GALita presents A musical journey on a magical handkerchief for the entire family! El mundo es un pañuelo The World is a Handkerchief

 Entertainment   Tue, February 09, 2016 06:55 AM

Washington, DC - GALita, a program for the entire family, is pleased to present El mundo es un pañuelo/The World is a Handkerchief by the late celebrated Chilean writer Jorge Díaz, with music by Vittorio Cintolesi, and directed by Hugo Medrano. This bilingual adaptation, originally commissioned by GALA in 2009, is by Victoria R. Golden and Mr. Medrano and will be presented from March 7 through March 19 at the GALA Theatre, 3333 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20010, one block from the Columbia Heights Metro station on the Green and Yellow lines. Parking is available behind the theater at the Giant Food garage on Park Road for a flat fee of $4.

When the clown Titiloco becomes disenchanted with the circus, he sets out on his magic handkerchief to see the world. As he ventures to new and mysterious places, he visits the land of Consumania (Land of Consumerism) and the Kingdom of Humo (Smoke), and meets Mr. Fan, and children who are 70 years old.  With jaunty songs and audience participation, Titiloco learns that the world can be a better place when people learn to be responsible, care for the environment, value diversity, and enjoy life. This magical journey of life-long lessons and musical joy and laughter will entertain the entire family.

Student matinees for El mundo es un pañuelo are scheduled week days on March 7 – March 11 and March 14 – March 18, 2016 at 10:30 am. Two performances for the general public will take place on Saturday, March 12 and Saturday, March 19 at 3 pm.  The duration of the show is approximately 60 minutes and the content is appropriate for the entire family, but in particular for ages 5 through 12.

The production is made possible with the generous support of Target, the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, the City Fund, the DC Office of Latino Affairs, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

ABOUT JORGE DÍAZ, VITTORIO CINTOLESI, AND PRODUCTION

Jorge Díaz (Playwright) was born in Rosario, Argentina to immigrant parents from Spain, but spent most of his career in Chile.  A playwright, poet, architect, and painter, Díaz wrote more than 100 plays, many of which were translated and performed throughout the world. His best known works include El Cepillo de dientes (1961), which GALA produced in 1980, and Un hombre llamado Isla. In 1965, he moved to Spain, where he remained until 1994 when he returned to Chile. In 1993, he received the National Award of Audiovisual Art and Presentation in Chile and the Tirso de Molina Award in Spain.  Díaz wrote over 30 plays for children, among them Seneca: Ratón de biblioteca, which was produced by GALita in 2007, and Mr. humo no más, the adaptation of Cervantes Rinconete y cortadillo. In 1971, he founded the children’s theater company, Los Trabalenguas, which toured Spain, Latin America, and the United States. Díaz’s children’s theater explores such themes as solidarity, respect, ecology, and identity, themes that reflect the interior and imaginative worlds of the child. Díaz died in 2007 in Santiago, Chile.

Vittorio Cintolesi (Composer) was a musician, composer, arranger, novelist and architect who collaborated on theater projects with Jorge Díaz for four decades, including Cepillo de dientes, Esplendor carnal de la ceniza, and El mundo es un pañuelo. He also appeared on albums and in concerts, and worked in musical theater and television. He was well known as the composer of Eres exquisita, a part of the Nueva Ola Chilena popular music movement and made famous by the group Los Ramblers. Born in Santiago, Chile, he died in December 2015.

Director Hugo Medrano is GALA’s Founding Producing Artistic Director and has directed and performed in musicals, classical, contemporary, and children’s plays in Argentina, Spain (where he founded the children theatre company NTI Nuevo Teatro Infantil), Costa Rica, El Salvador, New York, Miami, and Washington. In GALA, he has directed more than 100 productions.

El mundo es un pañuelo features Sharon Desiree as Titiloco; Alex Iraheta as the Owner of the Circus, Mr. Smoke, and Pepin, a 70 year old child; and José Antonio Gonzalez Álvarez as Mr. Fan and Salesman. Ms. Desiree is making her debut with GALita but appeared recently in Siempre amigos at Teatro de la Luna, and both Mr. Iraheta and Mr. Gonzalez were in GALita’s  Nuevas aventuras de Don Quijote earlier this season. 

Scenic Design and Costumes are by Osbel Susman-Peña, who designed for GALita’s Séneca: ratón de biblioteca. Light Design is by Mary Keegan, who recently designed Señorita y Madame: The Secret War of Elizabeth Arden & Helena Rubinstein at GALA. Properties are by Alicia Tessari, who designed properties for Nuevas aventuras de Don Quijote. Tsaitami Duchiela is Stage Manager; Reuben Rosenthal is Technical Director and Ártemis López is Production Manager.

TICKET INFORMATION

Single tickets are $10 per child; $12 per adult. Discount and Group tickets are available for groups of 10 or more.  For more information call 202-234-7174 or visit www.galatheatre.org.

ABOUT GALita

Since 1980, GALita has produced children’s theater by Hispanic playwrights in both Spanish and English that inspire a sense of joy, discovery, pride and identity in our community’s children. GALita has produced works by such prominent writers as Jorge Díaz from Chile, Néstor Hidalgo from Argentina, and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra from Spain, among others. GALita also has commissioned new works and adaptations based on classic Hispanic literature, presented international theater companies, produced several children’s film festivals, and collaborated with the Inter-American Development Bank and Kids Euro Festival on children’s programming.

 

 

CONTACT:
Dubraska Vale
Phone :202-234-7174
Email : dubraska@galatheatre.org
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