THE DESIRE OF THE ASTRONAUT Comes to Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Next Month

  Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater has announced the 2024 run of The Desire of the Astronaut, an original musical theater play inspired by autobiographical accounts and actual training missions of NASA personnel. The production explores the alluring myth and popular iconography of space conquest and science fiction, centering on the character of Esteban Only, the last Boricua in space.

Adrift on a dying spacecraft, Esteban undertakes unauthorized repairs that may facilitate his rescue, but that may also bring on his court martial on grounds of insubordination. Conceived, developed, and written by Pregones/PRTT Associate Artistic Director Alvan Colón Lespier, The Desire of the Astronaut riffs on timeless themes of freedom, loyalty, obedience, and love. The show features original music by composer Desmar Guevara, and a vibrant ensemble cast of 9 Latiné actors and musicians, under the direction of Leyma López. Performances will run Off-Broadway at Puerto Rican Traveling Theater on 304 West 47th Street, Manhattan, May 2 to June 2, 2024. A special recognition and benefit performance honoring Colón Lespier on his 40-year Artistic Milestone with Pregones/PRTT will be held on May 16. Tickets on sale by phone at 718-585-1202 and online at www.pregonesprtt.org.

A signature musical work in Pregones/PRTT’s original repertory, and a poetic allegory for political imprisonment, The Desire of the Astronaut had its World Premiere in The Bronx in 2016. This first staging at PRTT features López, an accomplished Latiné theater maker with numerous stage credits, in her Pregones/PRTT Mainstage directorial debut. Actor Jesús E. Martínez (PBS Alma’s Way, John Leguizamo’s Kiss My Aztec) is back in the role of Esteban Only, which he helped develop and premiere. Company composer, pianist, and Musical Director Desmar Guevara, together with drummer, electronic musician, Latin Grammy winning producer Frankie Leroux (Cultura Profética, Claire Delić), oversee the score and sonic environments. A six-member production design team is helmed by Pregones/PRTT’s resident lighting designer Lucrecia Briceño and projections designer Eamonn Farrell. Of the 2024 staging, author Colón Lespier says: 

“Today more than ever, bringing a formidable idea to the theater stage requires focus, imagination, and good friends. The Desire of the Astronaut has been a true collaborative process just like all the works I have been fortunate to helm at Pregones over the past 40 years. In this case the task would have not been possible without the creative output of composer Desmar Guevara, the skilled vision of director Leyma López, and two formidable allies that have also accompanied me on this journey: Emily Dickinson and Francis Scott Fitzgerald. Above all, I am proud to say this production is grounded on the aesthetics of Pregones Ensemble, influenced by the collective creation process that I first encountered working in Latin American and Caribbean theater.”

ENSEMBLE CAST/Actors: Bryan J. Cortés, Danny Lemache, Anna C. Malavé-Rolón, Jesús E. Martínez, Diana Pou, Jay Romero, Gabriela Saker. ENSEMBLE CAST/Musicians: Desmar Guevara, Frankie Leroux.

CREDITS: Book and Lyrics by Alvan Colón Lespier. Additional texts by Emily Dickinson and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Music by Desmar Guevara. Direction by Leyma López. Lighting Design by Lucrecia Briceño and Emmanuel Delgado. Projections Design by Eamonn Farrell. Sound Design by Eduardo Reséndiz. Costume Design by Oriana Sophia. Set Design by Pedro Guevara. Choreography by Veraalba Santa. Script Supervisor: Alejandra Ramos Riera. Production Manager: Jessica Moya.

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