Nylon Fusion Collective today officially announced their summer production of Lope De Vega's Fuente Ovejuna at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center beginning June 17th through July 3rd. This is the company's second major production since it was founded in New York in 2007. The production also marks the first time Adrian Mitchell's translation has been produced since 1986, and the first production in the US.
Written in the early1600s by Lope De Vega, who is often referred to as the "Spanish Shakespeare," the play is based upon an actual historical incident that took place in the village of Fuente Obejuna in Castile, Spain in 1476. In the beginning of Fuente Ovejuna a group of young men and women engage in a philosophical debate about whether love exists, and whether all human behavior is, at its core, based in self-interest, or "self-love." The conclusion of the play finds the entire town united in an act of collective revolt. Will they be able to make the ultimate sacrifice for their fellow villagers?Andy Goldberg, having previously directed the Collective's 2009 summer production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, returns as director of Fuente Ovejuna. Goldberg has extensive theatre credits including Bomb-itty of Errors, and is a teaching member of Manhattan Theatre Club. In addition to several new faces in the production, many of the company members return from last year's Midsummer, including the two co-founders of the Collective, Ivette Dumeng and Elliot Joseph. "This play has never seemed more relevant then it does today. All over the world, people are struggling to maintain hope and dignity in the face of oppressive political regimes. This story of a town brutalized to the point of revolt and the consequences of those actions stands as an example to oppressed people everywhere" says Goldberg.Videos