Portland Center Stage Commissions New Musical HOMBRES

Portland Center Stage has commissioned three celebrated, innovative artists to co-create a new musical through a devised, collaborative process. William Carlos Angulo, who choreographed PCS's acclaimed production of In the Heights, will be the director and choreographer. Angulo will be joined by two artists who are new to PCS: Isaac Gómez will pen the book and Michelle J. Rodriguez (Micha) will compose the music and lyrics.

The new musical, currently titled Hombres, will explore the many facets of Latinx identity and machismo culture, with the artists bringing their own lived experiences - in particular the beauty and complexity of their relationships to their fathers.

Hombres will mark the first PCS commission of a full-fledged musical, and also the first time the company has supported a long-term project that will be developed through a devised creative process centered on improvisation techniques that will be heavily infused with music and dance.

The team is excited to root their work in the Pacific Northwest community, including building relationships with local schools and community organizations throughout the development process, by leading musical theater writing and devising workshops in community centers and local schools.

"I'm over the moon to support this powerhouse team as they examine tenderness within masculinity. Michelle, Isaac, and William create from a place of deep joy and abundance in their devising process, and we are honored to support Hombres on its development path," said Artistic Director Marissa Wolf.

Speaking to the devised process, Angulo said, "PCS has quickly become a beloved artistic home for me. That is due entirely to Marissa and the staff, who work to create a space in which artists like me can examine and interrogate not only what we create, but how we create it."

Gómez added, "It's an incredible honor to be working alongside William and Micha on a project that has such deep resonance for all three of us. To be welcomed by PCS in an artist-driven process is incredibly healing after the year we've all just endured."

Rodriguez touched on the themes and musical influences in Hombres: "What are the effects of machismo and what does being tender with yourself and with others sound like and look like? The way I get to the root of those questions is through music, and with this piece, we're charting a path towards the world we want to live in with text, with music, with dance."

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