Miami New Drama Tackles Fascism with Whimsical Humor and Hope

Miami New Drama at Colony Theatre is pleased to announce the return of A Special Day,the critically acclaimed, award winning playco-starring and co-directed by Ana Graham and Antonio Vega. Based on Ettore Scola's 1977 Oscar-winning Italian film Una Giornata Particolare, A Special Day introduces the life-changing encounter between an overworked housewife and a mysterious bachelor.

After receiving a limited weekend engagement last season, Miami New Drama is presenting an extended 2 week run of The Play Company and Por Piedad Teatro's production of the show at the Colony Theatre's stage, March 16 - 26, 2017. The play will run Thursdaythrough Saturday at 8:00 p.m. with a Sunday matinee performances at 3:00 p.m.

"When we first did the play last year, we did so because fascist rhetoric was entering into the presidential campaign... a year later fascist rhetoric is entering the white house, this play is more important now than ever." says Michel Hausmann, co-founder of Miami New Drama at Colony Theatre. "Together the imagination of the two actors brings magic to the political landscape of intolerance."

Graham and Vega created their own theatrical adaptation of the classical Italian movie as it transports the audience to Mussolini's Italy. While Rome celebrates Hitler's visit on May 8, 1938, two neighbors meet as a drama unfolds in their apartment. Relevant to today's political climate, the two confront a politically charged landscape in the rise of fascism at the time. With the help of a piece of chalk, Graham and Vega create a whole new universe in an empty space creating windows and other scenic elements painted directly onto the walls. The audience is invited to join the Mexican actors as they control the light and sounds in an empty Italian apartment. When reviewing the play, New York Times called it "fast pace, crack timing and almost whimsical inventiveness . . . So engaging."

"We are really thrilled to be back at the Colony Theatre" said Antonio Vega, "Using only imagination, a couple of pieces of chalk and a few props, we will create a full universe where a bittersweet human drama unfolds within the charged political landscape of rising fascism."

All tickets are $25, to purchase tickets, visit www.colonymb.org/aspecialday.

For more information about Miami New Drama and A Special Day, visitwww.miaminewdrama.org Follow MiND on social media via Facebook and Instagram. For more information about Colony Theatre, visit www.colonymb.org. Follow the theatre on social media via Facebook and Instagram.

About Colony Theatre

Colony Theatre is located in the heart of South Beach on Lincoln Road. It first opened on January 25, 1935 as a Paramount Pictures movie house. Recently, the building underwent a three-year $6.5 million renovation to restore its original Art Deco grandeur and update its stage and technical equipment.

Today, the Colony is a 415-seat state of the art venue proudly managed by Miami New Drama. Its impressive art deco design makes it one of the crown jewels of Miami Beach. The theatre hosts an exciting array of events, including music, dance, comedy, and theatre performances. The Colony Theatre is also home to Miami New Drama's own exciting theatrical season. For more information, visit www.colonymb.org.

About Miami New Drama

Miami New Drama (MiND) is a producing and presenting organization committed to theatrical excellence and stories designed for the intersections of Miami's multicultural 21st century audience. Founded in 2014, we present world-class work by American, Latin American and International Artists. By sharing work where cultures, dialogue, and communities intersect, we aim to serve audiences as diverse as the city itself.

MiND's inaugural production, The Golem of Havana, was an enormous success. More than 6,500 people attended the musical production in an extended five-week run, breaking every record for past productions at the Colony Theatre and grossing over $250,000-- more than any other theater show in Miami's recent history. It garnered national attention from the entertainment industry and received rave critical reviews. MiND proved that there is a substantial audience for thoughtful high quality live theater in Miami. Its success inspired the City of Miami Beach to invite them to transform the Colony Theatre into a vibrant cultural institution. For more information, visit www.miaminewdrama.org.

