EL ORGRITO (THE OGRELING) Previews 5/3 At The 24th Street Theatre

Dedicated to presenting important stage works from around the world, 24th Street Theatre is proud to present the U.S. Premiere of El Ogrito (The Ogreling).  The winner of Canada’s 2000 Prix Masque Award and translated into eight languages,  Québec playwright Suzanne Lebeau’s stage work probes the monster within all of us. Adapted from the original French text, and presented in Spanish with projected English super titles, Lebeau’s internationally acclaimed coming-of-age story for all ages chronicles the struggles of a young boy born to a human mother and an ogre father as he tries to overcome his animal instincts and find his place in human society. The production is directed by Jesús Castaños-Chima, and stars Julieta Ortiz and Gabriel Romero. El Ogrito (The Ogreling) premieres Saturday, May 9 at 24th Street Theatre.

El Ogrito is presented as part of 24th Street’s Teatro Nuevo Internacional program, an extension of 24th Street’s extensive neighborhood and international cultural outreach. In that capacity, the production is traveling to Mexico (Tijuana, Ensenada, and Mexicali) in May (date TBA) for the Festival Universitario de Teatro de la Universidad Autonoma de Baja California.  This fall, 24th Street will tour the show to El Salvador as a cultural envoy of the US State Department. This will be 24th Street’s third trip to El Salvador as cultural envoys, where they have toured productions, taught classes, and worked with the El Salvador Youth Symphony.

Suzanne Lebeau’s stage works are some of the most widely performed among Québec's playwrights, both at home and abroad. She writes mostly for Le Carrousel, a theatre company she co-founded and continues to co-direct with Gervais Gaudreault. Her play Little Victories won the Chalmers Award in 1986 and L’ogrelet was nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award in 1998. The 24th Street Theatre premiere features a Spanish translation by Cecelia Iris Fasola and an English translation by Shelley Tepperman.

Jesús Castaños-Chima is a former member of the Autonomous National University of México Theater Company. He currently functions as the acting workshop coordinator of the International Latino Theater Festival of Los Angeles (FITLA) and as a coordinator of the Latino Theater program at 24th Street Theatre. He is also the director of the Apolo Theater Company, based in Los Angeles. He has most recently been seen in Always and Forever at [Inside] The Ford and in the acclaimed film Quinceañera, playing Ernesto Chavez.

Gabriel Romero is currently starring as the incorrigible Sergio in YLSE.NET, a web series with Ruth Livier and Marlene Forte. He has also starred as Marco in the daytime drama Dante’s Cove, as well as the critically acclaimed Spanish-language sitcom, Los Beltrán on Telemundo. Other credits include: the prime-time drama Fashion House with Bo Derek on The CW; Blood Money, with Alan Arkin; The Father I Knew-The Michael Landon Story, for CBS; Silk Stalkings; and by Temi Lopez feature, Home: The Horror Story.

Julieta Ortiz began her stage career in Mexico City. In 2004, she played the lead in the movie Dirt, which was filmed in New York and El Salvador, produced by Showtime and directed by Nancy Savoca, earning her the Actress Award at the La Cinema Fe Festival in New York. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2006, Ortiz has been featured in such films as Price of the American Dream II and The Perfect Game, as well as guesting on such television primetime series as Day Break (NBC), Medium (CBS) and Criminal Minds (ABC).

El Ogrito (The Ogreling) previews Sunday, May 3 at 3pm. The production premieres Saturday, May 9 at 8pm and Sunday, May 10 at 3pm (in Spanish with English supertitles).  Performances continue as follows: Saturdays at 8pm (May 23, June 6, 13,); Saturday at 3pm (June 20); Sundays at 3pm (May 10 through June 21, except no performance on May 17 ).  *Special English Performances: Saturdays at 1pm (May 16 & 30).

24th Street Theatre is located at 1117 W. 24th Street, Los Angeles, CA. Ticket Prices:
Adults: $15; children: $7 general admission (recommended for ages 8 to adult).  Tickets available on Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/63302; Or Reserve by phone at 213-745-6516 (will call only).  For information regarding 24th Theatre please go to www.24thstreet.org.

Photo taken from Google images.

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