TheaterWorksUSA Announces Return of Family Summer Theater With New Bi-lingual Musical, EL OTRO OZ

TheaterWorksUSA will bring Family Summer Theater back to New York audiences with the NYC premiere of El Otro Oz.

Join la fiesta and journey to El Otro Oz! Click your heels together tres veces and take a transformative journey with this salsa, merengue, and Mexican folk-infused musical. As her fifteenth birthday approaches, Dora, a contemporary Latiné teenager, struggles with her family's ideas about tradition and dreads her impending quinceañera! But, when Dora gets swept away to a strange new land, she learns how to celebrate her unique rhythm and embrace her cultural identity.

El Otro Oz features a book by Mando Alvarado (Basilica, Post No Bill, Parachute Men) and Tommy Newman (Band Geeks, The Single Girl's Guide, and Tinyard Hill), and music and lyrics by Jaime Lozano (Children of Salt, A Never-Ending Line, Songs by an Immigrant) and Tommy Newman. Orchestrations and arrangements are by Salomon Lerner and Jaime Lozano. Direction is by Elena Araoz. Scenic design is by Frank J. Oliva, costume design is by Christopher Vergara, and puppet design is by Jessica Scott. Choreography is by Andrea Guajardo and music direction is by James Osorio. The company includes Mayelah Barrera, Regina Carregha, Juan Danner, Gerardo Esparza, Indra Palomo, and Rafa Reyes, with Victoria Sanchez as stage manager.

The NYC Tour will run from June 21 through July 10 with stops at Pregones/PRRT, El Museo del Barrio, the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, and the Jamaica Performing Arts Center at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning. On July 7 at 7:30pm, a Pay What You Will performance is being held at El Teatro at El Museo del Barrio to raise additional funds to subsidize the other performances. Donors who contribute $150 to TheaterWorksUSA will have access to four premium reserved seats at that performance. All other performances are free and general admission. Visit WWW.TWUSA.ORG/FAMILY-SUMMER-THEATER for more information and to reserve tickets.

Barbara Pasternack, TheaterWorksUSA's Artistic Director said, "Our hope is that this re-envisioned bilingual El Otro Oz impacts audiences, artists, and their surrounding NYC communities - and accessibility is key. Latiné/Latinx and Spanish-speaking young people and their families, especially those who are new to theatergoing, will see themselves represented on stage and understand that theater as a medium can speak to their experiences, and leave with the belief that theater is a cultural and communal outlet where they belong and are encouraged to participate."

"This multi-generational musical is so honest about what many families contend with - working to keep our traditions and languages while trying to belong in the United States. I'm honored to tell this joyous story that is so close to my experience," said director Elena Araoz.

Jaime Lozano, composer, and lyricist added, "Being an Immigrant myself, building my home far away from home, and with the challenge of raising my son Alonzo born in the United States, there's no show I relate to more than El Otro Oz. I strongly believe in the power of representation, and I am sure new audiences are going to be able to see themselves on stage and off stage through this show thanks to TheaterWorksUSA and their important mission."

"Working on El Otro Oz allowed me to share my experience growing up on the US/Mexico border," book writer Mando Alvarado said. "I struggled with accepting and embracing my Mexican and my American identity. My hope is that once the audience goes through the journey with Dora, they'll come to celebrate the bicultural aspects of who they are."

Family Summer Theater is made possible, in part, with generous support from The Miranda Family Fund, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, The Shubert Foundation, The Lucille Lortel Foundation, The Chanel Family Foundation, and The Frederick Loewe Foundation. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. TheaterWorksUSA's programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. To make a donation or learn more about TheaterWorksUSA, visit WWW.TWUSA.ORG.

"TheaterWorksUSA is thrilled to be bringing Family Summer Theater back to New York City this summer. Gathering families and communities to share live theater is a core objective of our mission and we are especially excited to be doing so with the incredible group of artists creating El Otro Oz." said Michael Harrington, TheaterWorksUSA's Executive Director. "After a challenging couple of years that prevented us from continuing our tradition of summer theater for families, we cannot express enough gratitude to our funders who have helped us with this return and to our venue partners who share our commitment to accessibility and inclusivity in the theater."

TheaterWorksUSA has led the Theater for Young and Family Audiences movement in New York City and across North America for over half a century. At TWUSA, we believe that access to art-and theater, in particular-is vital for our youth. Since 1961, the 501(c)3 not-for-profit has captured the imaginations of 100 million new and veteran theatergoers with an award-winning repertoire of over 140 original plays and musicals. Acclaimed alumni include Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Disney's Frozen), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent), Jerry Zaks (The Music Man), Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen), Miguel Cervantes (Hamilton), Kathleen Chalfant (Angels in America), and Chuck Cooper (Tony award winning actor, The Life). Visit WWW.TWUSA.ORG for more information.