LA RAZÓN BLINDADA Begins At 24th St Theatre In May

How to stand up to a dictator in seven performances: 24th Street Theatre revives its sublimely witty and provocative, award-winning production of La Razón Blindada (“Armored Reason”) for a limited three-weekend engagement in May.

Written and directed by Argentine playwright Arístides Vargas, the play was triply inspired by testimonies from political prisoners held in Rawson Prison during Argentina's “Dirty War” of the 1970s, “The Truth About Sancho Panza” by Franz Kafka, and the classic novel “El Quixote” by Cervantes. Performances take place May 3 through May 18 at the company's home, a converted carriage house in the West Adams historic district. All performances will be presented in the original Spanish with English supertitles.

Jesus Castaños Chima and Tony Durán reprise their roles as political prisoners who are allowed to interact with one another for one hour a week — but must remain in their chairs and never stand. As they entertain each other with stories of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, we witness the power of theater to transport them, and us, into the realm of the imagination, despite repressive conditions and even as we remain bound to (and on the edge of) our seats.

“We're bringing this play back again because it's about finding the courage to stand up to oppression,” explains 24th Street artistic director Debbie Devine. “It is literally about standing up for your beliefs. It could not be more timely than it is today.”

“It's art imitating life, or vice-versa,” agrees producer Jay McAdams. “Although it's about a dictatorship a half century ago, it will resonate loudly in today's world.”

24th Street Theatre first produced the North American premiere of La Razón Blindada in 2010, winning the LA Weekly Production of the Year Award and touring that production for over 200 performances to Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador and Ecuador as well as within the U.S. The company revived it in early 2017 in response to the events in the U.S. at that time. Now, it's once again become required reviewing.

24th Street Theatre is a multiple award-winning professional theater company with a unique connection to its local inner-city community: the giant green doors to the theater are literally kept open to the street every day. Neighborhood residents, homeless people, local kids, students and visiting parents from nearby USC, and others stop in daily for coffee, conversation or to access educational, cultural and social service resources. Founded in 1997 as a more traditional theater, the community needs changed the theater's focus from simply creating high caliber art to using that art to make a difference in the lives of the local neighborhood residents. With a mission to engage, educate, and provoke its diverse community and city with an eclectic array of high quality artistic programming, 24th Street Theatre serves over 10,000 people annually: 6,000 children and youth, and 4,000 adults, the majority of whom are low-income. The 24th Street brand, marked by resolute commitment to the integrity of the work and a heightened, minimalistic style, is reflected in its arts education programs as well as in its mainstage productions for families.

Performances of La Razón Blindada take place on Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. from May 3 through May 18, with one additional performance on Monday, May
12 at 8 p.m. There will be one preview performance on Friday, April 25 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $10 to $24 except for the preview, which is $5, and the Monday night performance, which is Pay-What-You-Can.

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