OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD Will Make its Florida Premiere in May

Zoetic Stage and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County will present the exciting conclusion of the 2021-2022 Theater Up Close season - the Florida premiere of OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD, a dark comedy by Colombian-American Miami playwright Alexis Scheer about a gang of viciously vulnerable teens who try to resurrect the spirit of Pablo Escobar. Playing from May 5 through May 22 in the Arsht Center's intimate Carnival Studio Theater, OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD is a rollercoaster ride through the dark and dangerous mind of the modern American teenage girl by a gifted Miami playwright. The teenage wasteland has never been so much twisted fun.

Tickets to OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD are $55-$60*. Tickets may be purchased at the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at arshtcenter.org.

"We are incredibly excited at presenting the homecoming of Miami-native playwright Alexis Scheer's beguiling and thought provoking play Our Dear Dead Drug Lord to the community of South Florida," said Zoetic Stage Artistic Director Stuart Meltzer. "The play is a whirlwind of comedic, dramatic and magical moments exploring that complicated yet mystical space between girlhood and womanhood. Our Dear Dead Drug Lord is a true Miami play of courage, culture and connection."

Whiplashing back and forth between laugh out loud humor and stop-you-in-your-tracks drama, OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD explores the darkest corners of the human heart. Intimate in nature, yet universal in its ability to explore the need to connect, the play is an unflinching and powerful reminder of what it means to be human. As it races to its startling conclusion, audiences will be left catching their breath.

The play enjoyed a highly successful, extended run Off-Broadway, a co-production of Second Stage and WP Theater. Theatre Scene called the play "the work of a born playwright and a unique new voice."

Alexis Scheer is a proud Miami native and New World School of the Arts alum. Her plays include Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (WP Theater/Second Stage: NYT Critic's Pick, John Gassner Award, Kilroy's List, LTC Carnaval of New Latinx Work), Laughs in Spanish (Kennedy Center's Harold & Mimi Steinberg Award, NNPN Showcase), Christina (Roe Green Award), The Sensational (Actors' Theatre of Louisville), and A Very Herrera Holiday (New Rep). Alexis also wrote the book for the new musical Shook (music/lyrics by Zoe Sarnak) that premieres this fall at Northern Stage directed by Maggie Burrows. Her work has been developed at the Kennedy Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, McCarter Theatre Center, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, and more. Alexis' favorite acting credits include the Boston premiere of Blasted, a storefront Equus, and Fiddler on the Roof at Actors' Playhouse which she did when she was 13 instead of getting Bat Mitzvah'ed (true story). Alexis holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory and MFA in Playwriting from Boston University. She is currently under commission by Miami New Drama, Second Stage, and Manhattan Theatre Club. In television, she writes on Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, and has a project in development at HBO Max.

Stuart Meltzer is the Founding Artistic Director of Zoetic Stage. He is the proud recipient of numerous Carbonell Awards for Best Director. He is also a Carbonell Award winner for Best New Work for his play The Goldberg Variations. Altogether, he has been honored with eighteen Carbonell nominations. His directing credits include Frankenstein, American Son, The Wolves, Sweeney Todd, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Dracula, Fun Home, Dancing Lessons, Wrongful Death and Other Circus Acts, Topdog/Underdog, The Caretaker, Sunday in the Park with George, After, Passion, Rapture, Blister, Burn, Stripped, Betrayal, Trust, Detroit, The Great God Pan, Assassins and Fear Up Harsh. He is the recipient of five Silver Palm Awards for his work as the Resident Director of Zoetic Stage. He received his MFA in Directing from the Actors' Studio in 2002.

Elena Maria Garcia is blessed to be working with Zoetic Stage! When she's not collecting cats or replanting trees, she's starting a mutiny. Her last one was remounting Fuacata! Or A Latina's Guide To Surviving The Universe at Actor's Playhouse. She is a four-time recipient of the Carbonell award. This summer Elena is performing her one person show, Do You Speak Mexican?, in Alabama, along with directing for City Theatre. She is assistant professor at Barry University and a member of Screen Actor's Guild and Actors' Equity Association. Her work is dedicated to her father, Dr. Francisco Garcia.

Sofia Duemichen (Pipe) is thrilled to be making her Zoetic debut in OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD. A Miami native, she studied musical theatre at New World School of the Arts and has recently received her BFA in Acting from Rutgers University Mason Gross in New Jersey. Credits include Mariana in Measure for Measure at the Globe in London, Juliet in Juliet Among the Changelings at Lost Girls Theatre Company and Edna in Mr. Burns, among others.

Rachel Eddy (Zoom) is an actor/writer/comedian based in Brooklyn, NY. Along with her brother, Bobby, she is the co-creator of the award-winning short Jew(ish), which is currently being developed into a feature film. Some favorite credits include Book of

Esther (Avigail), The Music Man (Zaneeta), You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Lucy), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Logainne). She is a UCB-trained improviser and sketch comedian with over 60k followers on TikTok for her original characters. She graduated magna cum laude from University of Miami with her BFA in musical theatre.

Mikayla Queeley (Squeeze) is a recent BFA graduate of New World School of the Arts making her Zoetic Stage debut. Recent credits include: Rafiki in Believe: A Musical Spectacular (Disney Cruise Line), Cinderella in Cinderella: A Fractured Fairytale Fantasy (Theater Factory), Danielle in Bring it On the Musical and Felicia Ferrall in Memphis The Musical.

Gina Fonseca (Kit) is a Miami native actor and creative based in New York City. Regional credits include Witch (Huntington Theatre Company); Fade (Kitchen Theatre Company); Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Workshop Premiere, Off the Grid Theatre Company). She received her BFA in Acting from Boston University.

Tai Fruitstone (Pipe's Little Sister) has been acting since the age of seven and been dancing since the age of four. Now 13, she is performing in her first professional show in her Zoetic Stage debut. Tai has performed several times with Miami Children's Theater and MAD Performing Arts, and previous credits with them include: Matilda the Musical (Matilda), The Addams Family, Young @ Part (Wednesday), Seussical Jr. (Gertrude McFuzz), and Annie Jr. (Duffy). Tai also recently performed in Miami Arts Charter School's production of 4 A.M. and The Magic Hour (Anne).

Rio Chavarro (Pablo Escobar) is a classically trained performer and Miami native. He studied in conservatories in New York City and Miami for acting and directing. For the past 20+ years, he has been perfecting his craft as an actor, writer, director/producer, singer, clown, mime, and comedian. His love of being a spoken word poet, singer, MC, voice over dubbing artist, and a world class Charlie Chaplin impersonator has never overshadowed his love for the theatre. He has appeared on many Florida theatre stages professionally since 2003.

The play's creative team features lighting design by Tony Galaska and sound design by Matt Corey. For detailed cast and creative bios, click here.

PNC Bank is the presenting sponsor of the 2021-2022 THEATER UP CLOSE series. WLRN is the media sponsor. The Arsht Center's THEATER UP CLOSE series gratefully acknowledges the founding support of Adrianne and Jerry L. Cohen and Funding Art Network.

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