Washington, DC - GALA Hispanic Theatre begins its ¡Viva los 40! anniversary season with the world premiere of a new adaptation of Yerma, a dramatic tragic poem written in 1934 by the renowned Spanish poet and writer Federico García Lorca. Yerma will be performed in Spanish with English surtitles from September 10 through October 4, 2015 at GALA Theatre, 3333 14^th Street, NW, Washington, D.C., one block away from the Columbia Heights metro station on the Green/Yellow lines. Discounted parking is available behind the theater at the Giant Food garage.

In this new adaptation by the Spanish playwright Fernando J. López, the cast has been reduced to five characters: Yerma, Juan, Victor, Dolores and María. This concentration of characters heightens the oppression of a loveless marriage, forbidden desires and repressive society faced by Yerma in her rural environment and underscores how even today women face the tension between motherhood and their role in society.  A playwright who has had numerous productions in Spain, López is also a published novelist and a noted scholar in Europe and the United States.

Yerma is directed by José Luis Arellano García, an acclaimed stage and television director from Madrid. Since 2009, he has directed El caballero de Olmedo, Ay, Carmela! and Cabaret Barroco, among others, at GALA.

Featured in the cast are Spanish actors Mabel del Pozo as Yerma and Iker Lastra as Victor. A stage, film and television actor, Del Pozo has appeared in many plays in Spain, including Manlet, Excalibur and El hidalgo caballero de la Mancha; and currently appears in the popular Spanish television series Acacias 38. Lastra, who appeared with Del Pozo in the television series Hospital Central, has performed in more than 30 theater, television and film productions, including El lenguaje de tus ojos and Testigo de cargo. He also appeared in the popular series Amar a tiempos revueltos.

Also appearing in Yerma are New York actors Eric Robledo (Juan) from Mexico, who is making his debut at GALA and Natalia Miranda-Guzmán (María) from Chile; and Luz Nicolás (Dolores), from Spain and now from the Washington area. Miranda-Guzmán appeared in GALA’s acclaimed House of the Spirits and last season’s Los empeños de una casa. Nicolás appeared last season in Cancún, Mariela en el desierto, and Los empeños de una casa.

Students matinees are on September 23, 24, 25 and 30, and on October 1 and 2 at 10:30 am.

Regular tickets are $38 on Thursday evenings and Sundays, and $42 on Friday and Saturday evenings. Senior tickets (65+) are $26, and student and military tickets are $20. To purchase tickets, call 202-234-7174, 800-494-8497, or visit www.galatheatre.org. Tickets are also available on Goldstar.

Press Night and Noche de GALA is on Saturday, September 12, under the gracious patronage of the Ambassador of Spain Ramón Gil-Casares. This production is supported by the Embassy of Spain in Washington, DC, SPAIN arts & culture, Acción Cultural Española through its Programa de Internacionalización de la Cultura Española (PICE), and the National Endowment for the Arts.