OYEME, THE BEAUTIFUL Comes to GALA Theatre This Week

GALA Theatre will present the premiere of Óyeme, The Beautiful, a powerful production brought to life by the talented students of Paso Nuevo, GALA’s esteemed youth program. This bilingual show, written by Miriam Gonzales and directed by Paso Nuevo director Chris Ríos, promises to captivate audiences with its poignant narrative and heartfelt performances. 

Produced and performed by the Paso Nuevo students, the play will be presented on Wednesday, May 22, at 7:30 pm at GALA Theatre, located at 3333 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20010. This performance is suitable for audiences of all ages and admission is free to all.

Óyeme, The Beautiful delves into the lives of four refugee students who find themselves grappling with the challenges of adapting to life in the United States while confronting the trauma of the lives they left behind. As they navigate this unfamiliar terrain, they wrestle with a sense of alienation and a yearning to be heard and understood in a world that feels foreign. 

The show is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of hope to triumph over adversity. Through their journey, these young protagonists demonstrate courage, strength, and the unwavering determination to forge a better future for themselves.

The production is made possible with support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Latinx Theater Initiative. 

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT & DIRECTOR

Miriam Gonzales (Playwright) has been involved in theater as a student, teacher, actor and writer. In 2011, she received an Aurand Harris Memorial Playwriting Award from the New England Theater Conference for her adaption of the children’s book, The South Overlook Oaks. Her original play, The Smartest Girl in the World, won the 2013 Write Now Award and received a professional workshop and reading at Childsplay Theater in Tempe, Arizona. Miriam is a former teaching artist with Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT) in  Washington, DC, and served as YPT’s Board Chair.  She is a graduate of Brown University, received her doctorate from Stanford University’s School of Education, and is an alumna of the Kennedy Center’s Playwriting Intensive program.

Chris Ríos (Director) is an actor and singer of Peruvian heritage born the United States.  He has worked as a choreographer and afterschool program director at Lopez Studios, and a performing arts camp director with Moonlitwings Productions in VA. Some of his performing credits include Piragua Guy, In The Heights (Nextstop Theatre); Willy López, Ghost: The Musical and Pepe, West Side Story (Riverside Center); Newton, Dr. Wonderful (Keegan Theatre); Esteban, Óyeme the Beautiful (Imagination Stage); Princeton, Avenue Q and Tommy Ross, Carrie: The Musical (Lorton Workhouse); and Native Gardens (Arena Stage).

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