Oso Fabuloso And The Bear Backs Come To Joe's Pub In March

INTAR (Paul Slee Rodriguez, Executive Director, Lou Moreno, Artistic Director, Nidia Medina, Artistic Producer) and Radio Drama Network announced today that Joe's Pub will present the new musical, ¡Oso Fabuloso & The Bear Backs!. Show will take place on March 24th at 9:30 pm (Doors open at 9:00 pm). Joe's Pub is located at the The Public, 425 Lafayette Street. Tickets are priced at $25.00. Link for tickets https://publictheater.org/productions/joes-pub/2022/o/oso-fabuloso--the-bear-backs/

¡Oso Fabuloso & The Bear Backs! has book and lyrics by C. Julian Jiménez with music by P.K. Variance. Musical direction and guitar are by P.K. Variance with Robert Cowie on keyboards, Ray Rizzo on drums and Jesse Sklar on bass. Set and costume design is by Timmy Schues with sound and lighting design by Alberto Ruiz.

¡Oso Fabuloso & The Bear Backs! debuted at INTAR Theatre last summer to great critical acclaim. It also played recently at The McKittrick Hotel. "The show has music, heart, naughtiness, and a little bit of philosophy - everything that makes New York great," said Zachary Stewart (TheaterMania). Adrian Dimanlig (Interludes) said, "The live band is simply awesome, giving the show a big sound that wouldn't be out of place at a real rock concert. Suffice to say, Oso Fabuloso & The Bear Backs! deserves a future life and may well be the next Hedwig."

A Queer Latino bear named Oso Fabuloso has recently been dumped by a two-timing daddy bear. In order to overcome his depression, Oso seeks the help of his therapist Dr. Calvo who convinces him to use his gift of song to sing the blues away. Oso agrees to go on tour with his therapist/guitarist and his two bet friends/backup singers, Gummy and Grizz, hoping it will cure him of his romantic woes!

The cast includes C. Julian Jiménez as Oso, Joseph Distl as Grizz, Vasileos Leon as Gummy, and P.K. Variance as the Dr. Calvo.

INTAR has been producing Latino voices in English since 1966 and this season celebrates the artists and crew members of its last mainstage production before COVID-19 forced the closure of their theater space.

C.JULIAN JIMENEZ is a Queer, Puerto Rican, and Dominican playwright who holds an MFA from The New School for Drama. Playwrighting awards include: New Dramatist Residency (Class of 2025), 2019/2020 Rita Goldberg Playwrights' Workshop Fellow at The Lark, 2017 & 2018 Pipeline Theatre Company PlayLab, 2018 LaGuardia Community College's LGBTQ History Project Grant, 2015 Queen Arts Council Grant and the 2009 Public Theater Emerging Writers Group. Productions include Man Boobs (Pride Films & Plays, 2011), Nico Was a Fashion Model (Counter-Productions, (2013), Animals Commit Suicide (First Floor Theater, 2015), Locusts Have No King (INTAR, 2016), Bundle of Sticks (INTAR, 2020) and Alligator Mouth, Tadpole Ass (Theatre Rhinoceros, 2020). He wrote the book for LatinXoxo at Joe's Pub and Lincoln Center. Other plays include Julio Down by The Schoolyard and Bruise & Thorn. HE is co-producer of the hit web series, "Bulk" and is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Queensborough Community College.

P.K. VARIANCE is a musician, composer, filmmaker, and artist. Past public contributions include music and various video projects for modern dance companies in NYC. Currently celebrating the return of Oso y Calvo. Original composition scan be seen and hear at PKVariance Arts on YouTube.

INTAR gratefully acknowledges 2021 season underwriting support from the Radio Drama Network (Melina Brown, President). INTAR Theatre programming is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

INTAR: International Arts Relations, Inc., one of the United States' longest running Latino theater producing in English, is an organization committed to the development of "theater arts without borders." Over the past four decades, INTAR has produced classics, Latino adaptations of classics, cabarets, and 70 world premieres of plays written by Latino-Americans, including 2005 Oscar nominee José Rivera and Pulitzer Prize recipient Nilo Cruz.

INTAR works to nurture the professional development of Latino theater artists; produce bold, innovative, artistically significant plays that reflect diverse perspectives; and make accessible the diversity inherent in America's cultural heritage.

To date, the theatre has commissioned, developed, and produced works by more than 175 Latino writers, composers, and choreographers. It has assisted hundreds of Latino playwrights, directors, and actors in obtaining their first professional theater credits, union memberships, and reviews in English-language media.