[photo credit: Center Theatre Group]
The 40-minute production, written by Eliana Pipes and directed by Sara Guerrero, stars Myrna Velasco as Huerta and is performed in English, Spanish and Tagalog. The Pasadena stop extends a Center Theatre Group community-touring initiative that opened in March at Los Angeles libraries, schools and recreation centers. Admission is free with RSVP through centertheatregroup.org.
Boston Court Pasadena is located at 70 N. Mentor Ave.
“¡Sí Se Puede!” is presented under Center Theatre Group’s CTG:FWD touring banner, according to the company’s announcement of its spring and summer lineup. The play follows Huerta’s work co-founding the United Farm Workers union with Cesar Chavez, the 1965 Delano Grape Strike and her continued advocacy. Huerta is 96.
The cast also features Juan De La Cruz, Brandon English, Sol Joun, Michael G. Martinez and Monica Joelle Ortiz, according to Center Theatre Group. The creative team includes composer Moises Vazquez, costume designer Ivette Tello, scenic and prop designer Jesus Hurtado, sound designer Melani Falcon, stage manager Joe Maldonado and assistant stage manager Dylan Dolson Gonzalez. Victor Vazquez of X Casting served as casting director.
The production is styled after El Teatro Campesino, the Chicano theater company that performed short skits, or actos, from the backs of flatbed trucks during the 1960s farmworker movement.
“Dolores Huerta’s life is an example for all of us to find courage and work together to make a better world,” Jesus A. Reyes, Center Theatre Group’s director of learning and community partnerships, said in the company’s announcement. “¡SÍ SE PUEDE! is not just a slogan, it’s a call to action.”
Pipes, who was commissioned by Center Theatre Group in March to write the play, said in an interview with The Argonaut that the piece is “a story about women revolutionaries, about labor organizing and about immigrant rights.”
Velasco, whose voiceover credits include Tater in Disney’s “Primos,” told The Argonaut that Huerta and the United Farm Workers movement shaped her own family’s history. “If it wasn’t for Dolores and Cesar, I wouldn’t be here,” Velasco said. “They made it possible for my grandparents to have a stable career in farm working.”
Reyes said in an interview with LAist that the touring initiative reflects a deliberate move outside of Center Theatre Group’s downtown venues.
“We have to exist outside of the institutions, otherwise we’re not part of the global citizenship,” Reyes said. “There’s so many young people and older people who have lost touch with art … So it’s also our responsibility to put it out there.”
The play debuted March 19 and ran through April 18 at venues including Boyle Heights City Hall, the Palms-Rancho Library in Los Angeles and the Julian Dixon Library in Culver City, according to LAist and Center Theatre Group. After The New York Times allegations against Cesar Chavez were published on March 18, Pipes revised the script to reduce Chavez’s role to a minor character with fewer lines, according to LAist.
Boston Court Pasadena, founded in 2003, offers accessible seating in both performance spaces and provides assisted listening devices at no cost, according to the venue’s website. The venue’s box office can be reached at (626) 683-6801.
Audiences are asked to RSVP for “¡Sí Se Puede!” through centertheatregroup.org; questions about the touring program can be directed to education@ctgla.org.
The production is suitable for all ages, according to Center Theatre Group.
Center Theatre Group retains the rights to produce the play in greater Los Angeles, according to LAist, and Pipes said in that interview that she would like to see the play staged elsewhere.
“I would love this play in every city, in every state,” Pipes said.
¡Sí Se Puede! plays Sunday, June 7, with performances at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission is free with RSVP. The production runs at Boston Court Pasadena, 70 N. Mentor Ave. Parking information was not provided by the venue or Center Theatre Group. For more, call the Boston Court box of ice at (626) 683-6801 or visit centertheatregroup.org.
