ACT Presents Rivera's New Work BOLEROS FOR THE DISENCHANTED 5/7-5/31

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2008-09 season with Boleros for the Disenchanted, the brilliant new work by José Rivera (A.C.T.'s Brainpeople, Marisol), the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of The Motorcycle Diaries. One of Rivera's most personal plays, Boleros for the Disenchanted explodes with pungent humor and visceral longing and desire, filtered through his unique poetic language.

OBIE Award winner Rivera explores the ineffable dreams of lovers in the first act set in an exuberant Puerto Rican village in 1953, when a young woman's search for true love takes an unexpected course. Jumping almost 40 years later in America, a daring second act probes the darker truths of marriage-all while reverberating with the gorgeous sounds of Latin love songs, or boleros. Directed by A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff, Boleros for the Disenchanted plays at A.C.T. May 7-31, 2009. Opening night is Wednesday, May 13, 2009, at 8 p.m. Tickets-starting at $14-are available by calling A.C.T. Ticket Services at 415.749.2228, or at www.act-sf.org.

Rivera found his inspiration for his award-winning new play close to home-in the marriage of his parents. "The idea of Boleros is to examine a long-term relationship and how the love you feel for somebody is severely tested when life throws obstacles and tragedies in your way," says the playwright. The play takes us from the passionate beginnings of one couple's love in Puerto Rico to the later years of their marriage in Alabama, where their relationship faces obstacles and heartbreak. The personal nature of the story combined with Rivera's poetic and rich language creates a play that is a touching ode to love, marriage, and his birthplace, Puerto Rico. "I literally thought about this play for 10 years, wondered about it, and daydreamed about it-but I didn't write a word until two years ago. Almost all of my work is inspired by something deeply personal, coupled with the larger social and political forces around me. Writing about Puerto Rico was liberating because I was born in Puerto Rico but I left the island when I was four years old."
"Reading Boleros for the Disenchanted for the first time gave me that extraordinary feeling you hope for every time you read a new play-I felt moved and incredibly fulfilled," says Perloff. "This is an extremely rich play that is both deeply culturally specific and also completely universal. José will be with us during the rehearsal process and I really look forward to this collaboration."

The multi-generational cast takes on multiple roles including the pivotal roles of the central couple, Eusebio and Flora, in the 40 years of their relationship. The aged couple in the second act of the play is played by veterans of film, television, and theater Robert Beltran and Rachel Ticotin. Acclaimed television and theater actor Robert Beltran takes on the double roles of the older Eusebio in the second act and Flora's father, Don Fermin, in the first. Most recognized for his work on Star Trek: Voyager and, more recently, Big Love, Beltran is also a celebrated classical actor and director who led the East L.A. Classic Theater Group, which he founded to train and give opportunities to minority actors. Rachel Ticotin plays Older Flora in the second act and Flora's mother, Dona Milla, in the first. She has appeared in numerous movies including Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Total Recall and has extensive theater credits including Lady Macduff in Macbeth starring Patrick Stewart on Broadway. The young couple in the 1950s is played by newcomers Drew Cortese and Lela Loren making their Bay Area debut. Rounding out the cast are Dion Mucciacito and Michele Vazquez, playing a series of family members and friends of the couple over their 40-year relationship.

The couple meets against the background of steamy Puerto Rican music coming out of a local jukebox, and fragments of those magical boleros will float throughout the production, as written by master composer and sound designer Fabian Obispo. The creative team that will create the dual world 1950s Puerto Rico and America in the 1990s includes Ralph Funicello (scenic designer), Nancy Schertler (lighting designer), and Sandra Woodall (costume designer).

A.C.T.'s production of Boleros for the Disenchanted is made possible by the Farella Braun + Martel LLP with additional support by Carey Perloff Artistic Directors Production Fund, an endowed fund of The Next Generation Campaign. A.C.T. would also like to acknowledge executive producers Patti and Rusty Rueff and Carlie Wilmans; producers Kimberly and Simon Blattner, Marilee K. Gardner, F. Eugene and Mary S. Metz, and Dr. Gideon and Cheryl Sorokin; and associate producers Mr. and Mrs. John M. Bryan, David and Vicki Fleishhacker, and Michele Ballard Miller. A.C.T.'s company sponsors include Roberta B. Bialek, Rena Bransten, Priscilla and Keith Geeslin, Burt and Deedee McMurtry, Kathleen Scutchfield, Jeff and Laurie Ubben, and Ms. Susan Van Wagner.

Tickets for Boleros for the Disenchanted can be purchased by visiting A.C.T. Ticket Services, located at 405 Geary Street, by calling 415.749.2228, or via the A.C.T. website at www.act-sf.org. Groups of 15 or more people are eligible for discounts; please call Edward Budworth at 415.439.2473.

Sponsored by Bank of the West, a Bring What You Can/Pay What You Wish performance will be held on Thursday, May 14, 2009, at 8 p.m. Patrons will be allowed to pay any amount for tickets when they bring a donation of children's books, diapers, or coffee beans to benefit Raphael House, a shelter and support program for homeless families in San Francisco's Tenderloin District. Patrons are limited to one ticket per donated item, one ticket per person. Tickets go on sale at 6 p.m. the day of the performance.

 

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