| The San Juan Shakespeare Company |
| The San Juan Shakespeare Company es una moderna y jocosa comedia que nos muestra las dificultades que atraviesa una pequeña compañía de teatro latino quienes intentan producir teatro “nuyorican” en Nueva York. |
| más >> |
 |
"El aviso leía: “Las Risas comienzan el 30 de octubre” y efectivamente la promesa fue cumplida. Este día fue el estreno de la obra puertorriqueña The San Juan Shakespeare Company, presentada por el teatro Repertorio Español. Desde que mis acompañantes y yo llegamos a nuestros asientos no paramos de reírnos. "
(texto completo)
—Tiempo, New York |
""...with 'The San Juan Shakespeare Company,' Repertorio has come out with its funniest and most ambitious production in a very long time.""
(texto completo)
—The Star-Ledger |
|
|
Egos Fuel Classic Comedy
New York Daily News
13 de noviembre 2003
De Robert Dominguez
As resident playwright, producer and co-founder of a small company specializing in "Nuyorican" theater, Eugene Rodriguez has faced his share of artistic and financial struggles over the years.
Yet some of his biggest battles have come from dealing with the out-size egos of actors and directors he's worked with.
In his new play, "The San Juan Shakespeare Company," Rodriguez has taken several real-life personalities and situations from his experiences heading the Manhattan-based Puerto Rican Intercultural Drama Ensemble (PRIDE), and turned it into a scathing comedy about a struggling Nuyorican theater company.
"I've been producing and writing for the last 10 years, and I thought it would be a lot of fun to talk about the things that really happen off stage," says Rodriguez, who grew up and still lives in East Harlem.
"The play is a farce. But it's really about the struggles Latino companies face, like how we can't break into the mainstream scene — unless it's something like an Argentine tango show."
"San Juan" joined Repertorio Espanol's revolving lineup of shows at the Gramercy Arts Theater on 27th St. between Lexington and Third this season. It was a finalist three years ago in Repertorio's annual Nuestras Voces playwrighting competition. The play is performed in Spanish with simultaneous English translation via headphones. The plot centers on an egomaniacal actress who abandons a small Latino company to do "real" theater — in other words, non-Hispanic roles.
The troupe's producer, meanwhile, reinvents it as a classical company so it can compete in a Shakespeare festival with a $10,000 grand prize — and then tries to lure back the diva to help them win the money.
Given how insular New York's Latino theater scene is, Rodriguez is sure the play is going to upset some actors who think they're being mocked on stage.
"Audiences will appreciate the show on three levels," says Rodriguez. "There are people who will know who I'm talking about, people who think they know who I'm talking about, and then there are people who'll just come to the show and enjoy it for what it is."
|
|
|
|
