The Labyrinth of Desire
May 9-31, 2008
World Premiere
An English language production by Caridad Svich adapted from Lope de Vega’s La prueba de los ingenios, directed by Devon Allen.

When Florela’s fiancé decides to leave her and compete with other suitors for the hand of the rich and beautiful Laura, Florela goes undercover to keep her man. Filled with clever deceptions and hilarious disguises, this who’s-who comedy of romantic intrigue explores the delightful and essential mystery of love. This stylish and contemporary adaptation proves that long before Sex and the City, intuition and infatuation have challenged the boundaries and fluidity of human desire.

¡Gaytino!
Written and performed by Dan Guerrero
Presented in partnership with Portland Latino Gay Pride 2008
With the support of Equity Foundation, El Hispanic News, the Unity Project of Oregon and the Mark Spencer Hotel

Mariachi to Merman. Sondheim to César Chávez. Show tunes and canciones en español. This remarkable life journey from East L.A. in the ’50s to New York’s Great White Way in the ’60s and ’70s and back to Hollywood, moves from the back of the bus to the front of American pop culture. A father/son relationship and a treasured boyhood friendship drive this 75-minute autobiographical play through decades of Chicano history and the gay experience from a unique and personal perspective. Touching, hilarious and absolutely one-of-a-kind, Dan Guerrero finally brings his two fascinating worlds together in a riveting solo show, stopping in Portland for two nights only on his way to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

2008-2009, 25th Anniversary Season

DOS PUEBLOS
A Collaborative Project with Hand2Mouth Theatre of Portland and
La Comedia Humana of Mexico City
Directed by Rubén Ortiz and Jonathan Walters
September 19-October 4, 2008
An Original Bilingual Production

Sitcoms and telenovelas, sweet sixteens and quinceañeras, Ronald McDonald and Pancho Villa. Over time, the stories of the overlapping cultural histories of Mexico and the U.S. have warped, forcing emotions deeper and wilder. Yet we remain connected as much as divided. In this cantankerous reflection of our relationships, we reveal our co-dependence, our brutal rage and our undeniable mutual attraction.
Urgent and brave, desperately shattering the mirror of our expectations

LA CARPA DEL MAESTRO: EL DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS FESTIVAL
Written by Martín Milagro
Directed by Philip Cuomo
October 24 - November 9, 2008
An Original Bilingual Production

Every fall, the dead are commemorated in a lively show of dance, music and theatre in Portland’s longest-running Day of the Dead celebration. This year, our signature carpa — that wildly popular and irreverent vaudeville — marches to the beat of a new drummer as a folkloric master makes way for the rise of his hip-hop apprentice, el nuevo maestro. Join us when los muertos return, bringing forward the past and taking tradition to the street.
A dissolution of borders and free-flowing good spirits for the entire family

EL ÚLTIMO
Written by Dañel Malán and CarlosAlexis Cruz
January 9-17, 2009
A Teatro Milagro Original Bilingual Production

Mapuche shamans, eco-feminists and soul-searching loggers converge at the lone remaining stand of trees on the windswept island of Tierra del Fuego. There, nature awaits as the power struggle of culture, ecology and greed determines its fate. What is gained, and what is lost as these individuals attempt to reconcile their personal ideology about the future of the planet?
The duality of opposites, identical in nature, but different in degree

TE LLEVO EN LA SANGRE
Written by Mónica Silver
Directed by Daniel Jáquez
January 30 - February 21, 2009
A Teatro Español Spanish Language Production

Set against the backdrop of turbulent 1955 Argentina, this award-winning black comedy cleverly weaves together the infamous backstage lives of a radionovela castwith the dreams of an obsessed fan, whose deluded fantasies can as easily awaken love as provoke a macabre crime. This intersection of politics and show business examines our fleeting passions and illusions of grandeur in the face of an aggressive world.
At the brink of chaos, laughing in the face of uncertainty

EL GRITO DEL BRONX
Written by Migdalia Cruz
Directed by Tony Sonera
April 3-25, 2009
An English Language Production

On her wedding day, Lulu must confront her brother Papo's legacy of violence before she can embrace her happiness. In this memoryscape that travels from childhood to death row, from white dresses to orange jumpsuits, from murder to redemption, Lulu and Papo discover that what binds them is not only the haunted darkness, but the dream of freedom to turn on the light. In the voice of a modern Latina, this graphically poetic drama demands: How can we freely face the future if we can’t release our ties to the past?
A burning rage within, fingertip flames that light the darkest night, illuminating hope for the dawn

THE SHRUNKEN HEAD OF PANCHO VILLA
Written by Luis Valdez
Directed by Olga Sanchez
May 8-30, 2009
An English Language Production

From the earliest days of Chicano theatre comes this satire of California farm-worker family life, in which the drunken father’s a sonavaviche and the long-suffering mother’s a saint. Of their four children, Mingo’s a sell-out, Joaquin a rebellious pachuco, and Lupe a whining teenager who envisions pregnancy as her only salvation. And the eldest? Just an enormous head who believes he’s Pancho Villa. To this hilariously disintegrating household, Mingo announces his intention to move his family out of the barrio and into the American dream. But will a seductive nostalgia for Mexico’s revolutionary past overwhelm his efforts? It’s the Chicano dilemma: Are we Mexican or American?
A daring young voice from the past that still rings true today