PEDRO PARAMO and More Set for Goodman Theatre's 2013 Latino Theatre Festival

This spring, Goodman Theatre broadens the scope of its Latino Theatre Festival, an event that has introduced more than 160,000 Chicagoans to prominent Latino theater companies around the globe–from Spain to Mexico to Brazil–for the past decade. Under the direction of Goodman Resident Artistic Associate and Festival Curator Henry Godinez, Latino Fest 2013 will span over an extended time period to run in conjunction with the height of the season. Other readings and events will be announced at a later date.

"This year, our sixth rendition of Latino Theatre Festival will see the realization of two major goals: to present the Festival at a time of year when more young people and school groups can attend, and to both create and showcase new work with our friends at Teatro Buendía and Albany Park Theater Project," said Resident Artistic Associate and Festival Curator Henry Godinez.

The Festival, one of the largest in the Midwest dedicated solely to Latino theater, begins with Cuba's Teatro Buendía production of Pedro Páramo in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (March 22 – March 31, in the Owen Theatre). Pedro Páramo is a magical realist play inspired by the 1955 novel by Juan Rulfo about one man's unchecked appetite.

Next, Edward Torres directs Quiara Alegría Hudes' The Happiest Song Plays Last (April 13 – May 12, in the Owen Theatre), about two kindred souls searching for love, meaning and a sense of hope in a quickly changing world.

The festival culminates with Home/Land from Albany Park Theater Project (June 20 – June 30, in the Owen Theatre), bringing to life the true stories of immigrant families in the land they've come to call home.

Tickets to Pedro Páramo and Home/Land go on sale Wednesday, September 5. Tickets to The Happiest Song Plays Last are currently available through subscription (on sale to the general public Friday, February 22). Call 312.443.3800, click GoodmanTheatre.org/LatinoTheatreFest or visit 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.

Latino Theatre Festival at Goodman Theatre has introduced Chicagoans to prominent Latino theater companies around the globe since its inception in 2003. Under the direction of Resident Artistic Associate Henry Godinez, Latino Fest transforms the Goodman into a hub of international artistic exchange; productions by local, national and international theater artists, plus a variety of events, define the experience.

Among the expanding list of international Latino theater companies that have performed at the Goodman since 2003: Compañia Marta Carrasco (Spain); Comediants (Spain); Teatro Buendía (Cuba); Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes (Mexico); and Pia Fraus (Brazil). National artists of note have come to the Goodman from New York (Universes' Blue Sweat; Adrianna Sevan's Taking Flight) and Los Angeles (Luiz Alfaro's The Book of Titus and Other Latino Bible Stories; Culture Clash's AmeriCCa). Local participants have included Aguijón Theater Company, Albany Park Theater Project, Chicago Children's Theatre, Luna Negra, Teatro Luna and Teatro Vista.

Acclaimed director Henry Godinez, is a resident artistic associate at Goodman Theatre and the curator of the Latino Theatre Festival. Karen Zacarías' The Sins of Sor Juana Repertory Theatre. Born in Havana, Cuba, and named Latino of the Year in 2008 by the Chicago Latino Network, Henry has directed at the Goodman-most recently -and venues across the Chicago theater community for nearly two decades. 

Other Godinez-directed world premieres at the Goodman include Karen Zacarías' as part of the fifth Latino Theatre Festival in 2010. His other Goodman directing credits include José Rivera's Boleros for the Disenchanted, which had its world premiere at Yale Mariela in the Desert , ReGina Taylor's Millennium Mambo and Luis Alfaro's Straight as a Line. Also at the Goodman: The Cook by Eduardo Machado, Electricidad by Luis Alfaro, Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez, Red Cross by ???Sam Shepard (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 1996–2001 productions of A Christmas Carol.

Other productions include A Year with Frog and Toad and Esperanza Rising (Apple Tree Theatre/Teatro Vista co-production) and Anna in the Tropics for Chicago Children's Theatre, Nilo Cruz's Two Sisters and a Piano for Victory Gardens Theater. Godinez is the co-founder and former artistic director of Teatro Vista, where he directed Broken Eggs, El Paso Blue, Journey of the Sparrows, Santos & Santos and The Crossing.

His other directing credits include work at Portland Center Stage, Signature Theatre Company in New York City, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Oak Park Festival Theatre, 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) and on TV in The Beast , The Chicago Code and in a recurring role on Boss.

Godinez 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 serves on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Arts Council and Albany Park Theatre Project. Godinez is the recipient of the 1999 TCG Alan Schneider Directing Award, the Distinguished Service Award from the Lawyers for the Creative Arts, and was honored as the 2008 Latino Professional of the Year by the Chicago Latino Network.

For a schedule of events in the 2013 Latino Theatre Festival, visit Goodman's website. Plays, dates and artists are subject to change.

Goodman Theatre, "the leading regional theater in the nation's most important theater city" (Time), is a major cultural, educational and economic pillar in Chicago, generating nearly $300 million in economic impact over the past decade in its state-of-the-art two-theater complex on North Dearborn Street. Founded in 1925 and currently under the leadership of Artistic Director Robert Falls, "Chicago's most essential director" (Chicago Tribune), and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, Chicago's oldest and largest not-for-profit resident theater has welcomed nearly two million patrons to productions and events-including 10 festivals celebrating playwrights such as David Mamet, August Wilson and Horton Foote, as well as the biennial Latino Theatre Festival-and served legions of students through its Education and Community Engagement programs (including the FREE Student Subscription Series and other interactive programs). The Goodman has earned more than 90 awards for hundreds of productions, including the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined by Lynn Nottage- one of 25 new work Goodman commissions in the last decade. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. Ruth Ann M. Gillis is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Sherry John is the President of Women's Board.

 

 

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