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By Federico García Lorca
Directed by René Buch
Presented in Spanish.
Live simultaneous English translation available for $3. Please indicate if you need translation at the time of reservation.
Production Design: Robert Weber Federico
Photo by: Michael Palma
Lenght: 1 hour and 30 minutes
TICKETS:
Tickets start at $27 (Group rates available)
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By Phone: 1-212-225-9999
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Recommended for all audiences
"Silence! Silence!" These are the first and last words spoken by Bernarda Alba, the tyrannical mother who attempts to dominate and control her five unmarried daughters. In this repressed environment, Lorca creates an explosion of hatred, jealousy, despair and passion.
The play takes place in a small village in southern Spain following the funeral of Bernarda Alba's second husband. After the mourners depart, Bernarda Alba announces to her five daughters that their period of mourning will last eight years. During this period their lives will consist of needlework inside the darkened house, which, according to Bernarda, is the only proper thing for women of their class. Obsessed with family honor, Bernarda Alba rules her household with an iron fist. It is an environment in which social appearances take precedence over individuality, compassion and desire.
All of Bernarda's daughters secretly harbor a passion for Pepe el Romano, the handsomest man in the village. Angustias, the eldest daughter, is engaged to him. At 39 she is 14 years older than he, but the arrangement is a financial one, since she will inherit money and land.
Despite this engagement, it is the youngest daughter, Adela, who becomes Pepe's lover throughout the play. When the truth finally breaks through the atmosphere of suppressed desire and jealousy the consequences are tragic. Adela takes her own life and Bernarda makes a desperate attempt to maintain absolute control of her shattered household by declaring silence.
Written in 1936, just before the Spanish Civil War, The House of Bernarda Alba was Lorca's final play: he was assassinated in the same year at the beginning of the war. He never lived to see a staging of his play, which was not produced until 1945 in Argentina, and not until 1964 in Spain. It stands today as one of the masterpieces of modern theater.
Note: Seats for weekday matinee performances for students are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Please arrive early. |
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"The company's production, under the direction of Rene Buch, completely captures the somber strength of the writing. "
(full text)
—The New York Times |
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El Quijote
An adventurous adaptation of Cervantes’ masterpiece. |
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