NATIVE GARDENS Opens 5/20 at MST

Main Street Theater (MST) closes its 2016 - 2017 MainStage subscription season with the regional premiere of Native Gardens by Karen Zacarías. "I'm interested in working on scripts that reflect both a world I know and understand, and a world that to me is entirely foreign," shares director Brandon Weinbrenner. "Native Gardens centers on the comedic combat between two opposite parties with respective poignancies, prejudices, and basic needs. I love this play and am thrilled to be working on a script by the heartfelt and hilarious Karen Zacarías."

The production opens May 20 and runs through June 11 at Main Street Theater - Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. Performances are on Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $36 - $45, depending on date and section, and are on sale via phone at 713.524.6706 or online at MainStreetTheater.com.

About Native Gardens

Gardens and cultures clash, turning friendly neighbors into feuding enemies in this hilarious new play. Pablo, a high?poweRed Lawyer, and doctoral candidate Tania, his very pregnant wife, are realizing the American dream when they purchase a house next door to community stalwarts Virginia and Frank. But a disagreement over a longstanding fence line soon spirals into an all?out war of taste, class, and privilege!

About Playwright Karen Zacarías

Karen Zacarías is the most-produced Latina playwright in the nation, and she is one of the top 20 most-produced of all playwrights this season across the country. Her award-winning plays include the sold-out/extended comedy THE BOOK CLUB PLAY, the sold-out world premiere drama JUST LIKE US (adapted from the book by Helen Thorpe) at Denver Theater Center, the Steinberg -citation award play LEGACY OF LIGHT, the Francesca Primus Award winning play MARIELA IN THE DESERT, the Helen Hayes Award winning play THE SINS OF SOR JUANA, the adaptation of Julia Alvarez's HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS. Karen also has a piece in the Arena Stage premiere of OUR WAR. Her TYA musicals with composer Debbie Wicks la Puma include JANE OF THE JUNGLE, EINSTEIN IS A DUMMY, LOOKING FOR ROBERTO CLEMENTE, CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS, FERDINAND THE BULL, and FRIDA LIBRE. Her musical CHASING GEORGE WASHINGTON premiered at The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and went on a National Tour. Her script was then adapted into a book by Scholastic with a foreword by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Karen is currently working on the adaptation of Edith Wharton's THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, a drama for Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and a Brazilian themed Oliver Twist musical: OLIVERIO: A BRAZILIAN TWIST ON DICKENS for the Kennedy Center. Her libretto of THE SUN ALSO RISES for the Washington Ballet received accolades in the New York Times and she is currently writing the libretto for THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW with Washington Ballet artistic Director Septime Webre.

She is proud to be currently commissioned to write new plays for Arena Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Ford's Theater, Adventure Theater, and First Stage. Her plays have been produced at The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Arena Stage, The Goodman Theater, Round House Theater, The Denver Center, Alliance Theater, Imagination Stage, GALA Hispanic Theater, Berkshire Theater Festival, South Coast Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Cleveland Playhouse, San Jose Repertory Theater, GEVA Theater, Horizon's Theater, People's Light and Theater, Walnut Street Theater, Arden Theater, Milagro Theater, Teatro Vista, Aurora Theater, and many more.

Her awards include: New Voices Award, 2010 Steinberg Citation-Best New Play, Paul Aneillo Award, National Francesca Primus Prize, New Voices Award, National Latino Play Award, Finalist Susan Blackburn, Helen Hayes for Outstanding New Play.

Karen is the first playwright-in-residence at Arena Stage in Washington, DC and has taught playwriting at Georgetown University. She is the founder of Young Playwrights' Theater, an award-winning theater company that teaches playwriting in local public schools in Washington, DC. YPT won the 2010 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from the White House as one of the most innovative arts programs in the nation. The YPT curriculum is currently being used in public schools in DC, VA, MD, New Orleans, Detroit, and Texas and is published on Amazon as "WRITE TO DREAM."

Karen is fluent in English and Spanish and highly proficient in Danish and French. She has BA with distinction from Stanford University and a Masters in Creative Writing from Boston University. Born in Mexico, Karen now lives in Washington D.C. with her husband and three children.

About the Production

Brandon Weinbrenner is the director of Native Gardens. Mr. Weinbrenner directed Venus in Fur and Roan @ The Gates at the Alley Theatre and is the Resident Assistant Director at the Alley. He also directed Fool for Love at the Landing Theatre last season.

The cast includes Bryan Kaplun, Anne Quackenbush, Briana Resa, and Jim Salners along with Michelle Elaine and Darnea Olson in the ensemble.

The design team includes Claire A. "Jac" Jones (set design), Mitchell Cronin (lighting design), Macy Lyne (costume design), Janel J. Badrina (sound design), and Rodney Walsworth (properties design). Lauren S. Evans is the Production Stage Manager.

About Main Street Theater

Main Street Theater provides theater experiences for all ages. Founded in 1975, our MainStage produces professional, intimate, literary plays for adults and operates under an Actors' Equity Association union contract; our Theater for Youth produces professional, engaging productions based on children's literature for families and school groups, both in-house and on tour around Texas; and we offer Education and Outreach programs on-site and at satellite locations around the Greater Houston area for youth aged 4 - high school. We work out of 2 facilities: our Rice Village home on Times. Blvd., and as part of the MATCH (Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston) on Main Street.

Main Street Theater is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters, of Theatre for Young Audiences/USA (formerly ASSITEJ), the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people, and a founding member of Houston Arts Partners. Main Street Theater is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

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