Octavio Solis News

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents Octavio Solis' Mother Road, a sequel to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Mother Road premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2019 and will run at Arena Stage from February 7 – March 8, 2020 in the iconic in-the-round Fichandler Stage.

California Shakespeare Theater (Cal Shakes) has been approved for a $30,000 Art Works grant to support the World Premiere production of 1001 Nights (A Retelling) by Evren Odcikin and Leila Buck.  The National Endowment for the Arts has approved 1,187 grants totaling $27.3 million in the first round of fiscal year 2020 funding to support arts projects in every state in the nation, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. 

Word for Word's first production of the 2020 Season is Octavio Solis's Retablos: Stories from A Life Lived Along the Border from his same titled memoir of growing up in El Paso. Retablos: Stories from A Life Lived Along the Border runs February 22 -March 15, in the Z Below Theater in San Francisco. The production is directed by Sheila Balter and Jim Cave and opens with press performance February 22 & 23, Saturday 8 PM & Sunday 3 PM (previews Feb.19- 21).

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces casting for Octavio Solis' Mother Road, a sequel to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Mother Road premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2019 and will run at Arena Stage from February 7 - March 8, 2020 in the iconic in-the-round Fichandler Stage.

Word for Word's first production of the 2020 Season is Octavio Solis's Retablos: Stories from A Life Lived Along the Border from his same titled memoir of growing up in El Paso. Retablos: Stories from A Life Lived Along the Border runs February 22 -March 15, in the Z Below Theater in San Francisco. The production is directed by Sheila Balter and Jim Cave and opens with press performance February 22 & 23, Saturday 8 PM & Sunday 3 PM (previews Feb.19- 21).

A septuagenarian suffering from Alzheimer's may seem an unlikely hero, but in QUIXOTE NUEVO, playwright Octavio Solis' adaptation of Miguel Cervantes' DON QUIXOTE, a retired Mexican-American college professor fearlessly takes on the Border Patrol, aids migrants, and models the importance of resilience while searching for his long-lost love. Pursued by death in the form of a colorful band of a?oecalacasa?? from the spirit world, his worried sister and niece, and the therapist and priest who want to take him to an assisted living facility, Jose a?oeJoea?? Quijano becomes convinced that he is Don Quixote and sets off on a quest to find his Dulcinea, the migrant girl he fell in love with as a boy on his father's farm.

Quixote Nuevo, which received its world premiere at California Shakespeare Company in 2018, is a rich, contemporary, theatrical fable that has been created anew by Solis. Emilio Delgado, who is returning to Quixote Nuevo after originating the titular role, is best known for his 44-year run as beloved repairman Luis on the iconic PBS children's show 'Sesame Street.'

In Quixote Nuevo, one of literature's most vibrant and memorable characters, Cervantes' Don Quixote is boldly brought to life by award-winning playwright Octavio Solis and director KJ Sanchez in this hilarious and imaginative adaption of the classic novel. Transported to a border town in Texas, the eccentric, brilliant knight embarks on a cross-desert quest to reunite with a long-lost love. Chased by Death himself a?" in the form of roving bands of guitar-playing Calacas a?" Quixote always leads with his heart in a world of people led astray by their brains. Quixote Nuevo, which received its world premiere at California Shakespeare Company in 2018, is a rich, contemporary, theatrical fable that has been created anew by Solis. Emilio Delgado, who is returning to Quixote Nuevo after originating the titular role, is best known for his 44-year run as beloved repairman Luis on the iconic PBS children's show a?oeSesame Street.a??

Huntington Theatre Company has announced that the Huntington Community Membership Initiative will host Latinx Community Night, Thursday, November 21 beginning at 6pm at the Huntington Avenue Theatre (264 Huntington Avenue, Boston).

Word for Word's first production of the 2020 Season is Octavio Solis's Retablos: Stories from A Life Lived Along the Border from his same titled memoir of growing up in El Paso. Retablos: Stories from A Life Lived Along the Border runs February 22 -March 15, in the Z Below Theater in San Francisco. The production is directed by Sheila Balter and Jim Cave and opens with press performance February 22 & 23, Saturday 8 PM & Sunday 5 PM  (previews Feb.19- 21).

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival wrapped up its 2019 season October 26-27 with the final performances of Mother Road, How to Catch Creation, As You Like It, La Comedia of Errors, Indecent, Between Two Knees, Hairspray a?" The Broadway Musical, and Cambodian Rock Band. Preparations for the 2020 season and this month's 2020 Member Presale are already underway. The 2020 opening weekend is March 6-March 8; preview performances begin February 28.

Loretta Greco, Artistic Director of Magic Theatre, has announced that she will depart the organization after twelve years as its artistic leader. Greco will leave at the end of the 2019-2020 season. a?oeIt has been a spectacular honor to lead the storied Magic Theatre,a?? said Greco. a?oeI am proud of the extraordinary array of groundbreaking writers Magic has launched and supported over time, who have bravely led our cultural conversation forwarda?"and the way those voices and the work we have premiered have elevated the field as a whole.

Goodman Theatre and the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) presents the Midwest premiere of Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary, written and performed by L.A.-based artist Marissa Chibas, October 8 -13. The limited engagement premiere is presented as part of Destinosa?"the 3rd Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, a seven-week festival of Latino theater artists and companies from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America in shows, panels and student performances at venues citywide.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature ALMOST FAMOUS, Rob McClure As MRS. DOUBTFIRE, and more!

Quixote Nuevo recently opened at Hartford Stage and critics were in attendance. Find out what they had to say!

There are some stories that have a timeless quality, speaking to the aches and the joys of modern life regardless of the era in which they are told. Such is the classic tale of Don Quixote, a story that, when Miguel de Cervantes published it in 1605, took on a certain meaning and century after century has been seen through an evolving lens, from comic novel to tragic statement against nobility. But in Octavio Solis' new play QUIXOTE NUEVO, which opens Hartford Stage's 2019/2020 season, the infamous Spanish Knight of La Mancha has become the Latino Knight of La Plancha (Texas) battling border surveillance drones instead of windmills and fighting for the undocumented versus the poor citizens of war-ravaged Spain.

The CalArts Center for New Performance (CNP) announces its current season for the 2019-2020 year. The professional producing arm of California Institute of the Arts, CNP provides a unique artist- and project-driven framework for the development and realization of original theater, music, dance, media, and interdisciplinary projects.

Hartford Stage will open its 2019/2020 season with Quixote Nuevo, an inspired, Tejano music-filled, contemporary reimagining of the Miguel de Cervantes classic Don Quixote, by award-winning playwright Octavio Solis. Performances run  through Sunday, October 13.

To celebrate the culmination of Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Latinx Play Project (LxPP), OSF will host a panel discussion featuring five veteran Latinx playwrights as they discuss the joys and challenges of working in professional theatre today, finding artistic home, and making work that speaks to the times we are in. The discussion will take place on Sunday, September 29 at 10 a.m. at Carpenter Hall and also be livestreamed by Howlround. 

Huntington Theatre Company announced today the cast and creative team for Quixote Nuevo, a comedic and poetic reimagining of Miguel Cervantes' Don Quixote by award-winning playwright Octavio Solis. Directed by KJ Sanchez and produced in association with Hartford Stage and the Alley Theatre, Quixote Nuevo will begin performances at the Avenue of the Arts/Huntington Avenue Theatre (264 Huntington Ave, Boston) on Friday, November 15, 2019 and will run through Sunday, December 8, 2019.