WSRep to Present Return of NATIVE GARDENS at Raue Center For The Arts

Live theater returns to Raue Center in 2024 with a hilarious comedy of manners “Native Gardens” by Karen Zacarias and directed by company member Michele Vazquez.

 Williams Street Repertory, Raue Center For The Arts' in-house professional theater company, is excited to bring this delightful comedy of good intentions and bad manners to its stage after a long hiatus due to COVID-19 shutdowns. 

“Native Gardens” opens on February 23, 2024, and runs on select dates through March 17, 2024. Williams Street Rep and Raue Center are also adding Thursday matinees at 2 pm for the first time this season.

“We've had a lot of requests from patrons for programming during the week and in the afternoons. We wanted to provide our audience members with more options,” explains Raue Center's marketing director, Meredith Schaefer.

“‘Native Gardens' is one of the funniest shows you will ever see. Michele Vazquez is the perfect director for this play,” says Founding Artistic Director, Richard Kuranda.** “‘Native Gardens' takes audiences on a whirlwind journey that we can all relate to and laugh at... and who couldn't use a good laugh these days?"

Native Gardens follows two couples making the most of their American Dream. Pablo, a high-powered lawyer, and doctoral candidate Tania, his very pregnant wife, are realizing the American dream when they purchase a house next door to community stalwarts, Virginia and Frank. But a disagreement over a long-standing fence line soon spirals into an all-out war of taste, class, privilege, and entitlement. The hilarious results guarantee no one comes out smelling like a rose.

“No one is the villain in this show and there are no saints. The playwright, Karen Zacarias, has a tremendous amount of compassion for these characters and she has written them with love and patience,” says Director, Michele Vazquez. “That said, they are all wonderfully flawed and human, and as a result, a lot of hilarity ensues,” she continues. “Someone likened it to a contemporary ‘Dick Van Dyke Show.' I think that's right on.”

WSRep has assembled a cast including Michael Lomenick (Frank), Shannon Mayhall (Virginia), Peter Briceño Gertas (Pablo), Jazmine Tamayo (Tania), and ensemble members David Rice*, Amy Delgado, Michael J. Santos, and Kelli Walker.

“I am excited about this cast. We have some familiar favorites returning, paired with new exciting talent. It is a fantastic mix,” says Vazquez.

In addition to Vazquez, the production team for WSRep's production of “Native Gardens” includes:

Director: Michele Vazquez**

Executive Producer: Robin Hughes+

Stage Manager: Caitlin I. Quinn*

Scenic Designer: Richard Arnold

Costume Designer: Rae Melnik

Lighting Designer: Drake Dole

Sound Designer: Lindsay Burdsall

Props Master: Persephone Lawrence

Fight & Intimacy Coordinator: Claire Yearman

Technical Director: Lisa Giebler

Founding Artistic Director: Richard Kuranda+

Managing Director: Justin Wellington

Operations Manager: Jenna Klaproth

Director of Production: Chris Tumblin

Production Manager: Ryan Meadow

Marketing Director: Meredith Schaefer

WSRep's production of “Native Gardens” opens on February 23, 2024 and runs select dates through March 17, 2024 at Raue Center. For more information, please visit wsrep.org.

WSRep is a member of Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the American theatre. TCG has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre for over 50 years.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

** Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

+Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

Raue Center offers special seating arrangements and hearing devices for patrons with disabilities. Please call the box office at 815.356.9212 to make arrangements prior to the performance.

Raue Center Box Office | 815.356.9212

2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays - Thursdays |12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays

Open 1 hour prior to the performance.

rauecenter.org

 

About Williams Street Repertory

Williams Street Repertory is a non-profit theatre company located in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Over the past eight seasons, WSRep has built a reputation for artistic excellence as one of Illinois' leading producing theatres. WSRep is dedicated to sustaining an artistic process of innovative and emotionally charged work, telling diverse stories and creating an in-house production company of well-respected artists. Since opening, WSRep has presented more than 25 productions with a wide range of appeal, from Chicago premieres and international debuts to holiday favorites. In 2016, WSRep entered into a contract with Actors' Equity Association, making WSRep the only professional theatre company in McHenry County. WSRep is dedicated to its mission of producing diverse and emotionally charged stories that deepen the cultural richness of our community and our region. WSRep was made possible through support provided by Susen Håakansson Berg and James C. Berg, the City of Crystal Lake, ComEd, McHenry County Community Foundation and Epic Repertory Theater Company. For additional information, visit wsrep.org.

About Raue Center For The Arts

Raue Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of all through the arts. For 20 years, they have provided quality programming – striving to make it pertinent, available and affordable to all. As a painstakingly restored, 1920s regional Showcase Theatre named for its benefactor—Lucile Raue—Raue Center has attracted the finest stars, Broadway shows, musicians and artists. Named on the League of Historic American Theatres, Raue Center is one of the finest examples of restored art and decor in the nation. The 750-seat theatre, located in historic downtown Crystal Lake, Illinois, is a gathering place for our region's citizens and has become a true destination. For additional information, visit rauecenter.org, facebook.com/RaueCenter and twitter.com/RaueCenter. 

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