Pregones/PRTT's New Musical TORCHED! Offers Fresh Take On The Bronx Fires

TORCHED! is a new work-in-progress by Pregones/PRTT about the now legendary Bronx fires of the 1970s. TORCHED! alternates between New York in the 1970s and present day, and shifts between historical fact and poetic fiction to lift the voices of the victims, residents, workers, and firefighters who bravely dispute the fabrications of the actual perpetrators and accomplices whose actions resulted in the ruination of an entire community. TORCHED! is a developmental reading of a musical play and will take place Wednesday, Jan 27 at 7:00 pm on Zoom with name your price tickets available here.

TORCHED! is written and directed by Pregones/PRTT Artistic Director, Rosalba Rolón, with original music by Pregones/PRTT Musical Director, Desmar Guevara. TORCHED! features Pregones/PRTT's Latinx ensemble cast and a four-piece music band.

ROSALBA ROLÓN, Artistic Director of Pregones/PRTT, is an accomplished actor, director, and dramaturg specializing in the adaptation of literary and non-literary texts for stage performance with live music. Distinctions include United States Artists Fellowship, Ford Foundation Visionaries Fellowship, Doris Duke Artist Award, and Creative Capital Award (with Paul Flores and Yosvany Terry). Rolón's numerous theater credits include We Have IRE with Paul Flores, Betsy! with Roadside Theater, Dancing In My Cockroach Killers with Magdalena Gómez, The Harlem Hellfigthers On A Latin Beat, El bolero fue mi ruina adapted from a story by Manuel Ramos Otero (1997), Quíntuples by Luis Rafael Sánchez (1993), and El Apagón adapted from a story by José Luis González. She is a member of the Tony Awards Nominating Committee.

Desmar Guevara, Artistic Associate/Musical Director, is a recognized champion of new music idioms in Latin jazz, a composer of experimental and non-traditional music for live and film, and an in-demand pianist with numerous concert, touring, and recording credits. He is founding director of chamber jazz ensemble Taller Sicá, founding member of Afro Puerto Rican ensemble Viento de Agua, and has collaborated with many musical luminaries including Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Tito Nieves, Xiomara Fortuna, Andy Montañez, Soledad Bravo, and Danny Rivera. Recent premieres include Grados Inefables, which delves into the esoteric symbolism and philosophies of Freemasonry, co-commissioned by arts presenters in New York, Colorado, and California.

Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater is an award-winning acting and music ensemble, multidiscipline arts presenter, and owner/steward of bilingual arts facilities in The Bronx and Manhattan. Our mission is to champion a Puerto Rican/Latinx cultural legacy of universal value through creation and performance of original plays and musicals, exchange and partnership with other artists of merit, and engagement of diverse audiences. Our year-round programs offer attractive and affordable opportunities for arts access and participation to NYC residents and visitors alike.

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