Pregones/PRTT Reveals 2023-2024 Season in The Bronx and Manhattan

Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater's 2023-2024 season smashes all preconceptions of Latiné live performing arts with a formidable array of talent, stories, and diverse community engagement. Following the thrilling 6th Edition of SolFest–A Latiné Theater Festival, produced last month in partnership with The Sol Project, the company welcomes back actor-comedian Eli Castro in Law & Disorder, a hold-no-punches follow-up to 2019's Made in Puerto Rico, now playing at PRTT on West 47th Street, Manhattan. 

Up in The Bronx, the company presents brand new installments of Stage Garden Rumba, its acclaimed multi-artist activations of area community gardens running now through October 28 in collaboration with We Stay/Nos Quedamos; the World Premiere of Burned by Alejandra Ramos Riera from October 17-21 as part of Pregones/PRTT's interactive forum theater play series; and a historic two-day engagement as part of Los Pleneros de La 21's 40th Anniversary Celebration October 6-7, a multigenerational showcase from the foremost exponents of Puerto Rican traditional music and culture in the world featuring a classic LP21 lineup under the direction of maestro and NEA National Heritage Fellow Juan “Juango” Gutiérrez and the debut of bassist Alex “Apolo” Ayala's Afro-Puerto Rican Jazz Big Band.

Mainstage highlights from Pregones/PRTT's acclaimed original theater repertory —the backbone of this and every Pregones/PRTT season— are The Red Rose November 30 - January 7, conceived and directed by Rosalba Rolón, and The Desire of The Astronaut, running May 2 - June 2 and conceived and directed by Alvan Colón Lespier, both with music by Desmar Guevara, and both slated for Manhattan Premieres at PRTT. A first Workshop Production of Parrots at the Pagoda, conceived and directed by Jorge B. Merced, which will run June 20-29 rounds out this year's Mainstage.

“There is no end to the surprises we've assembled for Pregones/PRTT's 2023-2024 Season,” says Rosalba Rolón, Pregones/PRTT's Artistic Director, “and that's just what you get when you hold up a mirror to Latiné performing artists today. Expect the unexpected, the sublime, the hilarious, and the factual, plus music of all kinds! We're digging into history and imagination, channeling the rebels and the poets, breaking the proverbial borders, and taking up all the space we need. 

“The two Manhattan Premieres on the calendar from our company's original repertory —The Red Rose and The Desire of The Astronaut— signal an arc of steady ensemble theater output from 2005, when we first opened the doors of Pregones Theater in The Bronx, to this day. Both shows helped shape the identity of our Bronx stage as a hub of authentic storytelling and stylistic innovation, and we bring them to the legendary PRTT on 47th Street with proud Bronx swagger!

“The list of extraordinary guest artists and projects also gracing this Season furthers Pregones/PRTT's commitment to serve as a robust platform for other underrepresented makers, and to engage New York City residents and visitors alike in the discovery and enjoyment of diverse live arts.”

The Red Rose pays tribute to Afro-Puerto Rican writer and activist Jesús Colón, a foundational figure of Latiné New York. Arriving in New York as a stowaway youth in the winter of 1917, Colón went on to become a popular chronicler of the Latiné migrant experience and one of its most effective organizers. The musical imagines his fateful meeting with undercover FBI agent Mildred Blauvelt, and their subsequent face-off before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1959.

The Desire of The Astronaut explores the enduring myth and popular iconography of the astronaut through the fictional story of Esteban Only, the last Boricua in space. Drifting on a dying spacecraft with only intermittent contact with Earth, Esteban undertakes unauthorized repairs that may facilitate his rescue or bring on his court-martial on grounds of insubordination.

In Parrots at the Pagoda, five queer youths play out their shared obsession with Latin music giant Tito Rodríguez, “El Inolvidable,” and his lesser-known brother Johnny Rodríguez, standout musician, pioneering drag artist, and owner/producer of legendary El Cotorrito club in Puerto Rico. 

