LA HAVANA MADRID Gets Remount at The Den Theatre

LA HAVANA MADRID Gets Remount at The Den Theatre

Sandra Delgado’s smash immersive hit event LA HAVANA MADRID will return to Chicago next spring in a co-production between Teatro Vista and Collaboraction.

Performances are May 11-June 23, 2019 on the Heath Mainstage at the Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Avenue. Tickets, $30-$60, go on sale, Monday, December 10 at noon at thedentheatre.com or by calling the Den at (773) 697-3830.

LA HAVANA MADRID is a documentary theater experience based on the true story of the 1960’s Chicago nightclub with the same name. Inspired by real stories of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Colombian immigrants who found refuge there, the show drops audiences in on the lively music of that decade, from mambo to salsa. The piece also tells how and why Latinx people originally migrated to the shores of Lake Michigan, only to be pushed further west – away from the lake – by the forces of gentrification and racism.

Teatro Vista’s 2017 world premiere played to capacity crowds at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, followed by The Miracle Center in Hermosa, and an extended summer run in the Goodman’s Owen Theatre.

Teatro Vista ensemble member Cheryl Lynn Bruce, who directed the world premiere, returns to re-stage. Updates include a reimagined set and video design that will evoke an actual night out at a real Chicago 1960s Latino nightclub, complete with cabaret seating, a dance floor and a small stage for the live band.

Delgado, both a Teatro Vista ensemble member and a founding company member of Collaboraction, also returns as the play’s title character, La Havana Madrid. “I am thrilled that my two artistic homes are coming together to bring La Havana Madrid back to life. The companies have a long history of collaborating and LA HAVANA MADRID fits perfectly into their complementary missions, that of telling Latinx stories and uniting Chicagoans,” said Delgado. “I am especially excited to be in the Heath Mainstage at the Den Theatre for the evolution of the La Havana Madrid experience. This malleable space is exactly what I have always envisioned for La Havana Madrid. With the combined strength of two companies, we will be able to fully realize the vision I have always had in mind, complete with immersive staging and evocative projections, that will transport audiences back to 1960’s Chicago.”

Returning performers include comedian and producer Mike Oquendo, Tommy Rivera-Vega and Marvin Quijada, backed up by legendary Colombian-American musician Roberto “Carpacho” Marin and his band of 30 years.

Read Jonald Jude Reyes’ Performink review of the original production here.

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