received fellowships and commissions from the Goodman Theater, the Kennedy Center and The Playwrights Center. His show Hit the Wall played at Steppenwolf Garage, Off-Broadway at The Barrow Street Theater in New York, and recently enjoyed and extended run at the Lily Tomlin Center in L.A. Jackalope Theatre premiered his new play Exit Strategy which played to sold-out houses and transferred to Michigan's 3 Oaks Theater Festival. It is being produced at Philadelphia Stages and transferred Off Broadway to Primary Stages last spring. His most recent play Sender was a smash hit for A Red Orchid earlier this season. Holter was named the "Chicagoan of the Year" in Theater 2014" by the Chicago Tribune, and his monologues have been published in The New Yorker and several editions of Applause Books. He was recently named one of Victory Gardens' newest ensemble playwrights.
La Havana Madrid by ensemble member Sandra Delgado
Directed by ensemble member Cheryl Lynn Bruce
April 14 - May 21
Presented at a location TBA
Previews: Friday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 16, at 3 p.m.; Wednesday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Opening/Press Night: Friday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Performances through May 21: Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m.
La Havana Madrid is an immersive documentary theatre experience inspired by the Latino Caribbean nightclub that once existed on the corner of Belmont and Sheffield. Audiences will be transported back to 1960s Chicago and experience the stories of the club's patrons and musicians complete with a live band chronicling the history of Caribbean Latino music through the decade from mambo to the birth of salsa.
Playwright Sandra Delgado and Teatro Vista were granted the prestigious Joyce Award to support the development of La Havana Madrid. Delgado is a Colombian-American actor, writer, and producer. Chicago acting credits include 2666, The Upstairs Concierge, Pedro Paramo (co-production with Cuba's Teatro Buendía), Chicago Boys, Mariela in the Desert, Electricidad, Zoot Suit, A Christmas Carol, El Nogalar and Massacre (Sing to Your Children) at The Goodman Theatre; The Motherf**ker with the Hat, The House on Mango Street, Sonia Flew, Words on Fire and Whispering City at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Mojada and Anna in the Tropics at Victory Gardens Theater; Dreamlandia, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and Two Sisters and a Piano (co-production with Apple Tree Theatre) with Teatro Vista; Guinea Pig Solo, Refuge and Casanova with Collaboraction; Summertime at Lookingglass Theatre Company; Undone at About Face Theatre and Esperanza Rising and If All the World Were Paper with Chicago Children's Theatre. Off-Broadway credits include points of departure at INTAR Theatre. Regionally, she has appeared in Ground and Wit at Actors Theatre of Louisville and The Winter's Tale at Missouri Repertory Theatre. TV credits include Empire, Chicago Fire, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Betrayal, Mind Games and the TV movie POWERS. Delgado is an ensemble member of Collaboraction and Teatro Vista and serves on the National Steering Committee for the Latina/o Theatre Commons, an advocacy group for Latino theater artists. She is a TCG Young Leader of Color Alum, a Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events grantee and a 3Arts 3AP Project Grantee. She was the TCG Fox Actor Fellow in residence at the Goodman Theatre (2011-12) and was a member of their Playwright's Unit for the 2015-2016 season. sandradelgado.net
Cheryl Lynn Bruce
Cheryl Lynn Bruce (director) is a Teatro Vista ensemble member. She served as Assistant Director of the company's productions of Tamer of Horses and A View From the Bridge. She has performed on stages across the country as well as in Europe and Mexico, and created the role of Elizabeth Sandry for Steppenwolf's Tony Award-winning production of The Grapes of Wrath, adapted and directed by Frank Galati for Broadway's Cort Theatre, Britain's National Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse. Bruce also workshopped and premiered in RACE, Lookingglass Theatre's inaugural production directed by David Schwimmer and Joy Gregory. Bruce received a 3Arts Award (2010), a 3Arts fellowship to support a five-weeklong Rauschenberg residency (2015), a Jane Addams Hull House Association's Woman of Valor Award (2010) and a Yale Research Residency (2011). She was awarded the 2002 African American Arts Alliance Black Excellence Award and Black Theatre Alliance Award for Outstanding Direction of Endesha Ida Mae Holland's From The Mississippi Delta at Congo Square Theater. Other directing credits include Resurrection by Daniel Beaty and Drip by Gloria Bond Clunie at eta Creative Arts Foundation, Milkweed: A Solo Play by Misty De Berry for Columbia College at Links Hall and Northwestern University, Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston at University of Illinois at Chicago and Congo Square Theater, Cage Rhythm by Kia Korthron for University of Illinois at Chicago and Theatre School at DePaul University, and Permanent Collection by Thomas Gibbons for Indiana University Northwest. In 2006 she was an Inaugural Fellow of the Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at Columbia College. In 2007 Bruce traveled to Japan to study Bunraku puppetry for her staging of Rythm Mastr, Kerry James Marshall's urban comic which premiered at the Wexner Center for the Arts.
