Sesame Street's Emilio Delgado Leads Cast Of QUIXOTE NUEVO

Hartford Stage will open its 2019/2020 season with Quixote Nuevo, an inspired, Tejano music-filled, contemporary reimagining of the Miguel de Cervantes classic Don Quixote, by award-winning playwright Octavio Solis. Performances run Thursday, September 19, through Sunday, October 13.

Veteran television and stage actor Emilio Delgado, renowned for his groundbreaking role as Luis on Sesame Street, leads a talented cast in the title role of Quixote/Quijano.

Set in the fictional modern-day border town of La Plancha, Texas, the chivalrous "knight" Don Quixote and his loyal sidekick Sancho embark on a comical yet bittersweet quest for redemption and lost love that touches the lives of all they encounter. Quixote Nuevo is directed by KJ Sanchez and produced in association with Huntington Theatre Company and Alley Theatre.

The spirited, lyrical play debuted at the California Shakespeare Festival last year to rave reviews. The San Francisco Chronicle praised Quixote Nuevo as "inspired, heartbreaking and very funny." CultureVulture hailed it as an "extremely relatable, relevant and entertaining modern theatrical event." The Bay Area News Group wrote Quixote Nuevo "...pulses with the earthly poetry of the Southwest."

Playwright Octavio Solis's work - which includes Mother Road, Hole in the Sky, Lydia, and The Ballad of Pancho and Lucy - has been produced by theatres across the country. In 2012, Hartford Stage staged a reading of Se Llama Cristina as part of its Brand:NEW Festival of New Work. Solis is the recipient of an NEA Playwriting Fellowship, the Kennedy Center's Roger L. Stevens Award, the National Latino Playwriting Award, the 2018 Imagen Award for his consulting work on the animated Pixar film Coco, and the 2019 Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award from the William Inge Theatre Festival. He is also the author of Retablos: Stories of a Life Lived Along the Border, a memoir of his life growing up in El Paso, Texas.

Acclaimed playmaker KJ Sanchez has directed reimagined classics, new plays and her own documentary plays Off-Broadway and at theatres across the country. She has directed works by Dan Dietz, Kyle Schmidt, Heather Raffo, Jose Rivera, Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Kristoffer Diaz. Sanchez is the founder and CEO of American Records, which is dedicated to "making theatre that chronicles our time." She is director, co-author and producer of the critically-acclaimed ReEntry, a searing look at the lives of Marines preparing to return home from combat, which has toured extensively across the country and abroad.

Actor Emilio Delgado, who is reprising his role in Quixote Nuevo, portrayed beloved handyman Luis on Sesame Street from 1971 to 2015. In 1972, Delgado was cast to understudy Raul Julia in Two Gentleman of Verona on Broadway. Additional stage credits include productions with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Round House Theatre, and Manhattan Theatre Source. More recently, he portrayed Claudius in Hamlet, Prince of Cuba at the Asolo Repertory Theatre. Delgado was a recurring cast member on The Lou Grant Show and has guest starred on numerous popular television series, including Hawaii 5-0, Quincy, Police Story, House of Cards, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: SVU.

Also reprising their roles in Quixote Nuevo are Juan Manuel Amador (Between Riverside and Crazy..., San Jose Stage Company; Oedipus El Rey, Magic Theatre), as Sancho Panza/Manny Dias; Hugo E. Carbajal (The River Bride, Arizona Theatre Company; Freedomland, San Francisco Mime Troupe) as Papa Calaca; and Gianna DiGregorio Rivera (The Importance of Being Earnest, Aurora Theatre Company; Arcadia, Shotgun Players) as Antonia, Ines, and Calaca.

New to the Quixote Nuevo cast are Orlando Arriaga (72 Miles to Go..., Alley Theatre; Don Pedro De La Cebolla, Symphony Space) as Cardenio and Padre Perez; Gisela Chipe (Indecent, Guthrie Theater; Water by the Spoonful, The Studio Theatre) as Dulcinea/Dr. Campos; Krystal Hernandez (Miss You Like Hell, American Repertory Theatre; Laughs in Spanish, Boston Playwrights' Theatre) as Juana and Rosario; Ivan Jasso (Deferred Action, Dallas Theater Center; Office Hour, Circle Theatre) as Bruno, Young Quijano, Yard Sale Guy and Calaca; and Mariela Lopez-Ponce (Hamlet, Apollinaire Theatre Company; Living Out, Lyric Stage Company) as Magdalena.

Quixote Nuevo's creative team includes Scenic Designer Takeshi Kata (Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Hartford Stage); Costume Designer Rachel Healy (Next to Normal, Writers Theatre); Lighting Designer Brian Lilienthal (KNYUM, Merrimack Repertory Theatre); Composer and Sound Designer David R. Molina (Two Trains Running, Seattle Repertory Theatre and Arena Stage); and Co-Composer/Music Director Eduardo Robledo (Steeltown, Music & Lyrics-San Francisco Mime Troupe).

Rob Chikar (Make Believe, Hartford Stage) is the Stage Manager. Kasson Marroquin (The Light, MCC Theater) is Assistant Stage Manager.

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