The House of the Spirits

Presented by Main Street Theater at Main Street Theater - Rice Village

September 5-October 11, 2009

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Main Street Theater will open its 34th season with the English-language premiere of Caridad Svich’s The House of the Spirits, based on the best-selling novel by Isabel Allende. With previews September 5, 6, and 9, The House of the Spirits opens Thursday, September 10, and runs through October 11 at Main Street Theater – Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. (There are no performances on September 11 or October...

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Main Street Theater will open its 34th season with the English-language premiere of Caridad Svich’s The House of the Spirits, based on the best-selling novel by Isabel Allende. With previews September 5, 6, and 9, The House of the Spirits opens Thursday, September 10, and runs through October 11 at Main Street Theater – Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. (There are no performances on September 11 or October 9.)

Performances are on Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets range from $20 - $36, depending on date and section, and are on sale in person at the Main Street Theater Box Office, 2540 Times Blvd., via phone at 713.524.6706, or online at www.mainstreettheater.com.

Caridad Svich’s adaptation of Isabel Allende’s stunning, sensual, best-selling novel was commissioned for NYC’s Repertorio Espanol, where the Spanish-language version is currently on stage through November 2009. The play is told from the point of view of the youngest of three generations of women, Alba, whose swirling memories - frightening and amusing, lyrical and fantastic - illuminate the stage as she records her family's history and ultimately finds the strength to recover her own story. MST’s production will be the English-language premiere of this play which critics call “a tumultuous and supernatural family saga that restores the story’s vibrant magical realism.”

The House of the Spirits charts the rise and fall of the Trueba family in an un-named Latin American country (reminiscent of Chile). The piece spans the 1920s through the 1970s, as the country moves through enormous sociopolitical changes that culminate in a devastating dictatorship. Author Allende complemented the production at Repertorio Espanol with, "It was a true celebration to watch the show…it’s extraordinary because it is presented with immense creativity and originality. The novel’s spirit was replicated in the play. It's very authentic.”

Just this summer The House of the Spirits/La Casa de los Espiritus and its production at Repertorio Espanol have been honored with Seven 2009 HOLA Awards including Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting for Caridad Svich. Repertorio Espanol’s production has been extended through November 20, and Main Street is honored to be able to offer the English-language premiere while the Spanish-language premiere is running. MST’s production also marks the Houston premiere of any of Svich’s works.

About Playwright Caridad Svich
Caridad Svich is a US Latina playwright, translator, songwriter and editor whose work was recently profiled in the July/August 2009 issue of American Theatre magazine. Her play The House of the Spirits (based on Isabel Allende's novel) premiered this February at Spanish Repertory/NY under Jose Zayas' direction and is still in repertory through the fall (www.repertorio.org), Instructions for Breathing premiered at Passage Theatre/NY in April under Daniella Topol's direction, and Wreckage at Crowded Fire Theatre/CA in May under Erin Gilley's direction.

Among other key works: 12 Ophelias, Any Place But Here, Alchemy of Desire/Dead-Man's Blues, Fugitive Pieces, Iphigenia...a rave fable, The Tropic of X, The Labyrinth of Desire and The Booth Variations.

In Texas her works have been seen at Kitchen Dog Theater (Dallas) and Salvage Vanguard Theater (Austin). She has edited several books on theatre and performance including Trans-Global Readings (Manchester University Press) and Divine Fire (BackStage Books). She has translated nearly all of Federico Garcia Lorca's plays as well as contemporary works from Argentina, Spain, Mexico and Cuba. She is alumna playwright of New Dramatists, founder of NoPassport theatre alliance & press, associate editor of Routledge's Contemporary Theatre Review and contributing editor of TheatreForum. Her works are published by TCG, Playscripts, Smith & Kraus and more. She is member of PEN American Center, The Dramatists Guild and is featured in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Latino History. She holds an MFA from UCSD. Website: www.caridadsvich.com

About Novelist Isabel Allende
Says Allende, “It is very strange to write one’s biography because it is just a list of dates, events and achievements. In reality the most important things about my life happened in the secret chambers of my heart and have no place in a biography. My most significant achievements are not my books, but the love I share with a few people, especially my family, and the ways in which I have tried to help others.

When I was young, I often felt desperate: so much pain in the world and so little I could do to alleviate it! But now I look back at my life and feel satisfied because few days went by without at least trying.”

That said, Allende, on her website, acknowledges the necessity of a biography. She was born in 1942 in Chile. She worked as a journalist in Chile and Venezuela. She has taught and lectured all over the United States in addition to Chile and Venezuela. She was written 3 “Theater Plays in Chile,” as she calls them: El Embajador, La Balada del Medio Pelo, and Los Siete Espejors, but is most widely recognized as a novelist.

