Pregones/PRTT's TORCHED! to Make Off-Broadway Debut in June
Performances will take place June 1-18, 2023.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz May. 18, 2023
Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater's original musical production TORCHED! will run for the first time in the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in Manhattan, the company's historic Off-Broadway house. Part investigative theater and part poetic fiction, TORCHED! brings forward true stories of those who lived through the fabled and devastating fires of the 1970s to lay bare the infamies of the arson-for-profit business. Pulsing to the beat of salsa, funk-disco, and hip-hop, TORCHED! features a Latinx ensemble cast of ten actors and musicians under the direction of Rosalba Rolón and musical director Desmar Guevara. Performances will take place June 1-18, 2023, and tickets starting at $25 are available at PregonesPRTT.org
TORCHED! was developed by United States Artists Fellow and Doris Duke Artist Award recipient Rosalba Rolón, in consultation with historians, theater makers, scholars, and activists who jointly helped lay the groundwork for the production. "They all share in its triumphs. TORCHED! is so much about reclaiming a shared history and about giving credit where credit is due. With this production, we join the generations of Bronx artists and activists shining light on this period of our history," says Rolón.
TORCHED! had its World Premiere in the South Bronx last year and was the company's first full in-person production following COVID-19 pandemic closures. "Bringing the production to PRTT in Manhattan's Theater District today is a way to broaden its audience and remind the theatergoing public at large that The Bronx fires impacted and continue to haunt all of New York City and its living history. The new run again features a powerhouse ensemble cast and thrilling new production design for our Manhattan stage!"
COMMUNITY ADVISORS and COLLABORATORS - Joe Conzo Jr. (photographer hailed for capturing the birth of hip hop), Caridad De La Luz (acclaimed poet, HBO Def Jam alum), Elena Martínez (folklorist), Elba Cabrera (cultural activist, educator), Edwin Pagán (film/media artist, activist), Clara E. Rodríguez (author and scholar, Latin Looks: Images of Latinas and Latinos in the U.S. Media), Petr Stand (historian, urban planner, architect), Vivian Vázquez Irizarry and Neyda Martínez (filmmakers and educators, Decade of Fire).
CREATIVE TEAM and COLLABORATORS
Book, Lyrics, Director: Rosalba Rolón. Composer, Musical Director:Desmar Guevara. Lighting: Lucrecia Briceño. Costumes: Harry Nadal. Projections: Eamonn Farrell. Sound: Jimmy Kavetas. Movement Coach & Choreography: Yaraní del Valle. Dramaturgs: Christin Eve Cato, Omar Pérez. Additional Music & Lyrics: Rosal Colón, Christin Eve Cato, José Joaquín García, Nyseli Vega.
ENSEMBLE CAST - Actors: John Cencio Burgos, Christin Eve Cato, José Joaquín García, Devan Kelty, Claudia Ramos-Jordán, Nyseli Vega. Musicians: Álvaro Benavides, Nelson Matthew Gonzalez, Desmar Guevara, Camilo Molina.
DATES: Jun 1-June 18, 2023 (Thu-Sat 8pm, Sat and Sun 3pm)
LOCATION: Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, 304 W 47th St (b/w 8th & 9th Aves)
TICKETS: Starting at $25 - Limited Inventory, Buy Early Online at www.PregonesPRTT.org or by phone at 718-585-1202
DISCOUNT: Members, Groups, Seniors, Students, Zip Tickets - Restrictions Apply
VISITOR SAFETY: Masks wearing is no longer required to enter our theaters.
ABOUT ROSALBA ROLÓN:
Rosalba Rolón, Artistic Director of Pregones/PRTT, is an accomplished actor, director, and dramaturg specializing in the adaptation of literary and non-literary texts for stage performance with live music. Distinctions include United States Artists Fellowship, Ford Foundation Visionaries Fellowship, Doris Duke Artist Award, and Creative Capital Award (with Paul Flores and Yosvany Terry). Rolón's numerous theater credits include We Have IRÉ with Paul Flores, Betsy! with Roadside Theater, Dancing In My Cockroach Killers with Magdalena Gómez, The Harlem Hellfigthers On A Latin Beat based on the Puerto Rican presence in the all-Black 369th Regiment of the US Army, El bolero fue mi ruina adapted from a story by Manuel Ramos Otero, Quíntuples by Luis Rafael Sánchez, and many others. She is a member of The American Thatre Wing's Tony Awards Nominating Committee.
ABOUT Desmar Guevara: Desmar Guevara, longtime Resident Composer and Musical Director of Pregones/PRTT, is a recognized champion of new music idioms in Latin jazz, a composer of experimental and non-traditional music for live theater and film, and an in-demand pianist with numerous concert, touring, and recording credits. He is founding director of chamber jazz ensemble Taller Sicá, founding member of Afro Puerto Rican ensemble Viento de Agua, and has collaborated with many musical luminaries including Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Tito Nieves, Xiomara Fortuna, Andy Montañez, Soledad Bravo, and Danny Rivera. Recent premieres include Grados Inefables, which delves into the esoteric symbolism and philosophies of Freemasonry, co-commissioned by arts presenters in New York, Colorado, and California.
ABOUT PREGONES/PRTT:
Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater is an award-winning acting and music ensemble, multidiscipline arts presenter, and owner/steward of bilingual arts facilities in The Bronx and Manhattan. Our mission is to champion a Puerto Rican/Latinx cultural legacy of universal value through creation and performance of original plays and musicals, exchange and partnership with other artists of merit, and engagement of diverse audiences. Our year-round programs offer attractive and affordable opportunities for arts access and participation to NYC residents and visitors alike.
Pregones was founded in 1979 when a group of artists led by Rosalba Rolón set out to create and tour new works in the style of Caribbean and Latin American colectivos or performing ensembles. Established as a South Bronx resident company soon after, Pregones remains in the vanguard of an arts renaissance radiating throughout and beyond The Bronx today. Spurred by stage and film icon Miriam Colón, PRTT was founded in 1967 as one of the first bilingual theater companies in all the U.S. It is credited for nurturing the development of hundreds of Latinx artists, legitimating creative connections throughout the Spanish-speaking world, and pioneering models for lasting community engagement. Following merger in 2014, Pregones/PRTT plays a decisive role in empowering diverse artists and audiences to claim their place at the front of the American theater.
Featured photo is from the 2022 production of Pregones/PRTT's TORCHED! Photo Credit: Michael Palma Mir.
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