About The Play Company

PlayCo develops and produces adventurous new plays, from the U.S. and abroad, to engage New Yorkers in a dynamic global practice of Contemporary Theatre and expand the American repertoire. Our singular international programming reflects and responds to our diverse New York City home and to the globally connected way people live now. Our distinctive international programming links American theatre with world theatre, American artists with the global creative community, and American audiences with a whole world of plays. We explore the ideas, events and issues of our time through the intimate, personal, live theatre experience. We maintain affordable ticket prices to make PlayCo accessible to the broadest possible audience. PlayCo received a 2007 OBIE for our "unique contributions to the Off Broadway community". Our body of work to date includes 28 world, American and New York premieres of plays from Mexico, Sweden, Japan, Poland, Scotland, England, Romania, Germany, Russia, India, France, Northern Ireland and the United States. Many have subsequently been published and/or optioned for adaptation to other media. Designs from PlayCo productions have been featured in American Theatre Magazine and CHANCE. Our artistic programs provide a range of opportunities and resources to create new work at all stages of development. Some notable recent productions include the critically acclaimed NYC premiere of Caught by Christopher Chen (The New York Times Critics Choice); the Lucille Lortel nominated world premiere of The Wildness by Kyle Jarrow & Lauren Worsham, co-produced with Ars Nova; the world premiere of Ludic Proxy commissioned from U.S. playwright Aya Ogawa; the U.S. premiere of generations by British writer debbie tucker green co-produced with Soho Rep (The New York Times and The New Yorker "Best of 2014"); the Drama Desk-nominated world premiere of This Is My Office by U.S. playwright Andy Bragen; the U.S. premiere of Working on a Special Day in collaboration with the Mexican theatre Por Piedad Teatro, which has since toured to theatres and festivals around the world; and the OBIE-winning American premiere of Invasion! by Swedish writer Jonas Hassen Khemiri. The Play Company was created by Kate Loewald, Mike Ockrent and Jack Temchin. Playco.org

About Por Piedad Teatro

Based in Mexico City, has established itself since 1999 as a creatively relevant company by developing meaningful and profound theatre with a specific emphasis on contemporary international plays, that are both cutting edge and of high artistic quality. Pursuing the dialogue between cultures, Por Piedad Teatro seeks to create a bridge of artistic collaboration, generating links at every level by opening means of communication that allow for mutual understanding.

About Ana Graham

Ana Graham studied drama in Mexico City at the Núcleo de Estudios Teatrales. She is the Artistic Producer and founder of Piedad Teatro where she has built a dynamic career as an director, actress, producer, costume designer and translator. In 2013 Graham and collaborator Antonio Vega partnered with The Play Company to present Working On a Special Day in New Yorkat 59E59. In 2014 she co-directed Antonio Vega's El Síndrome Duchamp is in Mexico City and in 2015 its English version, The Duchamp Syndrome at The Flea in New York City, also a collaboration between Por Piedad and The Play Company. As director she is remembered for a the theatrical Spanish language adaptation of Samuel Beckett's short story The Endin Mexico City and Abismo by Maria Melisavljevic. Some of her credits as an actor include: Damas y Caballeros by Paul Walker, Interpretando a la Víctimaby the Presnyakov Brothers, Psicosis 4.48, Ansia and Devastados by Sarah Kane, Interioresby Woody Allen, El Campo by Martin Crimp, El Dragón Dorado by Roland Schimmelpfennig,Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. In film, she is remembered for Cuento de Hadas para Dormir Cocodrilos and Mezcal for which she was nominated as best actress for and ARIEL by Mexico's Film Academy. In 2013 she was appointed as Ambassador for Tourism by Mexico's president as a recognition for her contributions to to the art.

About Antonio Vega

Antonio Vegais an actor, playwright, director and translator. He studied at ETX Jalisco School of Theater, and has also trained with Teatro Estudio (TEES) in Guadalajara; the Mexican Improvisation League in Mexico City; Odin Teatret in Holstebro, Denmark; the American Institute of Comedy and the HB Studio in NYC, and the Actors Center in London. In 2004, Vega joined Por Piedad Teatro, he became the company's artistic director in 2012. In 2013 Vega and collaborator Ana Graham partnered with The Play Company to present Working On a Special Day in New Yorkat 59E59. In 2015 he created, co-directed, starred hiThe Duchamp Syndrome which premiered in New York City at The Flea in 2015. His credits as an actor include : Abismo by Maria Melisavljevic, Interpretando a la Víctima by the Presnyakov Brothers, Damas y Caballeros by Paul Walker, Mujeres Soñaron Caballosby Daniel Veronese, Mujeres Soñaron Caballos by Roland Schimmelpfennig, El Campo by Martin Crimp, Festen by Thomas Vinterberg, Some explicit Polaroids by Mark Ravenhill, among others. He also directed Just Don't Touch Me Amigo by Fernando Gambaroni at INTAR in NYC. He has been a resident artist of Tofte Lakes Center in 2014 and 2016 and a resident artist of Blue Mountain Art Center in 2016.

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