Her books include The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, The Infinite Plan, Paula, Daughter of Fortune, Portrait in Sepia, The City of the Beasts (young adult novel), My Invented Country, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon (young adult novel), Forest of the Pygmies, (young adult novel), Zorro, Inés of My Soul, and The Sum of Our Days. The House of the Spirits and Of Love and Shadows have already been made into movies, and film-versions of Aphrodite, Eva Luna and Gift for a Sweetheart are in production. The House of the Spirits, Eva Luna, Stories of Eva Luna, Paula, and Zorro have all been adapted into plays. Others of her works have been adapted into opera and ballet.

Allende has received numerous degrees and honorary degrees in addition to countless awards, including Best Novel of the Year in Chile for The House of the Spirits which has since been translated into twenty different languages worldwide.

About the Production
MST Executive Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden directs The House of the Spirits. Last season Ms. Udden appeared on stage in the Houston premiere of Wendy Wasserstein’s Third at MST. Pablo Bracho is Assistant Director. Coming off of her hit run of Awake and Sing! at MST, Luisa-Amaral Smith returns for House....

The rest of the cast includes Orlando Arriaga, Eva De La Cruz, Alexander Garza, Séan Patrick Judge, Chelsea Ryan McCurdy (Ps and Qs), Rosarito Rodríguez, Laura Michelle Salas, and Richard Solis (Anna in the Tropics).

The design team includes Jodi Bobrovsky (set design), Deborah Anderson (costume design), David Gipson (lighting design), Andrew Harper (sound design), and Meghan C. Hakes (properties design). Colette Wellman is the production stage manager.

Pictured above: Pictured L-R: Esteban Garcia (Seán Patrick Judge) and Transito (Rosarito Rodríguez). (photo by www.RicOrnelProductions.com).

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Main Street Theater - Rice Village

2540 Times Blvd.
Houston, TX 77005

Full map and directions

Tickets:

Preview performances:
Regular Adult - $10
Senior (65+) - $10
Student - $10

Opening night:
Regular Adult - $30-36
Senior (65+) - $24-30
Student - $10

Run of Show:
Thursday
Regular Adult - $20-26
Senior (65+) - $14-20
Student - $10

Friday
Regular Adult - $26-32
Senior (65+) - $20-26
Student - $10

Saturday
Regular Adult - $30-36
Senior (65+) - $24-30
Student - $10

Sunday
Regular Adult - $26-32
Senior (65+) - $20-26
Student - $10

Times:

Opening night (Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009) - 7:30pm

Thursdays - 7:30pm
Fridays - 8:00pm
Saturdays - 8:00pm
Sunday - 3:00pm

Previews September 5, 6 and 9. Runs September 10 - October 11, 2009.

Phone: (713) 524-6706

Parking: Parking in the Village can be difficult, especially for Sunday Matinees. MST recommends that you arrive at least 20 minutes early to allow time to park and get to the theater. Remember, there is no late seating once the show starts.

Limited off street parking is available directly in front of the Rice Village Theater, and there is street parking all through out the village. Parallel parking can also be found on the east side of Kirby.

When the weather is nice, you might chose to park in the Village parking garage. The closest entrance can be found at Kelvin and Amherst, one block east and one block south of the Theater. There may be a nominal fee, but parking is free should you choose to dine at one of the Village Arcade eateries before the show.

We do ask that you be respectful of our neighbors and not park in any off street parking that is in front of open businesses. What's more, because of the nature of Village parking, many businesses will enforce towing.

The best way to beat the parking blues is to come early, find a convenient place near the theater and walk to a Village eatery for dinner or brunch!

From Southwest Houston (Sugar Land Area)
Take 59 North, pass the 610 Loop, and exit Kirby (just after The Compaq Center). Turn right onto Kirby. Cross Bissonnet and Sunset. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).

From North Houston (The Woodlands/Downtown)
Take 45 South to 59 South and exit Kirby (if you see The Compaq Center, you've gone too far). Turn left onto Kirby. Cross Bissonnet and Sunset. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).

From Southeast Houston (Clear Lake/Galveston)
Take 45 North to 59 South and exit Kirby (if you see The Compaq Center, you've gone too far). Turn left onto Kirby. Cross Bissonnet and Sunset. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).

From I-10 coming from the West (Katy)
Take 610 Loop South to 59 North and exit Kirby (just after The Compaq Center). Turn right onto Kirby. Cross Bissonnet and Sunset. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).

From I-10 coming from the East (Beaumont)
Take 59 South and exit Kirby (if you see The Compaq Center, you've gone too far). Turn left onto Kirby. Cross Bissonnet and Sunset. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).

From Main Street Theater at Chelsea Market
Turn left onto Montrose. Make a right on Bissonnet. Pass Shepard and Greenbriar. Turn left onto Kirby. