RUNNING FROM
FEB 15TH - MARCH 16TH
ABOUT THE PLAY
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Welcome to the Buenos Cruces, a town in a magical forest in the heart of Latin America —and the latest manufacturing location for Cantilever Inc., a multinational corporation that specializes in everything from sandals to cigarettes. But as his family settles into their new lives in the jungle, Cantilever Vice President, John C. Dulk is mysteriously absent, leaving his wife, Julie, to navigate the challenges of keeping their family, and the factory afloat in this strange and surreal setting.
A wildly theatrical send up of magical realism, The Irrepressible Magic of the Tropics is at once a farcical romp through Latin American history and literature and a critical exploration of capitalism, colonialism and US-led economic imperialism.
Julián Mesri is a New York-based Argentinean-American playwright and composer who makes multilingual plays and musicals in the US and around the world. He is thrilled to be making his NYC playwriting debut at Intar, a theater he has collaborated with for over a decade including sound designing Intringulis and American Jornalero. He is the co-adaptor and composer/lyricist for the Drama Desk nominated and LATA award winning Mobile Unit bilingual production of the Comedy of Errors at the Public Theater, which recently completed an encore presentation this summer. He is currently the Judith Champion Musical Theater Launchpad Resident at Signature Theater and a Core Writer at the Playwrights Center, where he first developed Irrepressible Magic of the Tropics. He received an EST/Sloan Commission for his musical Favaloro: A Heart in Pieces. Recent work includes Telo (Live and In Color Finalist, O’Neill NMTC Finalist), Last Coffee in Rockville (NAMT Finalist), and Bartolomé de las Casas Ruins My Pool (O’Neill NPC Finalist). Other work includes composing the live score of Henry 6 at The Old Globe, directing/arranging Songs About Trains with Radical Evolution, music directing and co-orchestrating Brian Quijada’s Somewhere Over the Border (Syracuse Stage, Geva Theater). He has been a member of the Public Theater Emerging Writer’s Group, a Dramatist Guild Fellow, an Emerging Artist of Color Fellow and Usual Suspect at NYTW, and a Van Lier fellow at Repertorio Español. His modern staging of Fuenteovejuna received the HOLA Gilberto Saldivar Outstanding production award. He has also translated dramatic works for the Lark US/Mexico Exchange and PEN World Voices. He received his MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University.
CAST & CREW
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
KATHLEEN CAPDESUÑER is an immigrant raised and Florida grown, Cuban-American director & producer. She’s deeply committed to democratizing modes of creation, increasing accessibility and representation in the industry, and championing the work of living writers.
Select credits include: “SUNSET BLVD.” (SDCF Observer/Broadway), “Los Empeños de una Casa” (Director/Repertorio Español), “The Detour Plays” (Director/Playwrights Horizons & The Parsnip Ship), “Into the Woods” (Producer/New York City Center), “True West” (Assistant Director/Broadway), and “SHAME” (Director/Orlando & Edinburgh International Fringe Festivals).
Kathleen is a recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts Grant for their community project, Fefu y Sus Amigas, a Fulbright Finalist, and BroadwayWorld Regional Award winner. They’re a past director in residence with The Civilians Research & Development Group, and a previous directing fellow at Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company and McCarter Theatre Center.
Associate Director FABIOLA ARIAS
Scenic/Props Design
Raúl Abrego
Lighting Design
Lucrecia Briceno
Costume Design
Haydee Zelideth
Sound Design
Germán Martínez
Casting
Gama Valle,
Bass/Valle Casting
Stage Manager
Fran Acuña-Almiron
Assistant Stage Manager
Lauren Nicole Jackson
SPONSORSHIP
