TeatroStageFest Partners with La Strada for Talkback

TeatroStageFest, one of my favorite of NYC’s annual theater festivals, is working with the folks at the new Spanish-language adaptation of Fellini’s La Strada to present a post-show discussion. Here’s info from the official press release:

“Adapting Fellini to the Stage”
Post-performance discussion set for LA STRADA
Saturday, Nov. 5 following matinee performance

La Strada Theater Company partners with TeatroStageFest, the Latino International Theater Festival of New York, for a post-show discussion with the directors and cast of award-winning stage production of
Fellini’s LA STRADA and featured guest MARIO FRATTI, playwright of Nine,  the Broadway musical based on Fellini’s film 8 ½

LA STRADA performances are October 22 to December 4 Off-Broadway at TBG Theater (312 W. 36 St.) in Manhattan

La Strada Theater Company partners with TeatroStageFest, the Latino International Theater Festival of New York, to present “Adapting Fellini to the Stage,” a post-performance discussion with the cast and directors of LA STRADA, an award-winning stage adaptation of Fellini’s film of the same name. The TalkBack with the audience will take place on November 5, 2011, immediately after the 3PM matinee performance at TBG Theater (312 W. 36 St.).

The TalkBack will feature: LA STRADA directors Rene Buch (Repertorio Español) and Jorge Merced (Pregones Theatre), cast members: Nanda Abella, Israel Ruiz, and Luis Carlos de La Lombana, who doubles as Executive Producer of LA STRADA, along with  guest playwright Mario Fratti, author of Nine, the Broadway musical based on Fellini’s film 8 ½.

The TalkBack (conducted in English), is part of a series of Artist Dialogues moderated by Susana Tubert, Producing Executive Director of TeatroStageFest, which continues its 5th anniversary celebrations in 2011 by showcasing theater, dance, music and puppetry productions and events by New York based Latino theater companies side by side with visiting artists from Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain. Following the TalkBack, the audience will also have the opportunity to meet and mingle with the artists in an intimate
TeatroStageLounge reception. The event is included in the price of admission to the matinee performance of LA STRADA.

A Spanish-language adaptation of La Strada — the legendary 1954 Italian film by Federico Fellini — will be presented Off-Broadway for 6 weeks from October 22 to December 4, at TBG Theater (312 W. 36 St.) in Manhattan. The production is co-directed by award-winning director Rene Busch, Artistic Director of Repertorio Español, and Jorge Merced, Artistic Director of Pregones Theatre in New York City. The play will be performed in Spanish with English super-titles.

Presented by La Strada Company– a new Spanish theater company in NYC under the artistic direction of Luis Carlos de la Lombana — the Spanish-language adaptation of LA STRADA is written by Gerard Vázquez. The film LA STRADA — winner of the first ever Oscar for Best Foreign film in 1956 — was written by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano.

This fall production marks a return engagement for LA STRADA: La Strada Company, which has been developing the production for two years, presented a two-week sold-out run of the play last winter at IATI Theater in the East Village.

It was recently announced that LA STRADA is the recipient of two distinguished HOLA Awards for Excellence in Theater, international awards given annually by the Hispanic Organization of Latino Actors:  Rene Buch and Jorge Merced have received the HOLA for Outstanding Achievement in Direction, along with Israel Ruiz for Outstanding Performance by a Featured Actor for his portrayal of “The Fool” in LA STRADA.  The HOLA Awards will be presented in NYC on October 17, 2011.

LA STRADA is described, as follows: In need of help for his street entertainment, Zampano offers money to a poor woman in exchange for her daughter Gelsomina, a young woman whose innocence borders on mental retardation. Together they set out on a journey through several villages, presenting a spectacle of brute force leavened with comic interludes. In spite of Zampano’s abuses, Gelsomina starts to develop an intense devotion towards him. The pair eventually joins a traveling circus, where they meet “The Fool,” a clown who is
attracted to Gelsomina. Although several of the colorful characters Gelsomina meets along the way ask her to join them, she will prove her loyalty to Zampano to the limits of her will.

The cast of LA STRADA on stage will feature Nanda Abella, Israel Ruiz, Luis Carlos de La Lombana , María Peyramaure, Winston Estevez, Adela Maria Bolet, and the mosicians Stephamie Davis (violinist) and Jennifer Harder(trumpet player). Audrey Crabtree is clown consultant; Mike Yahn is stage choreographer; Zulema Clares is music consultant. Production design is by Jason Sturm, Lighting Design and Technical Director by Pope Jackson, costume design by Kanako Hiyama; supertitles designed by Betsy Pujols. Executive Producer:  Luis Carlos de La Lombana. Production Team: Nacho Blanco, Nanda Abella, Jazmín Blanco, Esther Higueras, Beatriz Fierro, America Blanco, Martín Fernandez Lombana and Luis Carlos de La Lombana.

Of Spanish origin, La Strada Theater Company is made up of a wide range of members, mostly from Spanish-speaking countries, but also from the U.S., Japan and elsewhere. The combination of multiculturalism and the vast presence of Spanish speakers in the U.S. is key to La Strada’s mission as it seeks to build on the cultural bridge between Spain and the U.S., especially in New York. The company will present plays by international writers, both in Spanish and English, while the priority lies with Spanish authors and the Spanish language.

Luis Carlos de la Lombana has received and ACE and Hola Award in NYC for best actor in 2009 as Segismundo in “La Vida es Sueño” (Life is a Dream). He has also starred in “The Island,” “Mick Jagger: The Devil in all of Us,” “Asi que pasen cinco años” (by Federico García Lorca), and most recently in LA STRADA earlier this year.

Tickets are $35 and are available at smarttix 212 868 4444. To purchase your tickets: https://www.smarttix.com/Show.aspx?ShowCode=LAS24. For more information, visit www.lastradacompany.com.