If you have to ask, the answer is no. By Luis Alfaro. First out is “Oedipus El Rey” on Nov. 13, followed by “Mojada” (that is, “Medea”) on Nov. 20 and “Electricidad” (a reworking of “Electra”) on Nov. 22. Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply Oedipus (Οἰδίπους), as it is referred to by Aristotle in the Poetics. The story is transferred from ancient Greece to downtown Los Angeles… Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! His rule seems inevitable. But when the only honest work available to ex-convicts is the kind on which one cannot actually live, it seems fated that they will eventually turn to dishonest work. Through Feb. 28. In an opening that echoes tradition, the incarcerated chorus provides a prologue during which its members peal off into the roles of most of the major players in the tragedy. “He pulls the strings so tight, this God,” Jocasta laments, “how can we move when we’re trapped?”. Before his birth, it was prophesied that Oedipus would someday kill his father, the violent gangster king Laius. With Joshua Torrez, Romi Dias et al. An intimate moment between Jocasta and Oedipus is among the sexiest things one can legally see on a New York stage ("intimacy" director UnkleDave's Fight-House makes the moment seem as authentic as the brutally realistic fight choreography deployed throughout the show). Alfaro illuminates the ancient themes of the Oedipus story in thrillingly modern ways, giving us a new appreciation for the myth. They play narrating gang-bangers, botanica healers, and at one point, an Aztec-inspired Sphinx, bringing an element of Greek magic to this Mexican-American setting. The multicamera, virtually produced reading of Luis Alfaro's “Oedipus El Rey,” premieres November 13, 2020 at 5 p.m. Pacific. Magic Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. The Playbill for “Oedipus el Rey” features one of the strangest credits ever. Jersey Boys While Sophocles allows these brutal revelations to unfold through lengthy monologues describing offstage happenings, Alfaro brings the action onstage and places it in a contemporary setting: the Chicano gang culture of Southern California. Or maybe (the heretical thought creeps in) it is just genetics, the predestination of our physique, against which resistance is futile. When we first meet him, Oedipus (Juan Castano) has spent most of his young life behind bars. Eventually, though, he ends up working with the gangster Creon (Joel Perez), who wants to transform his small-time criminal operation into a major off-ramp on the narcotics superhighway. Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. That’s uniquely true of Oedipus, the limping princeling fated to kill his father and marry his mother. nevertheless when? Luis Alfaro takes “Oedipus Rex” and moves it up a few millennia to the streets of present-day Los Angeles. By Luis Alfaro Directed by Tanaquil Márquez March 7-22. Oedipus is reimagined as a young man whose dreams of controlling his own destiny soar beyond the prison walls where he’s spent his life. The king's abs look amazing: He must have worked very hard on them. Anita Yavich's simple and evocative costumes pop against the complex mural by José de Jesus Rodríguez that occupies the upstage wall. WINNING QUALIFIES ENTRANT FOR UP TO TWO $20 TICKETS TO OEDIPUS EL REY. Oedipus El Rey is Luis Alfaro’s vision of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex seen through the prism of modern Latino life, specifically gang culture as it melds with the traditions and values of the barrio in east Los Angeles. By signing up you are confirming you are 16 or over. Stay abreast of discount offers for great theater, on Broadway or in select cities. New York, NY, Twelve Angry Men College/University, Community Theatre, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Male, Hershey Felder Live From Florence: 5-Show Season Subscription -- Online. By Ross The painted wall and the panels of jailhouse bars tell a whole story before the first actor even jumps up onto the Shiva stage at The Public Theater. The result is an adaptation that feels both urgently relevant and timeless. Oedipus is reimagined as a young man whose dreams of controlling his own destiny soar beyond the prison walls where he’s spent his life. MacArthur Genius Grant winner Luis Alfaro adapts the “mother” of all tragedies and the ultimate story of forbidden love. Read features and reviews of Oedipus el Rey: "I hope it provokes people to think about spirituality or destiny and are we all just puppets or can we define our... "You know how people say they liked a show, but it didn’t blow them away? That may be the first thing you ponder in Luis Alfaro's Oedipus El Rey (now making its long-awaited New York debut at the Public Theater, in collaboration with the Sol Project), and it's not as off-topic and superficial as you might think. In 'Oedipus el Rey,' playwright Luis Alfaro tackles the tragedy of young Latino lives lost to the drug trade and in the prison system in a remake of the classic Greek tragedy. Oedipus el Rey is a gritty and electrifying take on the Greek tragedy, written by the acclaimed Magic playwright Luis Alfaro. Riccardo Hernandez's set uses installed