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Washington, D.C. – GALita, a program for the entire family, is proud to celebrate the legacy of the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra with the world premiere of Nuevas aventuras de Don Quijote by Patricia Suárez and Cornelia Cody. Commissioned by GALA Hispanic Theatre and directed by Ms. Cody, this world premiere bilingual adaptation will be presented at GALA Theatre, 3333 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20010 from October 20 through October 31, 2015. The theater is located one block north of the Columbia Heights Metro station on the Green/Yellow lines. Parking is available at the Giant garage on Park Road NW.
Based on Don Quijote de La Mancha, considered the first modern novel and a classic of Western literature by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, this adaptation is a sequel to Las aventuras de Don Quijjote de La Mancha, which GALA commissioned and produced in 2012. This new bilingual version with lively music stages more misadventures of the gentleman from La Mancha and his loyal squire Sancho Panza. The idealistic dreamer again takes up his lance and sword to defend the helpless and to fight injustice as he as roams the Spanish countryside with his sidekick battling windmills and embroiling themselves in hilarious episodes of mistaken identities.
“I hope,” states director Cody, “that through the chivalry of this Spanish nobleman, children and young adults will see the importance of following their dreams and believing in the goodness of humanity, in spite of obstacles they may face in their lives.”
Student matinees for Nuevas aventuras de Don Quijote are scheduled week days on October 20-23 and October 26–October 30, 2015 at 10:30 am. Two performances for the general public will take place on Saturday, October 24 and Saturday, October 31 at 3 pm. The duration of the show is approximately 70 minutes and the content is appropriate for the entire family, but in particular for ages 5 through 9.
The production is made possible with the generous support of Target, the City Fund, and the Inter-American Development Bank.
ABOUT CERVANTES, PLAYWRIGHTS AND PRODUCTION
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) was a Spanish novelist, playwright and poet. Regarded by many as the Spanish contemporary of William Shakespeare and a fellow literary genius, he has been attributed with the creation of the modern novel: Don Quijote de La Mancha (1602), which brought to life the most famous figure in Spanish literature. This work has been translated into every conceivable language and is the most widely published book in the world after the Bible. While Cervantes’ reputation rests almost entirely on his portrait of the knight of La Mancha, his literary production was considerable.
Cervantes began his literary career in Andalusia in 1580. According to the author himself, he wrote 20 to 30 plays, but only two remain extant, one of which is Los tratos de Argel (1580), based on his experiences as a Moorish captive. His first major work was La Galatea (1585), a pastoral romance. Aside from his plays, his most ambitious work in verse was Viaje del parmaso (1615). Novelas ejemplares (1613), a collection of short stories, contained some of his best prose work regarding love, idealism, gypsy life, madmen, and talking dogs. He died almost 400 years ago on April 22, 1616, in the same week that William Shakespeare died.
Patricia Suárez is a writer, poet and playwright from Argentina who is a part of a new generation of Argentine playwrights who are experimenting with form and content. Among her children’s plays are Las aventuras de Don Quijote de La Mancha, which GALA commissioned; Herr Klement; and Leones, osos y perdices. Other plays she has written include La tarántula y el escorpión, La familia del jorobado, Desván, Kadish para mi madre, La Varsovia, Casamentera, Rudolf, Amor de memoria, and El tapadito. Among her novels are Aparte del principio de la realidad, Perdida en el momento, Un fragmento de la vida de Irene S., Album de polaroids, and Lucy. She is also a published author of children’s books and a regular contributor to newspapers and publications in Argentina and Uruguay. She has received several awards, including the Mario Vargas Llosa Prize (2005), Clarín Prize (2003), Hucha de Oro (2002), and the National Fund for the Arts Prize (2000, 2001), among others. She wrote the book for the musical Las Polacas: The Jewish Girls of Buenos Aires that GALA commissioned and produced last season.
Cornelia Cody is a poet, playwright, and the author of children's books, textbooks, and academic papers on humor. She has written and/or adapted bilingual scripts for GALA, Discovery Theatre at the Smithsonian, Theatre Hopkins, and Children's Theatre Association. Ms. Cody has just completed a bilingual poetry book for young children, Piñata, currently being marketed by The David Black Literary Agency. As an actress, she has performed at GALA, The Shakespeare Theatre, Center Stage, Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, and in numerous television commercials. Ms. Cody taught dramatic literature at New York University for 15 years. Her one-woman show, Mongrel: The Life and Words of Dorothy Parker, was performed off-Broadway at the York Theatre and at Goucher College where she taught and led a workshop on bilingual theater.
Nuevas aventuras de Don Quijote features Roberto Colmenares as Don Quijote, and Omar Alexander Iraheta as Sancho Panza. Mr. Colmenares appeared in GALita’s Tum Tica: una historia de música y familia, and Mariela en el desierto and Los empeños de una casa at GALA last season. Mr. Iraheta reprises the role he played in a previous production of Las aventuras. Other cast members are Lucrecia Basualdo, who also appeared in Las aventuras de Don Quijote de La Mancha, and Mike Thomas, Thais Menendez, and José Antonio Gonzalez Alva, who are appearing in their first GALita production.
Set Design is by Osbel Susman Peña, who designed for Las nuevas aventuras de Don Quijote de La Mancha and El bosque de mis libros; and Light Design is by Christopher Annas-Lee, who designed Yerma and Mariela en el desierto at GALA. Costume Design and Properties are by Alicia Tessari, who designed Las aventuras de Don Quijote de La Mancha for GALita and most recently Yerma and Las Polacas: The Jewish Girls of Buenos Aires. Tsaitami Duchicela is Stage Manager; Ártemis López is Production Manager and Reuben Rosenthal is Technical Director.
ABOUT GALita
Since 1980, GALita has produced children’s theater by Hispanic playwrights in both Spanish and English that inspire a sense of joy, discovery, pride and identity in our community’s children. GALita has produced works by such prominent writers as Jorge Díaz from Chile, Néstor Hidalgo from Argentina, and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra from Spain, among others. GALita also has commissioned new works and adaptations based on classic Hispanic literature, presented international theater companies such as Teatro Gayumba from the Dominican Republic, produced several children’s film festivals, and collaborated with the Inter-American Development Bank and Kids Euro Festival on children’s programming.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are $10 each (children), Adults $12 (general public performances). For more information call 202-234-7174 or visit www.galatheatre.org.
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