More Presenting highlights on this stellar 2023-2024 lineup include new editions of the multi-genre concert series March Is Music and the 21 Islands International Short Film Fest, and new artistic residencies by Kyoung's Pacific Beat and People's Theatre Project. Headliners for March Is Music include the historic reunion of Rucco Gandía's Radio Pirata (Rock en Español), Alex Apolo Ayala (Afro Puerto Rican Jazz), People on Earth (Latin Fusion), Pete Rodríguez Jr. (Latin Jazz), Groove Collective (Jazz-Funk) plus four afternoon concerts by world-class pianists as part of the Bronx Piano Sundays free-admission sub-series. 21 Islands ISFF, now going on its 8th year under the curatorial leadership of independent filmmaker and producer Melisa Ramos, will again feature dozens of multi-genre shorts cherry-picked from thousands of multilingual submissions originating in hundreds of qualifying locations worldwide.

Led by Korean-Chilean playwright Kyoung H. Park, Kyoung's Pacific Beat (KPB) practices an anti-oppressive discipline for devised theater, artist-led participatory research, and cultural organizing with the greater mission of making peace. NERO is their latest and most ambitious work, a Shakespearean, five-act “streamplay” theatricalizing George W. Bush's Presidency and the War on Terror as the rise and fall of Nero's Roman Empire. KPB's weeklong 2024 Bronx residency at Pregones Theater will culminate in the immersive World Premiere of NERO, inviting local and visiting audiences to envision a post-white supremacist world.

Under the steady leadership of founder/director Mino Lora, People's Theatre Project (PTP) is known and celebrated for its ensemble-based, multilingual, and multigenerational programming and a growing repertory of devised works that lift immigrant communities. For their 15th Anniversary Season and multiweek 2024 Bronx residency at Pregones Theater, activities include the World Premiere of a new play by The PTP Company and production of its annual Youth Theater Festival.

Education, touring, and broad engagement activities for this Season include expanded opportunities for young adults via the theater's Trasfondos/Backstories and Raúl Juliá Training Unit programming, realized in partnership with R.Evolución Latina; featured performances of We Have Iré by Paul S. Flores as part of Latinidades: A Festival of Latinx Theatre in Dallas, TX; participation in the national rollout of the Art in a Democracy anthology; new lobby visual arts exhibits curated with LP21 and En Foco feat. Sophie Rivera; leadership in TeatroFest NYC 2024, an initiative of The Alliance of Teatros Latinos NY with support from the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment; and the much-anticipated reboot of Plataforma: The Bronx-Broadway Showcase for Latinx Theater, exploring opportunity at the intersection of non-profit and commercial theater production, and harboring new outdoors activations at Pregones Theater and Garden in spring of 2024.

Four original illustrations by artist Jeison Rivera, frequent collaborator with Pregones/PRTT, were commissioned to accompany the public announcement of this year's Mainstage and are included with this press release. All programming may be subject to change.

DATES and LOCATIONS

ELI CASTRO'S LAW & DISORDER / September 7-October 8, 2023 / Manhattan 
STAGE GARDEN RUMBA / September 16-October 28, 2023 / The Bronx
BURNED / October 17-21, 2023 / The Bronx
LOS PLENEROS DE LA 21's 40th / October 6-7, 2023 / The Bronx
THE RED ROSE / November 30, 2023-January 7, 2024 / Manhattan
21 ISLANDS ISFF / February 1-11, 2024 / Online Streaming
MARCH IS MUSIC / March 2-30, 2024 / The Bronx
KYOUNG'S PACIFIC BEAT / April 1-6, 2024 / The Bronx
PEOPLES'S THEATRE PROJECT / April 8-14 and May 13-19, 2024 / The Bronx 
THE DESIRE OF THE ASTRONAUT / May 2-June 2, 2024 / Manhattan
PARROTS AT THE PAGODA / June 20-29, 2024 / The Bronx

TICKETS

Most admissions start at $25 — TICKET BUNDLES and MEMBERSHIPS available, best prices! All tickets online at PregonesPRTT.org or by phone at 718-585-1202. FREE: Stage Garden Rumba, Burned, 21 Islands ISFF, Bronx Piano Sundays, KPB's NERO, Trasfondos/Backstories, and the Raúl Juliá Training Unit are free-admission events requiring advance reservations and/or registration. DISCOUNTS: Members, Groups, Seniors, Students, Zip Tickets – Restrictions Apply