Hartford Stage opens 2019/2020 season with Quixote Nuevo by award-winning playwright Octavio Solis

HARTFORD, CT — August 12, 2019 — Hartford Stage will open its 2019/2020 season with Quixote Nuevo, an inspired, Tejano music-filled, contemporary reimagining of the Miguel de Cervantes classic Don Quixote, by award-winning playwright Octavio Solis. Performances run Thursday, September 19, through Sunday, October 13.

Veteran television and stage actor Emilio Delgado, renowned for his groundbreaking role as Luis on Sesame Street, leads a talented cast in the title role of Quixote/Quijano.

Set in the fictional modern-day border town of La Plancha, Texas, the chivalrous “knight” Don Quixote and his loyal sidekick Sancho embark on a comical yet bittersweet quest for redemption and lost love that touches the lives of all they encounter. Quixote Nuevo is directed by KJ Sanchez and produced in association with Huntington Theatre Company and Alley Theatre.

The spirited, lyrical play debuted at the California Shakespeare Festival last year to rave reviews. The San Francisco Chronicle praised Quixote Nuevo as “inspired, heartbreaking and very funny.” CultureVulture hailed it as an “extremely relatable, relevant and entertaining modern theatrical event.” The Bay Area News Group wrote Quixote Nuevo “…pulses with the earthly poetry of the Southwest.”

Playwright Octavio Solis’s work – which includes Mother Road, Hole in the Sky, Lydia, and The Ballad of Pancho and Lucy – has been produced by theatres across the country. In 2012, Hartford Stage staged a reading of Se Llama Cristina as part of its Brand:NEW Festival of New Work. Solis is the recipient of an NEA Playwriting Fellowship, the Kennedy Center’s Roger L. Stevens Award, the National Latino Playwriting Award, the 2018 Imagen Award for his consulting work on the animated Pixar film Coco, and the 2019 Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award from the William Inge Theatre Festival. He is also the author of Retablos: Stories of a Life Lived Along the Border, a memoir of his life growing up in El Paso, Texas.

Acclaimed playmaker KJ Sanchez has directed reimagined classics, new plays and her own documentary plays Off-Broadway and at theatres across the country. She has directed works by Dan Dietz, Kyle Schmidt, Heather Raffo, Jose Rivera, Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Kristoffer Diaz. Sanchez is the founder and CEO of American Records, which is dedicated to “making theatre that chronicles our time.” She is director, co-author and producer of the critically-acclaimed ReEntry, a searing look at the lives of Marines preparing to return home from combat, which has toured extensively across the country and abroad.

Actor Emilio Delgado, who is reprising his role in Quixote Nuevo, portrayed beloved handyman Luis on Sesame Street from 1971 to 2015. In 1972, Delgado was cast to understudy Raul Julia in Two Gentleman of Verona on Broadway. Additional stage credits include productions with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Round House Theatre, and Manhattan Theatre Source. More recently, he portrayed Claudius in Hamlet, Prince of Cuba at the Asolo Repertory Theatre. Delgado was a recurring cast member on The Lou Grant Show and has guest starred on numerous popular television series, including Hawaii 5-0, Quincy, Police Story, House of Cards, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: SVU.

Also reprising their roles in Quixote Nuevo are Juan Manuel Amador (Between Riverside and Crazy…, San Jose Stage Company; Oedipus El Rey, Magic Theatre), as Sancho Panza/Manny Dias; Hugo E. Carbajal (The River Bride, Arizona Theatre Company; Freedomland, San Francisco Mime Troupe) as Papa Calaca; and Gianna DiGregorio Rivera (The Importance of Being Earnest, Aurora Theatre Company; Arcadia, Shotgun Players) as Antonia, Ines, and Calaca.

New to the Quixote Nuevo cast are Orlando Arriaga (72 Miles to Go…, Alley Theatre; Don Pedro De La Cebolla, Symphony Space) as Cardenio and Padre Perez; Gisela Chipe (Indecent, Guthrie Theater; Water by the Spoonful, The Studio Theatre) as Dulcinea/Dr. Campos; Krystal Hernandez (Miss You Like Hell, American Repertory Theatre; Laughs in Spanish, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre) as Juana and Rosario; Ivan Jasso (Deferred Action, Dallas Theater Center; Office Hour, Circle Theatre) as Bruno, Young Quijano, Yard Sale Guy and Calaca; and Mariela Lopez-Ponce (Hamlet, Apollinaire Theatre Company; Living Out, Lyric Stage Company) as Magdalena.

Quixote Nuevo’s creative team includes Scenic Designer Takeshi Kata (Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Hartford Stage); Costume Designer Rachel Healy (Next to Normal, Writers Theatre); Lighting Designer Brian Lilienthal (KNYUM, Merrimack Repertory Theatre); Composer and Sound Designer David R. Molina (Two Trains Running, Seattle Repertory Theatre and Arena Stage); and Co-Composer/Music Director Eduardo Robledo (Steeltown, Music & Lyrics–San Francisco Mime Troupe).

Rob Chikar (Make Believe, Hartford Stage) is the Stage Manager. Kasson Marroquin (The Light, MCC Theater) is Assistant Stage Manager.

Show Sponsors

Lead Sponsor

The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation

Producer

The Mandell-Braunstein Family

The 2019/2020 season is also sponsored by the Shubert Foundation, Burry Fredrik Foundation, Greater Hartford Arts Council, and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

Important Dates

• Previews begin at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, September 19
• Opening Night: 8 p.m., Friday, September 27
• Closes: 2 p.m., Sunday, October 13

Tickets & Performances

• Tues., Wed., Thurs., Sun. at 7:30 p.m.—Fri., Sat. at 8 p.m.—Sat., Sun. at 2 p.m.
• Wed. matinee at 2 p.m. on October 2.
• Tickets for all shows start at $25. Student tickets: $20.
• For group discounts, email groupsales@hartfordstage.org or call 860-520-7125.
• Weekly schedules vary. Visit www.hartfordstage.org or call the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151 for more information.

Special Events

• HPL @ Hartford Stage–Hartford Public Library and Hartford Stage invite you to dig deeper into the world of the plays onstage. Use your Connecticut town library card to check out a book from the HPL @ Hartford Stage library kiosk located in the lower lobby of the theatre near Guest Services.
• A Little Harmless Fun: Playwright Octavio Solis Discusses Quixote Nuevo (Mark Twain House)–September 23. Arts writer Frank Rizzo talks with Quixote Nuevo playwright Octavio Solis about his work and memoir, Retablos: Stories of a Life Lived Along the Border. Solis will read excerpts from Retablos, which will be available for sale and signing. Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford. 7 p.m.–9 p.m. Tickets: $10.
• Sunday Afternoon Discussion–September 29. Enjoy a discussion with artists and scholars connected with the production immediately following the 2 p.m. matinee. Free.
• AfterWords Discussion—Tuesday, October 1; Wednesday, October 2; and Tuesday, October 8. Join members of the cast and our Artistic staff for a free discussion, immediately following select 7:30 p.m. performances on Tuesday or the 2 p.m. Wednesday matinee.
• Open Captioned Performances—Sunday, October 6, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. For patrons who are deaf or have hearing loss — free service with admission.
• Audio Described Performance—Saturday, October 12, 2 p.m. For patrons who are blind or have low vision — free service with admission.