Pictured: Frankie Dávila

UrbanTheater Company and Teatro Aguijón have announced that the two companies will be staging separate productions of “Not for Sale,” Guadalís Del Carmen’s recently revised play about gentrification, as a part of a unique collaboration. UrbanTheater will present the English-language version of the play, directed by Wendy Mateo from March 8 to April 7 at Batey Urbano in Humboldt Park, the heart of the play’s actual setting. Teatro Aguijón will present Spanish-language version, translated and directed by Marcela Muñoz in mid-April at their 2707 N. Laramie space.

“Not for Sale,” which received its world premiere last year as part of Destinos, the second annual Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, revolves around Reynaldo, whose store has been a fixture of Division Street long before it was designated Paseo Boricua. The neighborhood around him is changing. Property taxes are going up and so are property values. He is working hard to make ends meet but that hasn’t stopped real estate agents from circling around his business, and now that the young owners of a recently opened wellness store next to his have started a campaign against Humboldt Park’s traditional Fiestas Puertorriqueñas, Reynaldo’s store has become the center of a larger debate: who has the right to shape a community’s history and future? Who gets to lay claim to a neighborhood?

Soli Santos joins UrbanTheater Company’s original cast in the role of Alderman Nancy Torres. The rest of the cast for UTC’s production includes: Frankie Dávila (Reynaldo Rodríguez), Seamus McMahon (Mark Sokolov), Rebekah Roberts (Susan Sokolov), Andre Pérez (Ricky González), Andre Truss (Devin Thompson) and Jimmy Mann (understudy, Mark).

The production team includes: Ivan Vega, Miranda González and Antonio Bruno (producers), Jonathan Widell (production manager), Michelle Housh (stage manager), Melony Aponte (assistant stage manager), Harrison Ornelas (scenic designer), Gabriela Cordovi (sound designer), Liviu Pasare (projections designer), Sarah Albrecht (costume designer), Andrew Payne-Guillory (technical director), and Raquel Torre (movement).

Teatro Aguijón will announce their cast, crew and showtimes at a later date.

“One of the things that was exciting about the show last year was to witness the audience’s investment and involvement in the show. We knew we ‘struck a nerve’ so to speak. In doing the show in Spanish with Aguijón, my other home, it was an opportunity to reach a wider audience with this show, and with most of the dialogue in Spanish, seeing and hearing it from a slightly different perspective,” said playwright Guadalís Del Carmen.

UrbanTheater will also be offering eight daytime performances of the play to Chicago area schools on Thursdays and Fridays.

“Having black and brown students being able to see themselves and the story of their community reflected on our stage was one of the most rewarding experiences,” said UTC Executive Director Ivan Vega. “We held a post-show discussion after our five daytime performances and hearing the reactions, eloquent questions and reflections from the students gave profound meaning to ‘Not for Sale’ and the work UTC continues to do in the Humboldt Park community. I had schools wanting to bring 180 of their students to see the play but we can only hold 60, and schools from as far as Evanston and Rogers Park wanting to bring their students in. The response was positively overwhelming”.

Tickets and more info are available at urbantheaterchicago.org.

Teatro Aguijón will announce their cast, crew and showtimes at a later date.