Something Marvelous Presents FIREFLY LOVE

Something Marvelous, a Chicago theater company dedicated to works of magical realism, presents Firefly Love by playwright Alejandro Ricaño, in a new English translation by Héctor Garza. Directed by Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary, Firefly Love runs June 30 to July 15, 2018 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60637. Performance times are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased online at either somethingmarvelous.org or by calling the Athenaeum Theatre box office at 773-935-6875.

Firefly Love tells the story of María, a Mexican woman who has recently traveled to Norway, the homeland of her favorite playwright, Henrik Ibsen. But her dreams of an inspiring getaway are interrupted when she finds a mysterious woman who is identical to her. Enlisting the help of her best friend Lola, she sets off to pursue the other María to the opposite end of the world. Winner of Mexico's esteemed Premio Bellas Artes Mexicali de Dramaturgia in 2011, Firefly Love is both a wacky, irreverent road comedy and poignant reflection on love, sex, faith, and learning to accept yourself-even if your best moments are but a brief flicker.

The play stars actors Steph Vondell, Allyce Carryn Torres, Martin Diaz-Valdes, Víctor Maraña, and Alexa Fajardo Eldridge. The production team includes Alejandro Ricaño (playwright), Héctor Garza (translator), Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary (director), Andrew C. Donnelly (stage manager), Nicholas James Schwartz (scenic design/technical director), Cat Davis (lighting design), Uriel Gómez (Costume Design), Isabella Karina Coelho (puppet design), Jeffrey Levin (original music and sound design), Jessica Renae (intimacy design), and Sean Douglass (dramaturg).

Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary is a Dominican-American who is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, Gray Talent Group, Halcyon Theatre (Associate Artistic Director) Teatro Vista and Collaboraction. She is a Columbia College directing grad who has worked alongside companies such as Chicago Shakespeare, Adventure Stage, Goodman Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Steep, Stage Left, among many others both on and off stage. Selected directing credits include: De Troya (Halcyon), The River Bride (Halcyon), Heat Wave (Steppenwolf Garage). Past selected production credits include: Taming of the Shrew Assistant Director (Barbara Gaines/Chicago Shakes), Romeo and Juliet Directing Intern (Marti Lyons/Chicago Shakes), Fishmen Assistant Director/Casting Director (Goodman Theatre/Teatro Vista). Select acting credits include: Roots in the Alley (Adventure Stage) In the Time of the Butterflies (Teatro Vista), She Kills Monsters (Steppenwolf Garage). She has also been seen on Chicago P.D, Empire, A.P.B, and CHI-IRAQ.

Founded in 2013, Something Marvelous cultivates new works of magical realism and curates a reflective dialogue with the community to examine, broaden, and embolden the genre. Each year the company stages a full production, produces a night of short new plays, conducts workshops of new plays in collaboration with playwrights, and leads a dialogue about imagination in the theater. Past productions include The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl, References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot by José Rivera, the world premieres of Don't Look by Gina Doherty and Johnny 10 Beers' Daughter by Dana Lynn Formby, and numerous short plays. The staff for Something Marvelous includes Artistic Director Emmi Hilger, Executive Director Mary Siegel, Associate Artistic Director Laura Nash, Literary Manager Sarah Mayhan, Casting Director Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, Company Manager Allyce Torres, and Dramaturg Sean Douglass.

For more information, please visit somethingmarvelous.org.

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