ladder rungs and sliding bars, allowing Yew to stage for a variety of layers and levels. For full scene please see Alfaro, Luis, Oedipus El Rey, p. 118-124. This was the question asked thousands of years ago in Sophocles’ classic tragedy Oedipus Rex, and which has been masterfully recrafted by Luis Alfaro in Oedipus El Rey. Amid the sizzling rhythms of the LA barrio—the gang capital of America with the highest recidivism rate—a juvenile delinquent rises to be a king…. Not bad for one of the oldest plays in human history. In Oedipus El Rey, Laius is the barrio drug king who is told by the healer El Sobador (Reza Salazar) that his unborn son is going to kill him. Oedipus el Rey: Tragedy. The production's aggressive theatricality extends to the design, with Fabian Obispo's sound leading the charge. Catch it while you can. It lists Unkledave’s Fight-House as the “fight and intimacy director.” Regarding the … A … Luis Alfaro's intense contemporary adaptation of Sophocles' Oedipus, the King, is set in the prison system and a barrio of Los Angeles, California. Our American faith in free will tells us that we can rise above any challenge through hard work and determination. Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex picks up the story after the main prophecies regarding Oedipus’ deeds have come true and deals with the aftermath. Villa exhibits a cold-blooded cruelty as Laius, which Castano's Oedipus inherits and makes his own. Why don't you try to acquire something basic in the beginning? Depicting the Virgen de Guadalupe, it conjures the great cathedrals of Italy as much as it does the barrio (it is based on Paul Botello's "Virgin's Seed," which can still be seen on the side of an abandoned building in East Los Angeles). OEDIPUS EL REY. Oedipus el Rey continues through July 29th at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln (map), with performances Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 3pm. Complimentary and Deeply Discounted Shows. TodayTix & OEDIPUS EL REY Lottery Rules. At California State Prison, the prisoners come together to tell the story of Oedipus, a fellow inmate who tried to change his destiny. 90 … In this case, the kingdom has been transformed into a city dominated by competitive gang culture. Dangerous ideas and eternal debates spring forth in a production that fully engages our senses and emotions. Directed by Loretta Greco. He pathetically pleads with Jocasta, "Why not just make me the leader?" SPONSOR INFORMATION. All scenes are property and copyright of their owners. The scenes will be familiar, too. Philadelphia, PA, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent © 2020. Oedipus El Rey Eventually, you will agreed discover a other experience and realization by spending more cash. But is any man capable of outwitting his destiny, especially those born into communities where the odds are already against them? Oedipus El Rey is based on Sophocles's Oedipus Rex, the story of a king who expends considerable energy trying to elude the prophecy that he will … do you undertake that you require to get those every needs past having significantly cash? Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. The re-imagining of Sophocles’s Oedipus the King takes place behind bars in a Californian prison. Alfaro makes us aware from the beginning that Oedipus is Jocasta's long-lost son, and watching him slowly come to that realization is just as agonizing as you might imagine. Not so for the hapless Creon, whom Perez plays like a 13-year-old who just grew his first mustache. This calls into question the mythic … Cheshire, CT, Pericles Oedipus (Joshua Torrez) is a cocky, heavily tattooed youth who’s spent most of his life in lockup, now leaving behind both prison and Tiresias (Marc David Pinate), the man who raised him. Oedipus, who is ignorant of his true origins, is released from prison, cocky with youth and driven to create his own destiny. Perhaps if we considered black and brown people ending up in the prison pipeline to be as unspeakable as killing your father and marrying your mother, the road out of the machine might start to become visible. Obispo makes it seems as though birds and cars are whizzing past our faces, a sensation made even more breathtaking by Lap Chi Chu's precisely timed lighting. It’s a story of … And the story unfolds from there. Oedipus El Rey takes Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, where a destined king unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother, and sets it in the gritty, electrifying streets of Central L.A. “Oedipus el Rey” strikes to the bone of one of our more disturbing ancient legends and gives it new, breathtakingly vital life. Onstage... Onstage... Tour the unique space of Oedipus el Rey with members of the show's cast and creative team. All scenes are property and copyright of their owners. Club members can see a different show every night of the week. In Oedipus El Rey, the four posts of the prison wall and the barrio on the other side of them is just as inescapable. