Just beyond the elegant dining room of an Upper East Side restaurant, service workers angle for shifts, pray for tips and cling to dreams of life beyond their daily back-of-house grind. Armando Molina directs the Los Angeles premiere of My Mañana Comes by Elizabeth Irwin, opening April 16 at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood.
The minimum wage crisis and rights for undocumented workers lie at the center of Irwin's funny and powerful new play.
Starring as four busboys working in the kitchen of an upscale French restaurant in Manhattan are
Richard Azurdia (Backyard at Echo Theater Company, Bill & Joan at Sacred Fools, one of 54 "fascinating Angelenos" profiled in LA Weekly's 2015 People issue), Pablo Castelblanco (Sálvese quien pueda at the Leonardus Theatre in his native Bogotá, Colombia) Peter Pasco (Our Lady of 121st Street at the Victory, Seven Spots on the Sun at Theatre @ Boston Court) and
Lawrence Stallings (original productions of Book of Mormon on Broadway, Hair and Passing Strange off-Broadway).
Expertly juggling delicate entrees and fussy customers, the young men face off with management and with each other when a sudden pay cut threatens their dignity, their dreams for a better life - and their friendship.
"This is exactly the kind of play we like to do at the Fountain," suggests co-artistic director
Stephen Sachs. "It's fast-paced, hip and funny, but it also opens a window into a community we don't often see, gives voice to a community that is usually not heard. You really get to know and care about these guys - the relationships, camaraderie and the sharing of dreams."
According to Molina, "Irwin gets to the truth about who these guys are, the reality beneath the tropes. She shatters preconceptions."
Irwin, who worked in the restaurant industry for many years, wanted to explore what undocumented immigration means to people who are directly affected by it - both those who are undocumented and those who work alongside and have relationships with them.
"This story explores the complications and nuances of their lives," she said in an interview.
Set design for My Mañana Comes is by
Michael Navarro; lighting design is by
Jennifer Edwards; sound design is by Christopher Moscatiello; costume design is by Magdalena Guillen; props and set dressing are by Dillon Nelson; production stage manager is Emily Lehrer; associate producer is James Bennett; and
Stephen Sachs,
Simon Levy and
Deborah Lawlor produce for the Fountain Theatre.
Elizabeth Irwin was born in Worcester, raised in Brooklyn and lived in Mexico City. She was a 2013-14
Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow and a member of the Public Theater's 2015 Emerging Writer's Group. Her play My Mañana Comes received its off-Broadway debut in September 2014 at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater as a Playwright Realm's Page One Production (
Lucille Lortel Outstanding Play nominee, Drama Desk Outstanding Play nominee, Outer Critics Circle
John Gassner Award nominee). She continued her work with
Playwrights Realm as their 2014-15 Page One Resident Playwright. She was a member of the 2012-13
Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab. Elizabeth is a graduate of Amherst and Harvard and works in the New York City public schools.
Award-winning director Armando Molina's credits include The Long Road Today by
Jose Cruz Gonzalez (
South Coast Repertory), Visitors' Guide to Arivaca by Evangeline Ordaz (Teatro Vision in San Jose and Denver Center of the Performing Arts), Anna In The Tropics by
Nilo Cruz (PCPA Theaterfest), Conjunto by
Oliver Mayer and Hippie Mexicana by Evangeline Ordaz (Borderlands Theater Company, Tucson) and Living Out and Distracted by
Lisa Loomer (TheatreWorks in Palo Alto and Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis). Armando received national recognition from the NEA and Theater Communications Group as a recipient of their Career Development Program for Directors. As a member of the Cornerstone Theatre Company for nine years, Armando acted in and directed Cornerstone community residencies in Baldwin Hills, Chinatown, Boyle Heights, Watts, South Central and with the Bus Riders Union. He is a co-founder of the critically acclaimed Latino comedy group Latins Anonymous, whose first play, Latins Anonymous, was held over for six months at the Los Angeles Theater Center, then followed by runs at San Diego Repertory Theater, Group Theater in Seattle,
South Coast Repertory and Sacramento Theater Company. Their second play, The LA LA Awards, premiered at the Japan American Theater in Los Angeles, then ran at San Diego Rep, the Guadalupe Cultural Center in San Antonio and the Odyssey Theater in Los Angeles. Both plays were published by Arte Publico Press and continue to be performed nationally. He is currently artistic director of Company of Angels Theater, the oldest non-profit professional theater company in Los Angeles.
The Fountain Theatre is one of the most successful intimate theaters in Los Angeles, providing a creative home for multi-ethnic theater and dance artists. The Fountain has won over 225 awards, and Fountain projects have been seen across the U.S. and internationally. Recent highlights include being honored for its acclaimed 25th Anniversary Season in 2015 by Mayor
Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles City Council; the 2014 Ovation Award for Best Season and the 2014 BEST Award for overall excellence from the Biller Foundation; the recent West Coast premiere of
Athol Fugard's The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, named to Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty's "Best Theater of 2015" list; and the naming of seven Fountain productions in a row as "Critic's Choice" in the Los Angeles Times.
My Mañana Comes opens on Saturday, April 16 and continues through June 26, with performances on Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m.; and Mondays at 8 p.m. (On Saturday, April 16, there will be one performance only, at 8 p.m.; dark Monday, April 18). Preview performances take place on Wednesday, April 13; Thursday, April 14; and Friday, April 15, all at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $15-$34.95; every Monday is Pay-What-You-Can. The Fountain Theatre is located at 5060 Fountain Avenue (at Normandie) in Los Angeles. Secure, on-site parking is available for $5. The Fountain Theatre is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. For reservations and information, call
(323) 663-1525 or go to
www.FountainTheatre.com.
