Goodman Theatre Presents THE SINS OF SOR JUANA Through 7/25

Goodman Theatre is proud to present The Sins of Sor Juana by Karen Zacarías, directed by Goodman Associate Director Henry Godinez. Winner of the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play (2000), this centerpiece production for the 2010 Latino Theatre Festival runs through July 25, 2010, in the Goodman's Albert Theatre. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at the box office (170 North Dearborn), by phone (312.443.3800) or online (GoodmanTheatre.org). Support of new work development is provided by Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. The Edith-Marie Appleton Foundation is the Major Production Sponsor and American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

Legendary Mexican poet Juana Inés de la Cruz writes expressive, sensual verse at the Viceroy's court in the 1600's, a time when it was unfashionable-and sinful-for women to exercise their intellect. The Viceroy is jealous of Sor Juana's influence on his beautiful wife, the Vicereine, who has arranged a profitable marriage to endure that Sor Juana will always have a place at court. Believing his own marriage is threatened by Sor Juana's engagement, the Viceroy hires a charming, educated rogue to seduce her and destroy her reputation. When Sor Juana refuses to compromise her poetry for what the church ordains appropriate, she stands to lose everything she loves.

With the debut of five world premieres in 2009, Karen Zacarías is the country's most-produced Latina playwright. She and Henry Godinez began their collaboration in 2005 with the world-premiere production of Mariela in the Desert at Goodman Theatre, while also producing Ferdinand the Bull, a Goodman play for young audiences. They teamed up again in 2008 for a workshop of a bilingual adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (Romeo y Julieta) at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. "While we have only worked together on about three major endeavors, it seems like we have known each other forever," said Godinez.

Zacarías' plays have been produced throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Europe and the Caribbean. She is currently preparing for rehearsals for the world premiere of Legacy of Light at Arena Stage, directed by Arena's Artistic Director Molly Smith. Other recent world premieres include the adaptation of Julia Alvarez's best-selling book How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents at Round House Theatre (directed by Blake Robison), The Book Club Play at Round House Theatre and Berkshire Theatre Festival (directed by Nick Olcott), the musical Chasing George Washington at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (nominated for a 2010 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Musical) and Looking for Roberto Clemente at Imagination Stage (voted "Favorite Family Show" by D.C. Theater Scene, directed by Kate Bryer). Other plays include Mariela in the Desert, which premiered at Goodman Theatre in 2005, directed by Henry Godinez and earned the Francesca Primus Award, the AT&T First Stages Award and The National Latino Playwrights' Award, and was a finalist for the Susan Blackburn Award.

Among her other produced plays are The Invisible City (co-written with Robert Alexander for Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, directed by Tom Prewitt); The Barechested Man (world premiere, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, directed by Kate Snodgrass), Blue Buick in My Driveway (world premiere, The Washington Source Theatre, directed by Michael Johnson, The Canadian Fringe Festival, The Scandinavian Festival) and A Rope Through the Fixture (world premiere, Little Theatre of Alexandria, VA).

Her musical plays for young people with composer Debbie Wicks La Puma include Einstein is a Dummy, Ferdinand the Bull, Jane of the Jungle, Cinderella Eats Rice and Beans, Looking for Roberto Clemente, Chasing George Washington, The Magical Piñata, Choosing Nine and The 13th Summer of William and Pilar. These plays have been produced at The ALLIANCE THEATRE, Goodman Theatre, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Arden Theatre Company, Cleveland Play House, Oregon Children's Theatre, Childsplay, Theater Lab at DePaul, Oregon Children Theatre and Imagination Stage, among many others. Other projects include the bilingual adaptation of the libretto for the Cuban opera Maria la o/Maria My Own (world premiere 2002, National Museum of Women in the Arts, directed by Tom Mallan); Zarzuela 2002: The Women (world premiere, National Museum of Women in the Arts, directed by Abel Lopez) and scripting New Years Eve 2000: A Concert of Hope with Archbishop Desmond Tutu for the Washington National Cathedral.

Zacarías is currently working on a commission from Arena Stage and South Coast Repertory Theatre. She is the founder and artistic director of Young Playwrights' Theater, a nationally recognized not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering literacy and conflict resolution through playwriting in D.C. inner-city schools.

Henry Godinez (Director) is the resident artistic associate at Goodman Theatre and curator of the Goodman's Latino Theatre Festival. At the Goodman he has directed the world premieres of Karen Zacarías' Mariela in the Desert, ReGina Taylor's Millennium Mambo and Luis Alfaro's Straight as a Line. Also at the Goodman, he has directed The Cook by Eduardo Machado, Electricidad by Luis Alfaro, Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez, Sam Shepard's Red Cross (one of the five short plays in ReGina Taylor's Transformations), the Goodman/Teatro Vista co-production of José Rivera's Cloud Tectonics and the Goodman's production of A Christmas Carol from 1996 to 2001. Other productions include Esperanza Rising and A Year with Frog and Toad for Chicago Children's Theatre, the Apple Tree Theatre/Teatro Vista co-production of Nilo Cruz's Two Sisters and a Piano and the Victory Gardens Theater production of Cruz's Pulitzer Prize-winner Anna in the Tropics. Godinez is the co-founder of Teatro Vista and served as artistic director for its first five years. With Teatro Vista he directed Broken Eggs, El Paso Blue, Journey of the Sparrows, Santos & Santos and The Crossing. Other directing credits include the world premiere of José Rivera's Boleros for the Disenchanted at Yale Repertory Theatre, True West at Portland Center Stage, Urban Zulu Mambo at Signature Theatre in New York City (starring ReGina Taylor), The Winter's Tale at Missouri Repertory Theatre, Macbeth for the Oak Park Festival Theatre, Romeo and Juliet at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and several seasons of Stories on Stage for WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. As an actor, Godinez appeared most recently in the Goodman/Teatro Vista world premiere of José Rivera's Massacre (Sing to Your Children). Film and television appearances include The Beast, Above the Law, The Fugitive, The Package, Lady Blue, Amerika and thirtysomething. His stage appearances include Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, Court Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre and The Old Globe. Born in Havana, Cuba, He is an associate professor at Northwestern University and has served as a site evaluator and panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, The Illinois Arts Council and the Evanston Arts Council. He is the recipient of the 1999 TCG Alan Schneider Directing Award, the Distinguished Service Award from the Lawyers for the Creative Arts and was recognized as the 2008 Latino Professional of the Year by the Chicago Latino Network.

Tickets to The Sins of Sor Juana start at $25 and are on sale now. Call 312.443.3800, click GoodmanTheatre.org or visit the box office (170 North Dearborn). Season subscriptions and individual tickets can also be purchased at the box office (170 North Dearborn). Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; 10Tix are not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets. Limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for 10 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820.