THE HUNCHBACK OF SEVILLE
BY CHARISE CASTRO SMITH
WHEN: Sept 29 - Oct 15; Thursday - Saturday at 8PM; Sunday at 2PM
WHERE: Burgdorff Cultural Center, 10 Durand Road, Maplewood
TICKETS: $30, seniors (55+) $25, students $15. Buy early and save $5.00 off General and Senior ticket prices. OFFER ENDS SEPTEMBER 23.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS
CLICK HERE FOR PARKING DIRECTIONS
This bitingly funny and zany look back at the history and colonialism of 16th century Spain. Christopher Columbus is back from the New World. Gold in his pockets and blood on his hands. Queen Isabella is dying. While her brilliant adopted sister, Maxima Terriblé Segunda, lives locked in a tower.mMaxima maneuvers through mountains of politics, religion, prejudice and the horrors of history. Finally Isabella decides Spain will be best served by putting the country in in Maxima's nerdy, reclusive hands.
CHARISE CASTRO SMITH, PLAYWRIGHT
Charise Castro Smith is an American playwright and actress. Her best known plays are Feathers and Teeth and The Hunchback of Seville. She writes for television for Devious Maids and The Exorcist. She is also familiar to audiences for her performances in both The Good Wife and Unforgettable. She is a member of New Georges' the JAM was a part of Ars Nova's Playgroup. In 2012 she received the Van Lier Playwriting Fellowship at the New Dramatists in New York.She is working on commissions from Trinity Repertory Company, Soho Rep and the Humana Festival of New American Plays.
REVIEWS FOR THE HUNCHBACK OF SEVILLE
“THE HUNCHBACK OF SEVILLE is like 16th-century Spanish history as written by Quentin Tarantino…big, careening fun…” —The Stranger (Seattle).
“…an incredibly clever look at colonialism and religion…a bawdy funfest…a fun, frothy romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and isn’t afraid of blue language and skewering history with some modern twists.” —BroadwayWorld.com.
“…[a] mashup of historical critique and rambunctious snark…[a] gleefully revisionist riff on rampaging colonialism…" —Seattle Times.
“The representative background event behind THE HUNCHBACK OF SEVILLE…pulsing like a diseased heartbeat, is Spain’s slaughter of millions of Arawak Indians at the turn of the 16th century. With that madness established as ordinary, the rest of this madcap play can proceed with logical absurdity, the excesses of imperialistic mindsets roaring forward full-throttle.” —The Phoenix (Providence, RI).
