UH Delivering New Vision for Classic Play 'Blood Wedding'

UH School of Theatre & Dance Presenting Lorca's Classic Oct. 25 - Nov. 3

Nothing can match the power of raw, unbridled love … except perhaps death.

In Federico Garcia Lorca’s play “Blood Wedding,” the passions of young lovers collide with a family feud and the rage of a jilted groom. The risks are great for everyone, but emotions rule.

Audiences can experience the passion and the pain of “Blood Wedding” during the University of Houston School of Theatre & Dance’s production of Lorca’s classic. The updated version will also include a prologue and additional scenes focusing on the ill-fated, politically active playwright.

Directed by UH theater professor Keith Byron Kirk, “Blood Wedding” runs Oct. 24 – Nov. 3 in the University’s Jose Quintero Theatre. Show times are as follows:

  • 8 p.m., Oct. 25, 26, 30, Nov. 1 - 2
  • 2 p.m., Oct. 27, Nov. 3

Tickets are $20; $15 for faculty, staff and alumni; and $10 for students. They can be purchased online or by calling the box office at 713-743-2929.

“We’ve created a new way of looking at ‘Blood Wedding,’” Kirk said. “We are adding an introduction that looks at the playwright himself and his other works, as a way of examining the reality surrounding ‘Blood Wedding.’”

Lorca’s original “Blood Wedding” text remains in tact, but this production includes Lorca’s observations and comments.

“His role is observational at times and at other times he incites the action through his own gaze,” Kirk said.

 “Blood Wedding” will feature live music and stars students Lisa Wartenberg as the bride, Crash Buist as the groom, Kiara Feliciano as the groom’s mother, Brendan Lara as Lorca, Precious Merenu as Mucama, and Sara Ornelas as the Narrator. Musicians are Moores School of Music students George Heathco (guitar) and Sonia Matoussova (cello).

 This new vision for “Blood Wedding” was made possible through a Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts Innovation Grant. The Innovation Grants Program was launched last year with support from the UH Arts Initiative and the Houston Endowment Inc.

The UH School of Theatre and Dance produces pre-professional plays, dance concerts, studio productions, a new play festival and school shows through the Theatre for Young Audiences program. The school performs in the Wortham Theatre and the Quintero Theatre. The Houston Shakespeare Festival is a professional project of the school, which is produced each summer at Miller Outdoor Theatre. The UH School of Theatre & Dance offers bachelor’s and master's degrees in theater and teacher certifications in dance and theatre. Its graduate program consists of a Master of Arts in theatre and Master of Fine Arts in theatre with specializations in acting, directing and design.  Alumni include actors Dennis Quad, Jim Parsons, Cindy Pickett, Brett Cullen and Robert Wuhl. Faculty includes Tony Award-winning producer Stuart Ostrow and Tony-nominated designer Kevin Rigdon. Among the greats who have taught at the school in previous years are Lanford Wilson, Sir Peter Hall and Jose Quintero. In 2012 and 2013, the school was named Best College Theater in the Houston Press Theater Awards. For details on UH's School of Theatre & Dance, visit www.theatredance.uh.edu.

 

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