MainStreet Theatre Company to Receive $15,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

The City of Rancho Cucamonga's MainStreet Theatre Company has been approved for a $15,000 Art Works grant to support the development and world premiere of Mariachi Tales, a new play with music by José Cruz Gonzáles. Mr. Gonzáles is an award-winning playwright whose plays have been produced at theatres across the country. A collection of his plays, Nine Plays by José Cruz González Magical Realism & Mature Themes in Theatre for Young Audiences was published by the University of Texas Press in 2009.

Overall, the National Endowment for the Arts has approved 1,187 grants totaling $27.3 million in the first round of fiscal year 2020 funding to support arts projects in every state in the nation, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The Art Works funding category supports projects that focus on public engagement with, and access to, various forms of excellent art across the nation; the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence; learning in the arts at all stages of life; and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life. "The arts are at the heart of our communities, connecting people through shared experiences and artistic expression," said Arts Endowment chairman Mary Anne Carter. "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support projects like Mariachi Tales."

MainStreet Theatre Company, the resident professional company at the Lewis Family Playhouse will present Mariachi Tales in Spring, 2021, to culminate their 15th season. Mariachi Tales will weave traditional tales as well as contemporary ones with mariachi music to celebrate the heart of the Latinx community. The show will be geared for families as well as school groups and will include live musicians. The play will be directed by longtime MainStreet collaborator Robert Castro, with musical direction by Cynthia Reifler Flores, an accomplished mariachi musician, and one of the first women pioneers in mariachi in the United States.

"I am so delighted to be celebrating MainStreet's "Quinceañera" with this world premiere production!" says Mireya Hepner, MainStreet's Artistic Producer. "We're so grateful to the NEA for this support, and I look forward to spending the next year creating the piece with these wonderful artists. I'm also happy to announce that we'll be getting feedback along the way by members of our Northtown Housing Community, who will participate in some developmental readings of the play as it evolves."

MainStreet Theatre Company, included in American Theatre Magazine's 2016 list of "20 Theatres you should take your kids to," has been the resident Equity Company at the Lewis Family Playhouse since 2006 and is known for producing high quality and innovative productions of plays and musicals for the whole family.

For more information on projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

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