Greenway Arts Alliance Announces One-Week Extension For I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER

Due to popular demand, Greenway Arts Alliance has announced a one-week extension for I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER, based on the #1 New York Times Bestseller novel of the same name by Erika L. Sánchez (Lessons on Expulsion, Crying in the Bathroom), adapted for the stage by Isaac Gómez (Steppenwolf Theatre’s La Ruta, Off-Brodway’s the way she spoke, Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico, Kings of America) and directed by Sara Guerrero (UCI’s The Sweetheart Deal, The Playhouse’s She Kills Monsters). The production, which sold out before its first paid, public performance on February 3, 2024, is now extended through March 3, 2024.  I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER plays at Greenway Court Theatre (544 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles).

“We were thrilled that our production of I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER sold out before the first performance last week and cannot be more pleased by the overwhelming positive responses by our patrons. This exciting and heart-warming production is filling Greenway Court Theatre with multi-generational theatregoers, and we are so happy that we can extend this production for one more week,” said Greenway Arts Alliance Co-Founder and Co-Producing Artistic Director Whitney Weston. 

“We knew that Erika L. Sánchez’s beautifully written novel, which was incredibly adapted by Isaac Gómez and directed by the visionary Sara Guerrero, would be a perfect production for both our GreenwayREADS program for Fairfax High School and LAUSD students and our Greenway Court Theatre patrons,” said Greenway Arts Alliance Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director Pierson Blaetz. “We are glad that we are able to offer free student matinee performances to 600 future theatregoers and that the one-week extension will allow for more of our loyal theatre patrons to see this exquisite play.”

I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER follows Julia, a Chicago high school student as she navigates trials and tribulations of following her dreams of becoming a writer alongside the death of her sister, Olga—who might not have been quite as perfect as she seemed. This poignant and vibrant new work is a love story of young Chicanas who, in trying to find the truth about the people and the world around them, end up finding themselves.

The cast of I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER features Gabriela Machuca as Julia (At the Gathering, I Lost My Phone), Heather Lee Echeverria as Olga/Others (New Swan Shakespeare Festival’s As You Like It, Member of Brown Bag Theatre Company), Presciliana Esparolini as Ama/Others (Mayans M.C., La Jolla Playhouse’s Billy the Kid), Michael Uribes as Apa/Others (The Unofficial, Unsanctioned Obama Musical, FountainTheatre’s Detained), Christian Zamudio as Junga/Others (Juniors, Station 19), Jacob Cherry as Conner (Rogue Machine’s A Bright New Boise, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s Accommodation), Andrew Colford as Mr. Ingman(Theatre Barn’s The Nerd, Bristol Valley Theater’s To Kill A Mockingbird), and Noelle Howe as Lorena/Others(OCCT’s Hairspray, Attic Community Theater’s Urinetown: The Musical.

Joining Isaac Gómez and Sara Guerrero are set designer Christopher Scott Murillo, lighting designer Karyn Lawrence, sound designer Vincent Oliveri, projections designer Sam Clevenger, costume designer Carolyn Mazuca, technical director Rene Parras, director of movement and creative collaborator Estela Garcia, casting by Michael Donovan / Richie Ferris – CSA, intimacy director Carly DW Bones, and stage manager Pam Noles. 

In this year's GreenwayREADS program, the selected novel I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER,students are engaged through a dynamic curriculum. Teachers collaborate with skilled Teaching Artists, using theatre games and activities to explore the novel's themes. The focus is on fostering a passion for both reading and theatre. Following the five-week sessions, students attend a professional staged production of the book, where they can meet the actors, author, and/or playwright in enlightening talkback sessions. Through GreenwayREADS, 600 Fairfax High School and LAUSD students will see a free matinee performance of I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER.

Greenway Arts Alliance’s educational wing, the Greenway Institute of the Arts (GIA), will incorporate the novel and stage production into Fairfax High School’s curriculum through the GreenwayREADS program. Greenway's multi-disciplinary approach to programming will focus on the novel's themes while bringing it to life on stage and through arts education and special events. GreenwayREADS program have included George Orwell’s 1984, Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, among other novels. 

I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER will play at Greenway Court Theatre, 544 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Performances run through March 3, 2024 only.  Note: The Saturday, March 2 show at 7:00 p.m. is a special fundraising performance for Greenway Arts Alliance – tickets start at $40 with the option to make an additional donation to the theatre. The performance schedule is Saturdays and Sundays at 7:00 p.m. General admission tickets are $40, and student/senior (65+) discounted tickets are $15. Tickets are available online at GreenwayCourtTheatre.org. Audience engagement activity will be held immediately after select performance. Visit GreenwayCourtTheatre.org or call 323-673-0544 for more information. 

I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER includes the following: mature themes, mentions of sexual violence, simulated sex, violence, drug use, depiction of death, depictions of self-harm and suicidality.

Erika L. Sánchez’s I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER was originally published in 2017 by Random House Children’s Books. Sánchez was a National Book Award Finalist. The book was a #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list. The novel was later adapted for the stage by Los Angeles based playwright Isaac Gómez in 2020 at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, and in January 2023, the play was presented at Seattle Rep. America Ferrera will be making her directorial film debut with I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER.

Tickets for the extension are now available at www.GreenwayCourtTheatre.org.

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