Pa'lante Theatre Company Debuts at Seven Angels Theatre With World Premiere of CALLING PUERTO RICO

Pa'lante Theater Company (PTC), Connecticut's first and only Afro-Latine Black Box theater company, announced its arrival on the Nutmeg State's theatre scene with the world premiere of New York playwright Juan Ramirez Jr.'s Calling Puerto Rico: For the Island and to Hope. The drama about a Puerto Rican family grappling with the effects of Hurricane Maria both on the island and in New York will be directed by Pa'lante Founder and Artistic Director Rafael Feliciano-Roman. Calling Puerto Rico is produced in association with the award-winning Seven Angels Theatre.

Calling Puerto Rico will run for two weekends, February 17 through February 26, at Seven Angels, 1 Plank Road in Waterbury, CT. Performances are Fridays at 2pm; Saturdays at 2pm and 7pm; and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are on sale now at taino-nation.org/palantetheater or SevenAngelsTheatre.org or by calling the Seven Angels box office at 203-757-4676. All seats are $20 plus applicable fees. Tickets will also be available at the door.

A portion of any proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to CT Helps Puerto Rico, a Connecticut fund that helps the island of Puerto Rico recover from damaging hurricanes, most recently Hurricane Fiona.

In New York City, Joel is an amateur radio operator who has not been out of his attic apartment for about a year. He gets news about Tropical Storm Maria and the potential it has to harm Puerto Rico. Worried, he decides to reach out over the radio to a man he hasn't spoken to in a long time: his grandfather, Aníbal.

Playwright Juan Ramirez, Jr. states, "My play is meant to do exactly what the title suggests, a calling to my people. The only way to present this play is with love. Pa'lante Theater Company acts on this same mission, because 'Pa'lante' means to go forward and that's exactly where our stories need to go. Meeting Pa'lante Artistic Director Rafael Feliciano-Romano for the first time was like discovering a brother you never knew you had, but your heart was always aware of. I am forever in support to anyone that actively chooses to uplift my community, especially by establishing a welcoming home. Hope to see you there. The doors are open." Ramirez will be available for Q&A after shows on the 25th and 26th of February.

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