Video: Christopher Ashley & Eric Keen-Louie On La Jolla Playhouse's DERECHO

Watch as Christopher Ashley and Eric Keen-Louie talk about La Jolla Playhouse's world-premiere production of Derecho, by Noelle Viñas, directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, in this all-new video.

Artistic Producing Director Eric Keen-Louie describes the show as "Derecho is about two sisters Eugenia and Mercedes who are coming together on an evening, an evening when a Derecho's going to hit (which is a giant storm). But at this moment in time, Eugenia is about to run for office and she's trying to figure out how to become electable and she's trying to figure out how to navigate her identity as a Latina and also figure out how to become something the voters want to vote for. While her sister Mercedes is trying to reconnect desperately to the roots of her identity - and their conflict mirrors the storm that starts brewing outside."

The cast features Ashley Alvarez as Eugenia Silva, Jorge Sánchez Díaz as José Portillo, Caro Guzmán as Mercedes Silva, Eric Hagen as Jeff Randolph, Carla Navarro as Soledad Portillo and Luis Vega as Gabe Diaz, along with understudies Andrew Gallop, Germainne Lebrón and Kat Peña.
 
The creative team includes Tanya Orellana, Scenic Designer; Dominique Fawn Hill, Costume Designer; Sherrice Mojgani, Lighting Designer; Germán Martínez, Sound Designer; Alberto “Albee” Alvarado, Hair and Wig Designer; Zharia O’Neil, Dramaturg; tbd casting co.; Stephanie Yankwitt, CSA/Jacole Kitchen, Casting; Chandra R.M. Anthenill, Stage Manager, and Alexa Burn, Assistant Stage Manager.
  
A series of intense storms — a “derecho” — is bearing down on an affluent Virginia neighborhood near D.C., where Eugenia Silva is preparing for a crucial meeting. Eugenia is a politician hoping to join the wave of women of color elected to public office. Her sister Mercedes is a struggling musician fighting to find her way on her own terms. As winds rise and thunder cracks — and tensions between the sisters reach a boiling point — Eugenia’s political ambitions crash into Mercedes’s need to reconnect her sister with their roots. Propulsive and whip-smart, Derecho confronts how traditional Latino values conflict with an ever-changing American definition of success. Will the storm wipe out their relationship and derail Eugenia’s campaign, or will the rains provide a fresh start? This engrossing drama from Uruguayan-American writer Noelle Viñas harnesses the danger of colliding the personal and political to reach your goals. Director Delicia Turner Sonnenberg leads the production, bringing the poetic language and powerful imagery to life.
 
Derecho is the 11th piece to have its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse after development during the annual DNA New Work Series.
 

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