Photo Flash: CANTA Y NO LLORES Hits The Milagro Theatre From 10/30-11/15

Canta Y No Llores (Sing and Don't Cry), an original, bilingual celebration of the Day of the Dead hits the Milagro Theatre from October 30 - November 15, 2009. Canta Y No Llores was created by Martín Milagro, directed by Olga Sanchez and sponsored by El Hispanic News.

The performance schedule is as follows:

Thursday, Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m., $14 Preview - sold out
Friday, Oct. 30, 8 p.m., $22 Opening Night (Opening night reception catered by La Bamba)
Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., $20 ($16 for students/seniors)
Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., $22 ($16 for students/seniors)
Sundays at 2 p.m., $20 ($16 for students/seniors)

Tickets cost  $20 - $22 depending on date; $16 for students and seniors any performance.  Tickets can be purchased from www.milagro.org, 503-236-7253 or the PDX Ticket Network box office at the Hollywood Theatre daily 1-9 p.m.

Special Events: 

Los Porteños writers group will present original stories and poetry written for the Day of the Dead prior to the matinee on Sunday, Nov. 1, beginning at 12 pm. Free.

A free post-play discussion with the director, cast and crew immediately follows the 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, November 1, 2009.

Every fall, the dead are commemorated in a lively show of dance, music and theatre in Portland's longest-running Day of the Dead celebration. This year, los muertos return singing old-time tunes that harken back to another era when times were tough and tradition was one of the few things folks could call their own. In the middle of the Great Depression, at a camp near where WPA workers are constructing Oregon's Timberline Lodge, five strangers arrive from different parts of the country in search of work and a place to call home. Even as they must shed one way of life for another, and though they have lost everything they hold dear, optimism lives on. Funny and irreverent, Canta y no llores (Sing and Don't Cry) reminds us all that the only thing to fear - in life or death - is fear itself.

Cast:

Nicole Virginia Accuardi … Dorotea la Difunta
Enrique E. Andrade … Raul
CarlosAlexis Cruz … Eduardo
Rosa Floyd … Felicia
Sherman Floyd … Severino
Rebecca Frost Mayer … Mae Catrina
Osvaldo González … Miguel
Melanie Meijer … Mary
Verónika Nuñez … Consuelo

Production team:

Olga Sanchez … Director
Hal Logan … Musical Director
Jeff Woods … Lighting Designer
Drew Foster … Scenic Designer
Darrin J. Pufall … Costume Designer
Alisha Flaumenbaum … Prop Master
Sherman Floyd … Folkloric Music Arranger
Rosa Floyd … Folkloric Choreographer
Lynne Duddy and Lawrence Howard of Portland Story Theatre … Script Consultants
Christina Lydy … Dramaturge
Stephen Pick … Stage Manager
Rebecca Lewis … Master Carpenter
Elise Kim … Sound Technician
Ruth Waddy … Wardrobe
Sylvia Malán and Sarah Hinds … House Managers
Analee Fuentes … Artcard Artist
Olga Sanchez … Artistic Director, Miracle MainStage and Bellas Artes
José E. González … Executive Director

Olga Sanchez is the Artistic Director of Miracle MainStage and Bellas Artes.  Last season she directed The ShrunKen Head of Pancho Villa and served as dramaturge for El Último, Dañel Malán's bilingual eco-drama that is touring the country in 2009.  Favorite directorial projects for Miracle Theatre Group include: García Lorca's Bodas de sangre (in the original Spanish), Nilo Cruz's Lorca in a Green Dress (Drammy Award, Excellence in Direction), Dañel Malan's Frida, un retablo, the premieres of Joann Farías' The Road to Xibalbá, Rubén Sierra's When the Blues Chase Up a Rabbit and Quiara Alegría Hudes' The Adventures of Barrio Grrrl!. She is a founding member of Los Porteños writers group, and her work was most recently published in the Rio Grande Review. Olga is the creator of Posada Milagro, a community-based holiday program; Milagro at SEIS, an intensive arts residency at the Spanish English International School; and Cuentos y Teatro, Miracle's Spanish-language children's acting camp. She holds a BA in Theatre from Hunter College, CUNY, and a Masters in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College NW, with specialization in Bicultural Development.

El Hispanic News (EHN), founded in 1981 by Juan Prats, is the oldest Hispanic publication in the Pacific Northwest and a leading source of information for our community. Former New Mexico Secretary of State Clara Padilla Andrews purchased the publication in 1995. She has brought her political and business background to EHN as owner and publisher. With her guidance the publication has been committed to supporting and informing the community.

Miracle Theatre Group's 2009-2010 season is made possible with the support of the Oregon Arts Commission, Theatre Communications Group, Regional Arts & Culture Council/Work for Art, National Endowment for the Arts, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Juan Young Trust, Josie Mendoza & Hugh Mackworth, Shubert Foundation, Templeton Foundation, Target, Oregon Department of Human Services, JP Morgan Chase, U.S. Bank, Ventura Group, Carpenter Foundation, Urban Robotics, Jackson Foundation, Kelly Family Fund, Multnomah County Cultural Coalition, the PRIDE Foundation, The Boeing Company and El Centinela.

The restaurant sponsor for the opening night of this production is La Bamba.

The Miracle Theatre Group has been dedicated to bringing the vibrancy of Latino theatre to the Northwest community and beyond for more than 25 years. In addition to its national tours, Miracle provides a home for Spanish and Latin American arts and culture at El Centro Milagro, where it enriches the local community with a variety of community outreach projects and educational programs designed to share the diversity of Latino culture. For more information about the Miracle Theatre Group, visit www.milagro.org or call 503-236-7253.

Photos by Kenneth Aaron

Nicole Virginia Accuardi, Rebecca Frost Mayer, Osvaldo González, Melanie Meijer, Enrique E. Andrade, Verónika Nuñez and CarlosAlexis Cruz

Ozvaldo González and Nicole Virginia Accuardi

Nicole Virginia Accuardi, Rebecca Frost Mayer, Verónika Nuñez, Enrique E. Andrade, CarlosAlexis Cruz, Melanie Meijer and Osvaldo González

Verónika Nuñez, Melanie Meijer and Rebecca Frost Mayer

Melanie Meijer, Osvaldo González, Verónika Nuñez, Enrique E. Andrade and CarlosAlexis Cruz