U.S. Premiere Of Los Colochos' MENDOZA Appears Next Month At Goodman Theatre

Goodman Theatre and the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) present the U.S. premiere of Mendoza by Los Colochos Teatro of Mexico City, appearing in a limited engagement October 2-7 at the Goodman. The production is produced as part of Destinos-the 2nd 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. An adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Mendoza is a thrilling, fast-paced and blood-soaked ensemble production by Antonio Zúñiga and Juan Carrillo, directed by Carrillo and presented in Spanish with English supertitles. The limited engagement of Mendoza appears October 2-7 (Opening Night is October 2) at Goodman Theatre (170 N. Dearborn); Tickets ($25) are available by telephone 312.443.3800 or online GoodmanTheatre.org/Mendoza. Destinos takes place through November 4; complete festival programming and ticket information available at www.clata.org. Chicago Community Trust is the Sponsor Partner of Mendoza and Corona Extra is the Official Beverage Sponsor of Mendoza and Destinos. NOTE: this production contains a live animal and is intended for mature audiences.

Mendoza is among the three world premieres, three North American premieres, three U.S. premieres and four Midwest premieres featured at 2018 Destinos. Inspired by the work of iconic Mexican writers like Juan Rulfo (Pedro Páramo) and Elena Garro and interwoven with Mexican history, the production is set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution and evocative of the gruesome events that exploded into the world's consciousness with the 2014 Ayotzinapa massacre. Returning to camp one night, General Mendoza stumbles across a prophetic witch who claims that he will lead the army. Spurred into action by his wife, he begins a seemingly endless chain of grisly murders. The ensemble cast includes Martín Becerra, Mónica Del Carmen, Erandeni Duran, Roam León, Ulises Martínez, Alfredo Monsiváis González, Yadira Pérez, Germán Villarreal and Leonardo Zamudio.

Los Colochos Teatro, a six-year-old company based in Mexico City, is comprised of professional performers committed to a quality, critical and national theater. The company has participated in national and international festivals, and have had seasons in Mexico City in forums like Teatro Sergio Magaña, Teatro El Milagro, Labtrece, Centro Cultural Carretera 45, Foro A poco No, Teatro El Granero and Foro La Gruta. Productions include El Juego de la Silla, a show of puppets for children about the Mexican Revolution; El Enigma del Serengeti, a farce about the desolation; and Mendoza, an adaptation of William Shakespeare´s Macbeth.

ABOUT DESTINOS, THE CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL LATINO THEATER FESTIVAL

CLATA was founded in 2016 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization by Myrna Salazar and the three most prominent Chicago Latino arts organizations: National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC) and Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA), with the generous support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The first annual Destinos festival in the fall of 2017 ran for five weeks, and presented 61 performances by 10 companies from Chicago, U.S. and Latin America. In sum, last year's inaugural festival engaged approximately 8,000 people, including more than 850 students who attended matinee performances and participated in post-show discussions with artists, directors and playwrights. The second annual Destinos 2018 festival is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Field Foundation of Illinois, The Joyce Foundation, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, Choose Chicago, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Illinois Humanities, Southwest Airlines, Allstate, ComEd and Corona Extra. For more information, visit clata.org or call (312) 631-3112.

ABOUT Goodman Theatre

"AMERICA'S "BEST REGIONAL THEATRE" (Time magazine), Goodman Theatre is a premier not-for-profit organization distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and civic engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater's artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics (celebrated revivals include Falls' productions of Death of a Salesman and The Iceman Cometh). Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, over 160 Jeff Awards and many more accolades. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson's "American Century Cycle" and its annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017, has created a new generation of theatergoers. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production partner with local off-Loop theaters and national and international companies by providing financial support or physical space for a variety of artistic endeavors.

Committed to three core values of Quality, Diversity and Community, the Goodman proactively makes inclusion the fabric of the institution and develops education and community engagement programs that support arts as education. This practice uses the process of artistic creation to inspire and empower youth, lifelong learners and audiences to find and/or enhance their voices, stories and abilities. The Goodman's Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of such programming, most offered free of charge, and has vastly expanded the theater's ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland citizens (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.

Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago's cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family's legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth's family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr.is Chair of Goodman Theatre's Board of Trustees, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women's Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.