Victory Gardens announces casting for the world premiere of Luis Alfaro’s Mojada

Victory Gardens Theater announces casting for the world premiere of Mojada by VG Associate Artist Luis Alfaro, directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew.  Mojada will run July 12-August 11, 2013. 

From the author of last season’s critically-acclaimed Oedipus El Rey, Mojada is a breathtaking reimagining of Euripides' Medea transported to Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.  Medea, a young, gifted curandera (healer) in exile, is running from a past filled with betrayals.  With husband Jason and her son in tow, the illegal immigrant is caught in a struggle to adapt to the modern world. Alfaro's stunning modern take on the Greek myth tackles American immigration, family, tradition, culture and the explosive moment when they all collide.

Mojada features Sandra Delgado as Medea; Charin Alvarez, last seen in Luis Alfaro’s acclaimed Oedipus el Rey, as Josefina;Sandra Marquez as Armeda; Juan Villa as Jason; and Socorro Santiago as Tita.

“We’re very excited to welcome Luis Alfaro back to Victory Gardens with the world premiere of Mojada. When Luis was in rehearsals with Oedipus el Rey this past summer, we talked much about his writing a new play specifically for the Mexican American community here in Chicago,” says Chay Yew.  “We explored the possibility of producing his new play Bruja, his adaptation of Medea. However, during our dramaturgical sessions and his frequent visits to Pilsen, Luis began to see Bruja with a different set of eyes. Starting with a page one rewrite, Luis and I spent time collaborating and workshopping the new and different version of the play, relocating the play to Chicago. Emotionally raw, political, poignant and powerful, Luis’ Mojada was born.”

“Chicago has become both an artistic home and a source of great inspiration for me.  I am so excited to be invited back to Victory Garden’s Theater to collaborate with a great group of artists, led by good friend Chay Yew”, comments Luis Alfaro.  “I spent the summer meeting the communities that make up every neighborhood in this amazing city and I was taken by the diversity and politics that Chicagoans wrestle with daily.  Chicago is the third largest Latino city in the country.  Neighborhoods like Pilsen, Little Village and Humboldt Park come with celebration, as well as challenges. Once again, I am using the Greek myths as a way of having a conversation with the Victory Gardens’ audience about the issues that all of us face as citizens in this great country.”

Full performance schedule

Previews of Mojada are July 12-July 21, 2013: Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Previews are $20-$40.   The Press opening is Monday, July 22 at 7:30 pm.  Regular performances run through August 11, 2013: Tuesdaythrough Saturday at 7:30 pm; Saturday at 4 pm; Sunday at 3 pm.  Regular performances are $20-$50.

Performances are at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.  For tickets and information, call the Victory Gardens Box Office, 773.871.3000 (TTY: 773.871.0682), emailtickets@victorygardens.org, or visit www.victorygardens.org.  Ask the Box Office about student tickets ($15), senior, Access, 20 for $20, and rush discounts.  For group discounts, call 773.634.9874 

A full and updated schedule of special events, post show discussions and presentations centered around performances ofMojada is available at www.victorygardens.org.

Victory Gardens is the winner of Best Accessible Theater, Deaf Illinois Awards 2009.  See www.victorygardens.org and click on “Enhance Your Visit” for information on other Access services including large print and Braille programs, assisted listening devices, and artist development workshops as well as a full schedule of special events, post-show discussions and presentations.

About Victory Gardens Theater

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals.  With Victory Gardens’ first new Artistic Director in 34 years, the company remains committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, continuing the vision set forth by Dennis Zacek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.

Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theatre work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.

Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Zacek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 299-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater

In 2012, Victory Gardens Victory Gardens appointed new Ensemble Playwrights Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Samuel D. Hunter and Tanya Saracho, for seven-year residencies. The Playwrights Ensemble Alumni includes Claudia Allen, Lonnie Carter, Steve Carter, Gloria Bond Clunie, Dean Corrin, Nilo Cruz, Joel Drake Johnson, John Logan, Nicholas Patricca, Douglas Post, James Sherman, Charles Smith, Jeffrey Sweet and Kristine Thatcher.

For more information about Victory Gardens, www.victorygardens.org.  Follow up on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens and Twitter @VictoryGardens.

Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Alphawood Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Boeing Company, Allstate Insurance, Polk Bros. Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Leo S. Guthman Fund, National Endowment for the Arts and REAM Foundation. Additional funding is provided by: Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), The Edgerton Foundation, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund, McVay Foundation, The Seabury Foundation, Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association, The Charles H. and

Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Illinois Tool Works, Motorola Mobility Foundation, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, a City Arts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, The Irving Harris Foundation and The Saints.