La MaMa In Association With Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company Presents World Premiere Of DON QUIXOTE TAKES NEW YORK
By: A.A. Cristi Apr. 11, 2018
The acclaimed puppet dance theatre company Loco7 will debut their newest work when La MaMa (66 E. 4 St.) presents the world-premiere of the family show DON QUIXOTE TAKES NEW YORK, as part of the La MaMa Kids series with performances beginning April 21, as it has been announced by Mia Yoo, La MaMa's artistic director.
Comprised of performers from the U.S./Caribbean and South/Central America, Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre is a long time resident company at La MaMa. This world premiere work is inspired from the novel The Ingenious Nobleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Loco7 reimagines this classic text, with puppets, dance and music to show the audience that no dream is too impossible to obtain and that with hope and heart you can conquer fear.
The piece focuses on the plight of Quixote - either succumb to the bitterness of despair or let loose the wings of the imagination. Don Quixote Takes New York will be an intuitive voyage that transports the audience through Quixote's emotions as he travels the City, seeing a new unexplored world. Don Quixote and his friend Sancho Panza travel the five boroughs of New York City on a quest to save the world from evil forces and protect Lady Liberty from the Orange Knight. The audience follows Don Quixote as he explores New York City in his quest for love, honor, liberty and justice for all.
Conceived by Loco7's founder Federico Restrepo and Denise Greber, DON QUIXOTE TAKES NEW YORK is suitable for all ages 4 and up.
Inspired from the novel The Ingenious Nobleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Adapted from the novel by Ivan Cardozo & Beatriz Caballero
Re-imagined & Co-Directed by Federico Restrepo & Denise Greber. Choreographed & Designed by Federico Restrepo, Sound Design & Music by Hao Bai, Costume Design by Becky Hubbert.
Featuring: Federico Restrepo, with Zulivet Díaz, Luis Grande, Chris Ignacio, and Fleur Voorn
Scheduled April 21 through May 6, DON QUIXOTE TAKES NEW YORK performs Saturdays and Sundays at Noon, in The Downstairs Theatre at La MaMa, 66 East 4th Street, basement level.
Tickets are $10 for both Adults and Children and can be purchased at www.lamama.org or by calling OvationTix at 212-352-3101.
LOCO7 productions utilize original rhythmic music, live musicians, dancers, body puppets and larger-than-life marionettes. Restrepo's intense love and passion for the history of the Americas and his journeys in New York have been a constant source for all his work. Loco7 has premiered sixteen original pieces in New York City, with subsequent tours throughout the world. Most recently Loco7 premiered Undefined Fraction (2015), Seucy and Boto (2014-2016), Plunge (2013), Free Falling (2013), Urban Odyssey (2012), In Retrospect (2010), Room To Panic (2008), Open Door (2006), Bokan The Bad Hearted (2004), 9 Windows (2002), Colores (1998), Aguirre, the Spiral of the Warrior (1996), Cosecha (1990), Loco7 (1989) and two other Gotham fantasies: Locombia (1986), Carrera (1988). In addition Loco7 premiered in Bogotá, Colombia, Piratas de Papel (1994) and Mobile Urbano (1986).
Federico Restrepo (Co-Creator/Director/Choreographer/Puppet Design) was born in Bogotá, Colombia and founded his company, Loco7, at La MaMa in 1986 to expand the use of puppetry in dance theatre. With Loco7 he has created over sixteen original productions, acting as creator, director and designer. As a performer Restrepo appeared at La MaMa as a member of the Great Jones Repertory Company in Ellen Stewart's The Raven, Asclepius, Herakles Via Phaedra, Perseus, Antigone, Mythos Oedipus, Dionysus Fillus Dei, Monk and The Hangman's Daughter, Seven Against Thebes and Draupai. He is a resident choreographer, director, puppet designer, and performer of La MaMa. In addition he has designed lights for productions in New York City as well as abroad.
Denise Greber (Co-Creator/Director) has been the managing director and collaborator on all Loco7 productions since 2001. She has performed in Loco7 shows: Undefined Fraction, Urban Odyssey, In Retrospect, Room To Panic, Open Door, Bokan, The Bad Hearted and 9 Windows. She is an artist in residence at La MaMa, and a member La MaMa's Great Jones Repertory Company, performing in Ellen Stewart's Asclepius, Herakles Via Phaedra, Perseus, Antigone, Mythos Oedipus, Dionysus Fillus Dei, Seven Against Thebes, Diana di Cantelmo and Andrei Serban/Elizabeth Swados' Fragments of a Greek Trilogy. She is the Director and Curator of La MaMa Puppet Series.
About La Mama
La Mama Kids is a series of creative workshops and performances for the young and the young at heart. Master artists from La MaMa perform family friendly shows and teach theatre crafts in workshops that encourage imaginative play and hands-on learning. Children and adults learn the basics of storytelling, dance, mask, puppet-making, and more! Fun for the whole family!
La Mama is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. The organization has a worldwide reputation for producing daring performance works that defy form and transcend barriers of ethnic and cultural identity. Founded in 1961 by award-winning theatre pioneer Ellen Stewart, La MaMa has presented more than 5,000 productions by 150,000 artists from more than 70 nations. A recipient of more than 30 Obie Awards and dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie, and Villager Awards, La MaMa has helped launch the careers of countless artists, many of whom have made important contributions to American and international arts milieus.
La Mama's 56th season highlights artists of different generations, gender identities, and cultural backgrounds, who question social mores and confront stereotypes, corruption, bigotry, racism, and xenophobia in their work. Our stages embrace diversity in every form and present artists that persevere with bold self-expression despite social, economic, and political struggle and the 56th season reflects the urgency of reaffirming human interconnectedness.
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