THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET Plays The Rose 10/9-18

The House on Mango Street will instantly become a celebrated production at The Rose, October 9 to 18. Based on the award-winning novel by Sandra Cisneros, now in its 25 th year of publication, the show will mark one of the first main stage Chicano/Latino titles produced in Omaha.

It promises to be a source of creative pride for the theater, as well as for mature audiences who will relate to the story's sentiments as it peers into the life of a 12-year-old Mexican-American girl growing up in the Latino quarter of Chicago. "The House on Mango Street is about real life, real heartache, confusion, hope and redemption," said director Sheila Rocha. "The Rose Theater is unrivaled in its region when it comes to breakingthe norm and presenting new multicultural work. We wanted to exemplify the rich layers of Chicano culture with a literary piece of work that not only celebrates that experience, but extends it to the stage so young people can say, ‘That story is my story, that street is my street.'

"In the production, adapted for the stage by Amy Ludwig to maintain the integrity of the original novel, a series of vignettes explore the life of Esperanza Cordero coming of age in Chicago in the late1960s. Her hardships and observations of the women in her neighborhood make her feel a need to escape Mango Street, but she vows that she will come back for the people she leaves behind.As in Chicago where Esperanza's story is set, Omaha has experienced an exponential growth in theLatino population in recent decades. The storyline touches on common experiences in the Latino community and "teaches the audience that in order to find home, rediscover ourselves and find meaning in our lives, we must tell our stories and pass them down to new generations," said Rocha.

The thought-provoking production is brought to life on stage through dynamic performances and set design. Set designer William E.P. Davis has created a tenement building, fire escape and overallarchitectural enclosure to describe the culture of Mango Street-its chaos, purity and poverty. In addition, the lighting design employs rich colors to conjure the ambiance of the city. Each component of The House on Mango Street honors the 25 th anniversary of Cisneros' novel.

The production is second show of the Omaha Theater Company's celebratory 60th anniversary season and is recommended for ages 12 and up due to mature themes.The House on Mango Street will be presented on The Rose main stage October 9 to 18 at 7 p.m. each Friday and 2 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday. It will run 65 minutes without intermission.Tickets are $16 each and may be purchased at The Rose Box Office located at 2001 Farnam Street, by telephone at (402) 345-4849 or online at www.rosetheater.org.

Rose family members receive four free tickets to the show. Discount tickets are available at all Omaha and Council Bluffs-area Hy-Vee Food Stores.The Rose's 2009/2010 season is sponsored by Children's Hospital & Medical Center. The House on Mango Street is sponsored by Baird Holm, KGOR and the Nebraska Arts Council

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