About Teatro Vista
Teatro Vista, Theatre with a View, is firmly committed to sharing and celebrating the riches of Latino culture with Chicago theater audiences and beyond. This commitment stems from the belief that there are as many similarities between people as there are differences, and perhaps the answer to breaking down the walls of prejudice and stereotypes lies in understanding these similarities and differences. Ultimately, it is through this "view" that Teatro Vista intends to bridge the gap between Latino and non-Latino cultures in Chicago.
Teatro Vista, founded in 1990 by Eddie Torres and Henry Godinez, is the vanguard of Latino theatre in the United States, a place where Latino and non-Latino artists can expressively flourish and excel to the highest level of theatrical professionalism. The company believes in the transformative power of theater, inclusiveness through the idea that everyone is intricately connected to each other and that sharing stories through performance is an exceptionally potent way to bring people together. It is dedicated to sharing new work by new playwrights in cutting-edge productions and presenting classic plays featuring artists of color.
José Antonio Cruz joined Teatro Vista as Managing Director in June, 2015. Cruz has a Master's Degree in Arts Administration from New York University. Before joining Teatro Vista, he worked for twelve years as Associate Producer for New York's renowned Repertorio Español. During his time at Repertorio Español, Cruz championed the
company's mission of presenting the best of Latin American, Spanish and Hispanic-American culture through the production of numerous plays and musicals. In this role, Cruz devised strategies that resulted in dramatic increases in earned and contributed revenues. Cruz has served on peer review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of New York, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and Theater Communications Group. In 2010, he traveled to Bogotá, Colombia as part of the U.S. delegation to the Iberoamerican Theatre Festival.
In addition Executive Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez,Teatro Vista ensemble members include Charín Álvarez, Max Arciniega, Desmín Borges, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Ramón Camín, Ivonne Coll, Laura Dahl, Sandra Delgado, Liza Fernández, Khanisha Foster, Erik Juárez, Jon Lyon, Sandra Márquez, Joe Minoso, Marcela Muñóz, Christina Nieves, Marvin Quijada, Tommy Rivera-Vega, Gabriel Ruíz, Cecilia Suarez and co-founder Edward Torres.
Teatro Vista's Board of Directors includes Ezequiel "Zeek" Agosto, President; Rodrigo Garcia and Rosanna Marquez, Vice Presidents; Joan Pantsios, Secretary; Tom Vega-Byrnes, Treasurer; and Bhuvana Badrinathan, José Antonio Cruz, Edgar Delgado, Ricardo Gutiérrez and Yvonne Hardy.
Teatro Vista is supported by The Joyce Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Shubert Foundation and The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly
Foundation.
Purple Group is Teatro Vista's Headline Season Sponsor.
Teatro Vista is a Victory Gardens Resident Theater.
For more information, visit teatrovista.org.
