Repertorio Español to Present New York Stage Debut of FARÁNDULA

Repertorio Español, one of NYC's most prominent Latinx/Latine theatre companies, will premiere Farándula from September 28th to October 1st. The Cuban theatrical phenomenon of the last decade is part of the fall season at the iconic theatre. The popular comedy, inspired by the personal experience of its writer and director, Jazz Vilá, has become a sociocultural sensation that, after 220 performances, continues to conquer audiences inside and outside Cuba. The play even has a film adaptation, whose premiere took place last May at the 23rd edition of the Havana Film Festival in New York.

Farándula is a contemporary play that uses love as a knot to address universal themes such as fraud, emigration, addictions, and sexuality. For 70 minutes, the viewer will discover how the last 24 hours of the protagonists' lives have passed and what has led them to a police station. The minimalism defined this production by a sofa as a common element of the locations and colorful costumes that mark the psychology of each character.

Jazz Vilá, for the first time since its premiere, will play Lorenzo, the photographer who is the protagonist of the story. Sian Chiong will be Yoyo, a character he has already assumed in the play's film version. The female roles will be in the hands of Yeni Martínez, who has played Sara for several seasons, and Catherine Nuñez, who was Helena during the play's premiere in Texas.

These performances are part of a series of presentations that Jazz Vilá will be doing in New York City with several of his plays throughout September and part of October. The comedy will be performed in Spanish with English subtitles.

PERFORMANCES

Thursday, September 28, 2023, 7:00 PM
Friday, September 29, 2023, 8:00 PM
Saturday, September 30, 2023, 8:00 PM
Sunday, October 1, 2023, 3:00 PM

ABOUT THE PLAY

A talented photographer has a secret relationship with an undocumented young man. Moved by his love, the artist organizes an exhibition financed by his best friend, a prestigious doctor who is struggling with a strong addiction. Everything will take an unexpected turn when, on the opening night, a "stranger" becomes the instrument used by destiny to expose a complex plot of sex, trafficking, and lies.

JAZZ VILÁ - PLAYWRIGHT & DIRECTOR

Actor, Director, producer and playwright. He graduated in Acting from the National School of Performing Arts of Cuba. Founder and CEO of the company Jazz Vilá Projects. He made his directorial debut at 17 with his adaptation of The house of Bernarda Alba at the Alicia Alonso Theater in Havana. He has written and directed several plays in different countries such as A midsummer night's dream and The last night in Spain, Frontera and Life is a Dream in the United States. His productions Rascacielos, Eclipse, Farándula and Candela have been consecutive box office successes and garnered excellent reviews, making Vilá a benchmark for contemporary Cuban theater.

In 2016, Vilá won the "Theater Special Mention" at the Casa Teatro International Literary Contest in the Dominican Republic. In 2019 he was a jury member of the Cuórum de Morelia Film Festival (Mexico) and in 2017 he was awarded the "Incubator Artist Program" in Texas (USA). He has been invited to prestigious events such as the Avignon Festival, the "Talent Corner" of the Cannes Film Festival (France), the "Talent Guadalajara", the Platino Awards (Mexico) and the "Berlinale Talent" (Germany). In 2023, Farándula, his film debut, premiered at the Havana Film Festival in New York (USA). He also is committed to training new talent, supporting social projects, and working as a cultural ambassador through his foundation "Jazz Vilá Por Dentro".

THE CAST

Jazz Vilá

Graduated as an actor from the National School of Performing Arts of Cuba. He achieved international recognition thanks to the film Juan de los muertos. He stands out in the Netflix series Paquita Salas, and the films El Acompañante, Fátima o el parque de la Fraternidad, The Mick and the Trick and Hotel Coppelia, released on HBOMAX. For the latter he was nominated for "Best Lead Actor" at the Dominican Film Association (ADOCINE) awards. In theater: Ícaros, La loca de Chaillot, Calígula and Carmen Jones.

Catherine Nuñez

Is a stage actress from Cuba-a company member at Gala Hispanic Theater in Washington, DC. She has appeared in Exquisita Agonía, El Perro del Hortelano, Doña Rosita la Soltera, La vida es sueño, En el tiempo de las Mariposas and Que las hay... las hay (Gala Theater). Other regional theater credits includes: Decamerón, Francisca y la Muerte (Synetic Theater) Oyeme, The Beautiful (Imagination Stage) La vida es sueño (Teatro Circulo) Las lloronas (Westchester Theater) Havana Fengshui (Hostos Repertory).

Yeni Martínez:

Actress, model, radio and television host. She has starred in plays such as Pogolotti-Miramar, Pedro Navajas, Esta cubana en Madrid, Zorras, Farándula, Político de alcoba, the latter in Mexico, where he also worked for Televisa on the tv shows Desmadruga2, Estrella2 and La cantina. After his return to Cuba, he leads some of the most popular shows of Cubavision Internacional such as Somos Multitud, A romper el coco and Clip.cu.

Sian Chiong:

Actor and singer, graduated from the National School of Performing Arts of Cuba. He was one of the members of the popular Boy Band "Ángeles" and has an extensive career on television, highlighting: Santa maría del Porvenir, Like la Leyenda, El corazón nunca se equivoca, Súbete a mi moto, La mexicana y el Güero, Corazón guerrero, Ella soy yo. In cinema we can see him? in: Castro's Daughter and Farándula. In theater he has participated in Fresa y Chocolate, Requiem por Yarini.

GENERAL INFORMATION

By phone: 1-212.225.9999 | Online: repertorio.nyc

ABOUT REPERTORIO ESPAÑOL

Repertorio Español was founded in 1968 by Artistic Director René Buch and Producer Gilberto Zaldívar and has become one of the most successful Off-Broadway theatres. The Company was founded with the mission of producing the finest Spanish-language theatre from Latin America and Spain as well as plays written by Latinx artists. The Company presents a rotating repertory of plays, musicals, and dance concerts every year. Its productions are seen by over 50,000 people annually at its home, the historic Gramercy Arts Theatre, and on tour. Every year, approximately 18,000 students are introduced to the heritage of Spanish language theatre through its education program, ¡DIGNIDAD!

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