"The Marx Brothers Meet The Rolling Stones"
-American Theatre Magazine
A twenty-year road trip through the American psyche
hurtles into Boston for an eight-week stay when the Huntington
Theatre Company presents the Boston premiere of "Culture
Clash in AmeriCCa," by the Los Angeles-based Latino/Chicano
trio Culture Clash, celebrating two decades of outrageous
original comedy with a social conscience.
Running March 18 - May 8. at the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion
at the Boston Center for the Arts, Culture Clash's "humorous,
cutting and touching" (The New York Times) show features
new, Huntington-commissioned material focusing on the Boston area,
its idiosyncrasies and its distinctive residents.
"Culture Clash in AmeriCCa" is an ever-changing production
that gains depth and power as it tours the country in celebration
of its writer-performers' two decades together. Members Richard
Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza
have been developing the show for several years, incorporating material
drawn from in-depth interviews with people from every region of the
country. The result is a continually fresh examination of American
consciousness in flux, split and stunned by war and terrorism, alternately
shocked and bored by sex and sexuality, and equally proud of and perturbed
by the country's reputation as a great melting pot.
The revolving characters and scenes in "Culture Clash in AmeriCCa"
represent the diverse population of the country it skewers and celebrates.
Recent performances have included scenes of ghettoized immigrants
in San Diego, a Muslim taxi driver in Washington, D.C., a bitter but
clear-eyed Vietnam veteran who shuns American life for a Mexican border
town, a young Asian man who embraces the gang-thug life, a transgender
sex educator, and two white lesbians experiencing isolation among
their new suburban neighbors.
To create the new Boston segments, Salinas, Siguenza, and Montoya
visited the city several times over the past year and talked to a
variety of citizens including fervent members of Red Sox Nation in
Fenway Park, the late columnist David Nyhan, a member of splinter
Catholic group Voices of the Faithful, a former Boston police officer,
Brahmin socialites and more. High-profile Boston subjects like the
broken Red Sox curse, the city's race relations, Beacon Hill Garden
tours, the priest sex abuse scandal, gay marriage and the Logan airport
origination of the 9/11 flights are among those being considered for
presentation in the local run.
"This is what we do all across the country," commented Clash-er
Richard Montoya "transcending the early ideas of what 'Chicano
theatre' was to be. We venture outside our own barrio and into
yours, to peel back the layers of what makes Boston tick and talk."
Formed in 1984, Culture Clash fills a unique role in
American theatre. Hailed as "the Marx Brothers meet the Rolling
Stones," by American Theatre magazine, these acclaimed
social anthropologists have dug deep into American culture, creating
memorable new plays and characters. Since the group's genesis
in San Francisco's Mission District, these sociopolitical satirists
have written more than a dozen plays.
Culture Clash's work has ranged from sketch comedy to an adaptation
of Aristophanes, to a reworking of the late Frank
Loesser's long-lost musical, "Senor Discretion,
Himself," which had its world premiere in 2004 at the
Arena Stage in Washington D.C. During the past several years,
Culture Clash has focused on site-specific theatre, weaving into an
ongoing dramatic tapestry personal narratives culled from interviews
with homegrown residents. Theatre companies in Miami, Washington D.C.,
New York, San Diego, and San Francisco have commissioned performance
pieces specifically for those cities.
Culture Clash has performed Off Broadway, at Lincoln Center,
the Kennedy Center, dozens of repertory theatres
throughout the country, and at numerous universities and colleges.
They performed the Mark Taper Forum-commissioned
play "Chavez Ravine" at the HBO
Comedy Festival in Aspen. The group made television
history by writing, starring in and producing the first-ever Latino
comedy-sketch television show for FOX in the mid-1990s. Their teleplay,
"A Bowl of Beings," was part of the "Great
Performances" series on PBS.
"Culture Clash in AmeriCCa" recently was filmed and directed
by Emilio Estevez, and will have a theatrical run
this summer.
CLUB NIGHTS AND RELATED EVENTS
SNEAK PREVIEW
See a presentation by a member of the Huntington's artistic staff,
featuring contextual background and production-related information.
Tues., March 22, 6:30 p.m.
CLUB NIGHTS
Designed for theatregoers 35 and under and for members of the gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities, club nights provide
an opportunity to mingle with fellow theatregoers and participating
members of the artistic team and cast at a pre- or post-show reception
(free with the purchase of tickets).
NIGHT CLUB
For theatregoers 35 and under
Thursday, March 31, following the 7:30 p.m. performance
OUT & ABOUT CLUB
For gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities
Wednesday, April 6
Pre-show reception at 6 p.m., prior to 7:30 p.m. performance
ACTORS FORUMS
Participating members of Culture Clash will appear after the show
to answer questions from the audience.
Thursday, April 7, following the 7:30 p.m. performance
Wednesday, May 4, following the 2 p.m. performance
HUMANITIES FORUM
Humanities Forum includes a discussion of the show and its related
issues, hosted by a member of the Huntington artistic staff.
Forum is free and open to the public.
Sunday, April 10, following the 2 p.m. matinee
MASTER CLASS
Learn more about theatre -- what's onstage and what's happening behind
the scenes -- with this exciting interactive program.
Tuesday, April 19, 6 to 7 p.m.
For more information, call 617-266-0800, stop by the Calderwood Pavilion
Box Office at 527 Tremont Street, or visit www.huntingtontheatre.org.
