Architect Frank Gehry Designs Set for AY, CARMELA! West Coast Premiere, Beginning Tonight

The Stella Adler Theatre is thrilled to present the West Coast Premiere of AY, CARMELA!, written by José Sanchis Sinisterra, adapted by Nilo Cruz and Catalina Botello, with Scenic Design by noted Architect Frank Gehry (his Los Angeles Intimate Theatre debut!) and directed by Alberto Arvelo.

AY, CARMELA! will preview tonight, November 13 at 8pm and will open on Saturday, November 14 at 8pm and run through Sunday, December 13 at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood.

There is no other play that represents contemporary Spanish theatre with more profound spirit, presence and fundamental prowess as AY, CARMELA!

Since premiering in 1987, this celebrated play has been performed around the world and brought to the silver screen by Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura. The play debuted in the US at Repertorio Español in New York in 2010 to critical acclaim. Written by José Sanchis Sinisterra, a Spanish icon of the theatre, AY CARMELA! is a living monument to Spanish culture, idiosyncrasy and sensibility.

AY, CARMELA! is a rare juxtaposition of comedy and drama weaving a metaphor of hope and courage. Carmela and Paulino are vaudeville performers making a living traveling with their comedy act during Spain's violent Civil War. They confront the absurdity of war when a simple twist of fate puts them behind enemy lines and forces them to perform for military officials and condemned prisoners. Carmela and Paulino must choose to forego everything they have ever believed in...or surrender to certain death.

Fusing comedy, flamenco, and the brutality of war, AY CARMELA! is a riot act that will have you contemplating the meaning of human nature, love and hope long after the final curtain.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST:

ALBERTO ARVELO (Director) Born in Venezuela, Arvelo has developed a cinematographic body of work recognized for the profound social and human burden of his characters and by the visual power of his films. Two of his most emblematic works, One Life and Two Trails(1997) and A House with a View of the Sea (2001), form part of an exploration of the South American Andes. A House with a View of the Sea was an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival and received 18 international awards.

As a professor at the National School of Cinema in Mérida, Venezuela, Arvelo initiated an original film movement known as Cine Átomo, (Atom Cinema) focused on creating real opportunities for young Latin American directors. Based on a Cervantes short story, the first movie produced using the mechanics of this movement was Habana Havana (2004), directed by Arvelo. The film was given the Critic Awards at the Valladolid Film Festival as well as the Venezuelan National Film Award, among a dozen international recognitions. Arvelo's Cyrano Fernández (2007), is an adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand's classic play. Arvelo's film preserves the essence of the love triangle, depicting it in the complex and breathtaking environment of a slum in Caracas. Cyrano Fernández was premiered at the AFI Festival of Los Angeles.

Most recently, Arvelo directed Libertador (The Liberator) in 2014, based on the life South American independence hero, Simón Bolívar, staring by Edgar Ramirez, María Valverde, Danny Huston, Iwan Roen, Imanol Arias and Gary Lewis. Libertador was premiered at Toronto Film Festival.

JOSÉ SANCHIIS SINISTERRA (Playwright) Born in Valencia Spain 1940, José Sanchis Sinisterra has become one of the most influential dramatists of his generation. In 1960 he created the Theatre Study Center at the University of Valencia, which was to last until 1966 and until 1989 he held various Professorships in Theatre Studies and Hispanic Literature at the Universities of Barcelona and Valencia. He has been Professor of the Theatre Institute of Barcelona since 1971.

In 1977 he founded El Teatro Fronterizo in Barcelona, where he continues to be the director to this day. From 1981-84 he presided over The Association of Alternative Culture and since 1988 has been the Director of the Sala Beckett (part of El Teatro Fronterizo). He has taken part in and led numerous International theatrical forums in Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela, Mexico, Italy and Chile. He has published various literary articles on the theatre in Primer Acto, Cuardernos para el diálogo, Estudios Escénicos, Cuardernos de Pedagogia, Pipirijaina, El Público and Pausa.

He is the author of over thirty plays, both original works and adaptations, produced principally in El Teatro Fronterizo in Barcelona: Tú no importa quién , 1962; Demasiado frío, 1965; Algo así como Hamlet , 1970; Tendenciosa manipulatión de textos de La Celestina de Fernando de Rojas , 1974; Escenas de Terror y miseria en el primer franquismo , 1979; La noche de Molly Bloom, del Ulises de James Joyce , 1979; Naque o De piojos y actores , 1980; El Retablo de Eldorado , 1984; Crímenes y locuras del traidor Lope de Aguirre ,1986;Pervertimiento y Otros gestos para nada ,1986; Ay, Carmela!,1986; El canto de la rana,1987; Carta de la Maga a Bebé Rocamadour, de Rayuela de Julio Cortázar , 1987; Los figurantes ,1988; Perdida en los Apalaches ,1990; Naufragios de Alvar Núnez , 1991;Mísero Prospero , 1992; Valeria y los pájaros , 1992; Bienvendias , 1993; El cerco de Leningrado ,1993; Dos tristes tigres ,1993; Marsal Marsal , 1994; El lector por horas ,1996.

