The National Pastime Theater will present the Chicago premiere of Octavio Solis' Pulitzer Prize nominated play "Lydia" opening Friday, October 4 at 8pm.
Lydia is the story of a Latino working-class family whose teenage children are first generation Americans. They hire an illegal immigrant nurse/maid, Lydia, to help care for 16 year old Cecilia who suffered permanent brain injury from a car accident. Lydia turns out to be a remarkable young woman who connects with Cecilia and sets out to heal the family of their strained distance from one another, subsequently revealing unexpected secrets. Set in El Paso, this play explores the Texas-Mexican border relations while blending fantasy and reality. The play features all Latino performers and emphasizes the difficulties and dreams of first generation Latinos growing up on the Texas-Mexican border.Directed by acclaimed director Cecilie Keenan, the cast features Jessie David Perez, Rafael Franco, Matthew Harris, Sindy Castro, Rose Guccione, Nelson Rodriguez and Sarai Rodriguez.Author of over 20 plays, Octavio Solis is considered by many to be one of the most prominent Latino playwrights in America. With works that both draw on and transcend the Mexican-American experience, he is a writer and director whose style defies formula, examining the darkness, magic and humor of humanity with brutal honesty and characteristic intensity. His imaginative and ever-evolving work continues to cross cultural and aesthetic boundaries, solidifying him as one of the great playwrights of our time. This production will give Solis a highly visual platform within Chicago theater and will help to bring Latino theater to a diverse population.Videos