OEDIPUS EL REY Begins Performances at Woolly, Closes 3/6

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company continues its 31st Season with the sexy and scintillating Oedipus el Rey, written by MacArthur Genius Grant-winner Luis Alfaro, directed by Michael John Garcés, Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles, CA. The show closes March 6.

In Oedipus el Rey, Luis Alfaro adapts the "mother" of all tragedies and the ultimate story of forbidden love. Amid the sizzling rhythms of central Los Angeles-the gang capital of America with the highest recidivism rate-a juvenile delinquent rises to be a king... But his passion for one woman will violate our most sacred law.

Luis Alfaro is a Chicano playwright and filmmaker, born and raised in downtown Los Angeles. Among his many accomplishments, he was a resident artist at the Mark Taper Forum, where he was co-director of the Latino Theatre Initiative. As an activist, Alfaro works with at-risk youth, has co-founded three non-profit arts organizations, and chaired the Gay Men of Color Consortium.

Woolly Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz says, "In Oedipus el Rey, Luis Alfaro's stroke of genius is to connect an ancient tale about the unbreakable cycles of fate to the challenges facing modern-day prisoners when they get out of jail. In its spicy language, its frank sexuality, its unique sense of stage ritual, and its dense cultural milieu revolving around Chicano gang culture-this is like no Oedipus you've seen before. It's a thrill to welcome playwright Luis to Woolly Mammoth, in partnership with one of the most fearless directors in America, Michael John Garcés, for this potent and provocative new work."

Oedipus el Rey will feature Mando Alvarado (Our Lady of 121st Street), and David Anzuelo, Jaime Robert Carrillo, Romi Dias, Gerard Ender, Jose Joaquin Perez, and Andres Munar in their Woolly debuts.

Oedipus el Rey will feature set and costume design by Misha Kachman, lighting design by Woolly Associate Artist Colin K. Bills, and original music and sound design by Ryan Rummery.

This production of Oedipus El Rey is supported in part by a generous gift from Joan and David Maxwell, whose work through the Jovid Foundation helps District residents in or at risk of long-term poverty to become more self-sufficient. Additional funding was received from the National Endowment for the Arts through an Access to Artistic Excellence grant.

 

Oedipus el Rey
Written by Luis Alfaro
Directed by Michael John Garcés

CAST

Oedipus................................................................................................................................Andres Munar
Laius.....................................................................................................................................David Anzuelo
Tiresias..................................................................................................................................Gerard Ender
Creon...........................................................................................................................Jose Joaquin Perez
Jocasta.......................................................................................................................................Romi Dias
Coro member....................................................................................................................Mando Alvarado
Coro member.............................................................................................................Jaime Robert Carrillo

CREATIVE TEAM

Playwright..................................................................................................................................Luis Alfaro
Director......................................................................................................................Michael John Garcés
Set Designer......................................................................................................................Misha Kachman
Costume Designer.............................................................................................................Misha Kachman
Associate Designer...............................................................................................Ivania Stack
Lighting Designer....................................................................................................................Colin K. Bills
Sound Designer..................................................................................................................Ryan Rummery
Properties...........................................................................................................................Jennifer Sheetz
Dramaturg............................................................................................................................John M. Baker

Oedipus el Rey was first produced in a rolling world premiere by Magic Theatre, San Francisco, CA,
The Theatre @ Boston Court, Pasadena, CA, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Washington, DC,
as part of the National New Play Network's Continued Life program.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Luis Alfaro (Playwright) works in plays, poetry, short stories, performance and journalism. A Chicano, born and raised in downtown Los Angeles, he is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and a resident artist at the Mark Taper Forum, where he is co-director of the Latino Theatre Initiative. He was a visiting artist to The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and has toured his work throughout the United States, England, and Mexico. His film, Chicanismo, was Emmy-nominated and won Best Experimental Film at San Antonio's CineFestival. He is the winner of the 1998 National Hispanic Playwriting Competition and the 1994 and 1997 Midwest PlayLabs. As an activist, he works with at-risk youth, has co-founded three non-profit arts organizations, and chaired the Gay Men of Color Consortium.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Michael John Garcés (Director) is the Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles. There he has directed plays by Naomi Iizuka, Julie Marie Myatt, Page Leong, Jeffrey Hatcher and, most recently, Making Paradise, a musical by Tom Jacobson, Shishir Kurup and Deborah Wicks de la Puma. He also wrote Los Illegals, created in residence with communities of day laborers and domestic workers. Previously at Woolly he directed Grace and Recent Tragic Events by Craig Wright. He has also directed at New York Theatre Workshop, Second Stage, A Contemporary Theatre, The Guthrie, The Atlantic, Repertorio Español, INTAR, Hartford Stage, Yale Rep and The Huntington Theater. His production of the break/s by Marc Bamuthi Joseph, which co-premiered at The Humana Festival and the Walker Arts Center, was presented at the Kennedy Center last year. Michael is the recipient of the Princess Grace Statue and the Alan Schneider Director Award.

For detailed biographical information about the cast and creative team of Oedipus el Rey,
please visit www.woollymammoth.net.

 

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