In the theatre he has directed works by: Cervantes, Lope de Rueda, Lope de Vega, Joan de Timoneda, Moliere, Racine, Shakespeare, Pirandello, Chekhov, Strindberg, O'Neill, Saroyan, Cocteau, Giraudoux, Anouilh, Brecht, Kipphard, Dragún, Rodriguez Mendez, Brossa andBeckett . As well as directing several of his own plays he has also adapted many narrative texts by Joyce, Kafka, Melville, Sábato, Collazos and Beckett .

FRANK GEHRY (Set Design) Raised in Toronto, Canada, Frank Gehry moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1947. Mr. Gehry received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California in 1954, and he studied City Planning at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. In subsequent years, Mr. Gehry has built an architectural career that has spanned over five decades and produced public and private buildings in America, Europe and Asia. His work has earned Mr. Gehry several of the most significant awards in the architectural field, including the Pritzker Prize. Notable projects include Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California; Eight Spruce Street Residential Tower located in New York City; Opus Hong Kong Residential; Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, France; the Biomuseo in Panama; and the Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building for the University of Technology, in Sydney, Australia. Current projects include: King Street Development in Toronto, Ontario; Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia; Battersea Power Station Development, London, United Kingdom; Grand Avenue Development, Los Angeles, California; Facebook Campuses in New York City, Seattle, London and Dublin; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; and the Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, D.C. Projects under construction include the LUMA / Parc des Ateliers in Arles, France; Divan Orchestra in Berlin, Germany; the Ohr O. Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Mississippi, and the West Campus for Facebook in Menlo Park, California.

ELOÍSA MATURÉN (Carmela/Producer) is a classical trained dancer who also obtained a Summa Cum Laude degree in Mass Communication at Universidad Central de Venezuela. With ten years of professional experience at the National Ballet Teresa Carreño Theatre in Caracas and a profound and avant-garde artistic vision, Maturén has fused her varied careers into one.

In 2012, Maturén started her path as an actress supported by the prestigious Cannes's Camera d'Or winner Fina Torres. She shared the lead role in Torres' last movie Liz in September with actress and international super-model Patricia Velasquez (Premiered to great acclaimed in September 2014). In 2013, Eloísa made her way back to theater, acting, singing and dancing the role of "Hunyak" in the Venezuelan production of the musical CHICAGO directed by Luis Fernández. In 2008, Maturén founded Ciclorama Scenic Productions, a company focused on the production of dance, theater and music events in Venezuela and abroad. Ciclorama's most recent production is the "Vive la Danza" Festival, an artistic celebration of dance in all forms. Ciclorama has already produced three editions of the Festival which happens every two years in Caracas. It has been praised by critics and audiences alike, making it a must see event in the city.

In 2010, she produced a multimedia program for the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall for the festival "Americans and the Americas", including "La Cantata Criolla" an epic Venezuela poem tone.

Maturén also produced the documentaries "Dudamel, Let The Children Play" directed by Alberto Arvelo, and "Don Armando" by Jonathan Reverón.

Her journalistic writing has focused on dance, music, and fine arts, and she has been a contributing journalist to El Nacional , the largest metropolitan newspaper in Venezuela, for several years.

ALEJANDRO FURTH (Paulino) In 1998, Alejandro moved to the Big Apple to pursue an education at the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. Soon after, roles in such plays as Cutting Open Wings, 4 Cows in NYC and the Off-Broadway hit Bomber Jackets, quickly followed. He tackled directing for the stage, with the Off-Broadway, world-premiere of Blind Alley. While in New York, he was a member of The Lab Theatre (formerly Circle Rep Lab) and the LAByrinth Theater Company.

Once in Hollywood and despite his work in TV and film, Alejandro didn't forget his theater roots; he founded La Comuna, the Latino producing unit of the award winning MET Theatre in Hollywood, where he directed and produced new works. He is also a member of the award winning company The Elephant Theatre, where he starred in the West Coast premiere of the Tony award nominee Stephen Adly Guirgis' play The Little Flower of East Orange.

His film and TV credits in the US include: FX's "Justified", "Nip/Tuck" and "The Shield"; "Alias", "The Practice", "Medium", "Studio 60", "Criminal Minds", "Las Vegas", among others. He scored recurrent guest-star roles in "CSI: Miami" and "What about Brian", as well as supporting roles in the blockbusters "Dreamgirls", "Fun with Dick and Jane." and "La Hora Zero". The past few years have kept Alejandro working overseas. Mr. Furth co-stared in Libertador, a film directed by Alberto Arvelo that stars Edgar Ramirez, which made the short list for the 2015 Oscar for "Best Foreign Film."

AY, CARMELA! has assembled an award-winning design team. Set Design is by Frank Gehry. Lighting Design is by Ovation Award-winner Jeremy Pivnick. Sound Design is by Stage Raw Award-winner Chris Moscatiello. Costume Design is by Ovation and LAWeekly Award Nominee Dianne Graebner.

AY, CARMELA! will preview on Friday, November 13 at 8pm and will open on Saturday, November 14 at 8pm and run through Sunday, December 13 at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm & Sundays at 3:00pm. Ticket prices are $30.00. for all performances. Previews, Students and Seniors are $25.00. Tickets and more information about the show are available at www.plays411.com/aycarmela or by calling (323) 960-7792. Student Discounts are available.

To post a comment, you must register and login.