Cast, Production Team Announced For Sandra Delgado's LA HAVANA MADRID At Teatro Vista

Anticipation is building for the spring return of La Havana Madrid, Chicago Latinx playwright and actor Sandra Delgado's smash hit, all-immersive theatrical event inspired by true stories of a 1960's Chicago nightclub and immigrant melting pot, La Havana Madrid.

La Havana Madrid, returning as an an enhanced co-production between Teatro Vista and Collaboraction, will be remounted May 11-June 22 in the Heath Mainstage at the Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Press opening is Friday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets, $30-$60, are on sale now. Visit thedentheatre.com or call the Den Theatre Box office, (773) 697-3830, for tickets and information.

Back by popular demand, La Havana Madrid transports audiences back to a popular 1960s Chicago nightclub of the same name, where Latin0 immigrants new to Chicago found refuge to gather, meet, sing, dance, dine, find love and discover their destinies. Inspired by real stories of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Colombian immigrants, La Havana Madrid recreates a special time and place in Chicago history by immersing audiences in the lively music of that decade. Throughout, La Havana Madrid reveals how and why Latinos originally migrated to the shores of Lake Michigan, only to be pushed further west away from the lake by the forces of gentrification and racism.

Today, Collaboraction and Teatro Vista announced the cast and design team for the return of La Havana Madrid. Sandra Delgado, both a Teatro Vista ensemble member and a founding company member of Collaboraction, will reprise her role as La Havana Madrid, the evening's lead singer and mystical mistress of ceremonies who channels audiences through a series of true stories of Latino immigrants in Chicago, how and why they arrived here, the barriers they overcame, and their lasting impact from generation to generation still today.

Teatro Vista ensemble members Tommy Rivera-Vega and Marvin Quijada will return as young immigrants new to Chicago who each met, danced, loved and lost at La Havana Madrid. Chicago actor and comedian Mike Oquendo also returns as Tony Quintana, the once owner of La Havana Madrid and host of the 1960s Chicago radio show Tony's Latin A-Go-Go.

Also back is legendary Colombian-American musician Roberto "Carpacho" Marin and his band of 30 years, Carpacho y Su Super Combo. Together with Delgado and the cast, Carpacho y Su Super Combo chronicles the history of Caribbean Latino music, live, from mambo, to cumbia, to the birth of salsa. And yes, by the end of the show, audience members need little encouragement to get on their feet and dance right along.

New to the cast are Teatro Vista ensemble members Ayssette Mu oz as Maria, one of 14,000 unaccompanied minors who made a mass exodus to the U.S. in the early 1960s as part of Operation Peter Pan, and Ilse Zacharias as Myrna, a force-of-nature Puerto Rican beauty queen with big plans to break through the glass ceiling of Chicago's Latino community. Victor Musoni is cast as Carlos, a streetwise Puerto Rican teen from Lincoln Park who has a political awakening through his photography. Alix Rhode will play Maruja, Henry's long-distance Colombian bride who he saves and sends for to join him in Chicago.

Teatro Vista ensemble member Cheryl Lynn Bruce, who directed the 2017 world premiere, returns to re-stage Delgado's theatrical, cinematic and musical history of Latino Caribbeans in Chicago.

Planned updates to the physical production include a reimagined, more immersive set and video design that will evoke an actual night out at a real Chicago 1960s Latino nightclub, complete with cabaret seating, a dance floor and a small stage for the live band.

Original designers returning to help Bruce, the cast and the band re-realize this enhanced immersive environment are Collaboraction company members Elsa Hiltner (costumes) and Liviu Pasare (projections), along with Heather Skye Sparling (lights) and Teatro Vista ensemble member Jennifer Aparicio (production manager). New to the La Havana Madrid production team are Jose Manuel Diaz (set), Robert Hornbostel (sound) and Collaboraction company member Caitlin Body (stage manager).

Teatro Vista's 2017 world premiere of La Havana Madrid resonated deeply with Chicagoans from all different backgrounds and ages. It played to capacity crowds at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre and The Miracle Center in Hermosa and then transferred for an extended summer run in the Goodman's Owen Theatre that drew record attendance.

Chicago's leading Latinx newspaper Hoy wrote La obra tiene la magia de conectar a la comunidad, de revivir recuerdos ( the work has the magic of connecting to the community, of reliving memories. ) New City and Time Out Chicago hailed La Havana Madrid one of the Best of 2017. Time Out's readers named it Best New Work. The Chicago Tribune hailed La Havana Madrid heartfelt and fascinating bursting with music and warmth."

I am thrilled that my two artistic homes are coming together to bring La Havana Madrid back to life. Both companies have a long history of collaborating and La Havana Madrid fits perfectly into their complementary missions, that of telling Latinx stories and uniting Chicagoans, said Delgado.

I am especially excited to be in the Heath Mainstage at the Den Theatre for the evolution of the La Havana Madrid experience. This malleable space is exactly what I have always envisioned for La Havana Madrid. With the combined strength of two companies, we will be able to fully realize the vision I have always had in mind, complete with immersive staging and evocative projections, that will transport audiences back to 1960's Chicago.

Previews of La Havana Madrid are Saturday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, May 12 at 3 p.m., and Wednesday and Thursday, May 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. Press opening is Friday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run though June 22: Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $30 general admission, $50 table seat and $60 front row table seat. Tickets are on sale now at thedentheatre.com or call the Den at (773) 697-3830. Group discounts available.

The Den Theatre is located at 1331 N. Milwaukee Avenue in the heart of Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Metered street parking is available on Milwaukee and surrounding side streets. Street parking can be difficult to find, so arrive early to secure a spot and then come by The Den for a pre-show drink at the bar. The Den is close to the CTA Blue Line Division Street stop, and the 9 Ashland, 70 Division and 56 Milwaukee CTA bus lines. For more information, visit thedentheatre.com.

"This is ultimately a Chicago story. This is our story, our story as a city." - Sandra Delgado Flash back to Goodman Theatre's video trailer for La Havana Madrid, circa summer 2017.

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