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER THIS LOTTERY. Tickets are $20-$50, and are available by phone (773-871-3000) or through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com ). “It takes place in a prison in California and it’s a story of these prisoners, how the gang culture and how the Hispanic culture resembles or emulates that weird hierarchy of royalty,” said Gabriel Franco Kull, theatre arts senior and the actor playing Oedipus in the play. It is so erotic that we momentarily forget that this is a scene between mother and son; when we remember, our earlier titillation makes us feel complicit in their crime. This was the question asked thousands of years ago in Sophocles’ classic tragedy Oedipus Rex, and which has been masterfully recrafted by Luis Alfaro in Oedipus El Rey. Oedipus el Rey: An Exciting Bare Assed Re-Focusing of Greek Destino y Amor Maternal. About Oedipus El Rey Set in South Central LA, "Oedipus El Rey" is a gritty and electrifying take on the Greek tragedy, written by the acclaimed Magic Theatre playwright Luis Alfaro. Marlene Forte portrays a Jocasta whose sorrow and [grief] are palpable…This production is a tour de force of exceptional performances that will leave you breathless…simply outstanding.” – Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Heeding the old man's advice, he looks for honest work once he is released. View our Privacy Policy. That’s a pity, since a story like that of Oedipus — Rex or El Rey — should feel infinitely expansive, even as its hero struggles against the prison bars of fate. Notice how different this young Oedipus is from the Greek: he is not motivated by the common good, he has none of the moral rectitude of the Greek, this Oedipus is ambitious and strong and motivated by self-promotion. “Oedipus El Rey” is a modern-day Latinx adaptation of the Greek tragedy “Oedipus Rex” by Luis Alfaro. The whole stage pulses with life under the sweaty, passionate direction of Chay Yew. Standouts include Joel Perez (who played all the young men in Fun Home) and Sandra Delgado as Jocasta. Oedipus El Rey takes Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, where a destined king unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother, and sets it in the gritty, electrifying streets of Central L.A. "Oedipus el Rey" keeps all the original characters, including the Sphinx, although many have tattoos and speak Spanglish. In “Oedipus el Rey,” Oedipus does not confront the Sphinx in order to save Thebes, he takes on the Sphinx as a rite of passage to earn his kingship. Oedipus El Rey is based on Sophocles's Oedipus Rex, the story of a king who expends considerable energy trying to elude the prophecy that he will murder his father and sleep with his mother (2,500-year-old spoiler alert: he unwittingly does both anyway). With seamless choral song and movement, Alfaro's adaptation questions whether a Latino can change his tragic and predestined fate within the American culture, which is built on systemic racism. Based on Sophocles’ classic tale, Oedipus El Rey is an urgent examination of modern institutions, social barriers, and the power of storytelling for those bold enough to challenge the gods of our time. Yew smartly employs the indefatigable Brian Quijada and Reza Salazar as the "Coro" (or chorus), with Perez or Villa often taking the role of the essential third member. This one blew me away." The story is transferred from ancient Greece to downtown Los Angeles, the king of Thebes transformed into the top gangster in the barrio, and the masked chorus changed into prison inmates. Oedipus el Rey is a brilliant, reverent and worthy reimagining of the timeless original penned by Sophocles. Oedipus el Rey by Luis Alfaro, directed by Kevin Moriarty. Oedipus El Rey. Oedipus El Rey is Luis Alfaro’s vision of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex seen through the prism of modern Latino life, specifically gang culture as it melds with the traditions and values of the barrio in east Los Angeles. Justin Huen is electrifying as Oedipus, the ill-fated pawn of the gods. “...Oedipus dazzles... [it] strikes to the bone of one of our more disturbing ancient legends and gives it new, breathtakingly vital life.” Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists, Is a man master of his own destiny or merely a puppet of Fate, who pulls the strings while acting out stories written long before? Laius ordered his friend, Tiresias, to kill the infant after his wife, Jocasta, had given birth. First out is “Oedipus El Rey” on Nov. 13, followed by “Mojada” (that is, “Medea”) on Nov. 20 and “Electricidad” (a reworking of “Electra”) on Nov. 22. Enjoy live events at insider prices. Delgado and Castano's palpable chemistry makes their love seem real, leading us to reexamine what we hitherto had assumed to be a marriage of convenience. We may think that we are wiser than the ancient Athenians, but Alfaro makes a compelling case that this is merely the pride that goes before destruction. He believes himself to be the son of Tiresias (Julio Monge), a blind man who guides him through the prison system. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor. Videos . Unable to do the heinous act, Tiresias instead raised Oedipus as his own, even from within the prison walls. 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