New Holiday Show A XMAS CUENTO REMIX Comes To 16th Street

16th Street Theater announces their Thirteenth Season opener: the rolling world premiere of Maya Malan-Gonzalez' A XMAS CUENTO REMIX with composition and arrangements by Emiliano Valdez and Daniel Valdez and direction by Miguel Nuñez November 29 - December 29, 2019 at North Berwyn Park District's 16th Street Theater, 6420 16th Street in Berwyn. Press opening is Friday, December 6 at 7:30 PM.

Hark! Coming to 16th Street this holiday season: A modern-day take on Dicken's classic, A Christmas Carol. To Dolores who runs D's Pub, Christmas is a scam, and charity is for suckers. When her niece Anita faces eviction, Dolores turns her away into the cold. Can three sassy spirits turn this female Scrooge from bad to good? Celebrating Latinx culture and modern music, this is an exciting and joyous new Christmas Carol (Cuento) for today. This production is a National New Play Network rolling world premiere with Milagro in Portland and Cleveland Public.

"Using a classic tale as inspiration," states director Nuñez, "Maya has given us a holiday story that we as Latinx people can identity, see ourselves represented and at the same time be completely entertained. I can't wait to share this Christmas story that, as Maya says, has a lot of cheese, a little clown, a little sitcom and a little dark."

"A Xmas Cuento Remix is so many things wrapped up in one," states playwright Malan-Gonzalez, "I wanted to bring to the stage an homage to classic Christmas stories while also highlighting Latinx culture, which is so often invisible in mainstream Christmas content. I wanted to see strong female characters, while celebrating the importance of family and the magic of Christmas."

Isabel Quintero plays the title role of Dolores (aka Scrooge) with an ensemble cast of versatile women and men playing all the other roles including carolers. Actors Steph Losada Vondell, Juan Muñoz, Claudia Quesada, Ramon Smith, Allyce Torres and Isaly Viana (with Mateo Hernandez as understudy) were confirmed as of press time.