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Washington, D.C. – GALA opens its 43rd season with the U.S. premiere of Como agua para chocolate/Like Water for Chocolate, adapted for the stage by Garbi Losada based on the internationally best-selling novel by Laura Esquivel. Directed by Olga Sánchez, Como agua para chocolate runs September 6 through October 7, 2018 at GALA Theatre, 3333 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20010. Parking is available at a discounted rate in the Giant garage on Park Road, NW.
Como agua para chocolate is a story of passion and romance set against the backdrop of the Mexican revolution. Tita, a young woman trapped by a tradition that forbids her to marry Pedro, her true love, finds freedom in cooking so magical it inspires people to laugh, cry, and burn with desire when they feast on her culinary delicacies.
Tita’s struggle to rebel against the expectations imposed by her mother mirrors the national struggle for liberation from the oligarchy during the revolution. This adaptation for the stage captures the pain and tumult of challenging authority, the sensual interaction of the two star-crossed lovers, and the delight of preparing and partaking of recipes handed down through generations.
Como agua para chocolate is performed in Spanish with English surtitles, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm. The Noche de GALA and Press Night is Saturday, September 8, 2018 at 8 pm, under the gracious patronage of His Excellency Gerónimo Gutiérrez, Ambassador of Mexico to the United States.
A post-performance discussion with Chef Pati Jinich, the James Beard Award-winning host of the PBS Television series Pati’s Mexican Table, will be held on Sunday, September 23. Ms. Jinich is the resident chef at
The Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, DC and author of two cookbooks, Pati’s Mexican Table: The Secrets of Real Mexican Home Cooking and Mexican Today: New and Rediscovered Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen.
This production is made possible in part with generous support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Embassy of Mexico, ARRP, and the Mexican Cultural Institute.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Garbi Losada is a writer, playwright, and director who is also a company member of Ados Teatroa in Spain. Among her plays are El amor después del amor, Emotikon, Secando Charcos, El chico de las zapatillas rojas, El amigo de John Wayne, Kokoroko, Gus y Gas, Desperrados, Lamiak, and La noche de bodas. Her adaptations include El hijo de la novia, El nombre de la rosa, Wilt, El jefe de todo esto, La guerra de los Rose, and Como agua para chocolate. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2015 Donostia Award for Best Play (El Amor Después del Amor), 2014 Rojas Theater Award for Best Director (El nombre de la rosa), 2014 Audience Award in the Torrejon Festival (El amor después del amor), 2010 Max Award for Best Playwright (Secando Charcos), 2003 Torrejon Festival Award for Best Play (El Amigo de John Wayne), 2003 Donostia Award for Best Play (El Amigo de John Wayne), 2002 Ercilla Award for Best Play (El Amigo de John Wayne), 2001 Max Award for Best Playwright (Gus y Gas), 2000 Donostia Award for Best Play (Sin vergüenzas) and the 1987 Youth Theater of Basque Country Award for Best Play (Últimos pasos de un caballero andante).
ABOUT LAURA ESQUIVEL
Laura Esquivel is a Mexican essayist, novelist, screenwriter, and politician who serves in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies as a member of the Morena Party, which recently won the presidency. She began writing plays for student while working as a kindergarten teacher. Later she wrote for children’s television programs. Her first novel, Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate), became a bestseller in Mexico (1989) and the United States (1990). After the film version was released in 1992, the novel became internationally known. Her other novels include La ley del amor (The Law of Love), Tan veloz como el deseo (Swift as Desire), Malinche (Malinche: A Novel), A Lupita le gusta planchar (Pierced by the Sun), and El diario de Tita. She also published Between Two Fires, a non-fiction compilation of essays on life, love, and food; led the Mexico City Cultural Committee; and served as a member of the Science & Technology and Environmental Committees for the Morena Party.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Olga Sánchez (Director) is directing her first production at GALA. She is Artistic Director Emerita of Milagro, the Pacific Northwest’s premier Latino arts and culture organization, where she served as Artistic Director from 2003-2015. Her favorite directorial projects for Milagro include Ardiente paciencia by Antonio Skármeta, Bodas de sangre by Federico García Lorca, Guapa by Caridad Svich, and several devised bilingual works for Dia de los muertos. An actor, director, writer, and scholar-in-training, she most recently directed Tricks to Inherit, her translation/adaptation of Astucias por heredar un sobrino a un tio, by Fermín de Reygadas (1789) for the University of Oregon, where she is pursuing a PhD in Theatre Arts. Her research centers on Latina/o/x theatre of the United States, and the Latinx Theatre Commons for which she serves as a Steering Committee member. She is a former board member of Theater Communications Group (TCG) and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).
Featured in the cast are Teresa Yenque from New York, and GALA company members Luz Nicolás, Inés Domínguez del Corral, Carlos Castillo, Peter Pereyra, who all appeared in Don Juan Tenorio last season, Delbis Cardona and Karen Romero, who were both in El tiempo de las mariposas, and Karen Morales, who appeared in La Foto. Making her first appearance at GALA, Ms.Yenque is an acclaimed stage, film, and television actor who has appeared at Repertorio Español, Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, INTAR, LATEA, Roundabout Theater, and Lincoln Center, among others theaters, in New York.
Also appearing in the cast are Yaremis Félix, who was seen recently in Dancing in My Cockroach Killers, and Guadalupe Campos, who is making her GALA debut.
Scenic design is by Mariana Fernández, who designed sets for En el tiempo de las mariposas, among others, at GALA. Lighting design is by Christopher Annas-Lee, who also designed En el tiempo de las mariposas and In the Heights en Español (2018 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lighting Design). Costumes are by Moyenda Kulemeka, who designed for En el tiempo de las mariposas and La Foto. Music and sound design is by David Crandall, who designed for Don Juan Tenorio and En el tiempo de las mariposas, and Projections Design is by Nate Collard. Properties are by Tony Koehler, who also designed for En el tiempo de las mariposas, and Fight Choreographer is Jon Ezra Rubin, who choreographed Don Juan Tenorio. Devin Mahoney is Technical Director.
TICKET INFORMATION
Regular tickets are $48 on Thursdays through Sundays. Tickets for students, military, seniors (65+), and 30 and Under are $30. Additional discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. To purchase tickets, call 202-234-7174 or visit www.galatheatre.org.
FOR TICKETS: Call (202) 234-7174, or visit www.galatheatre.org
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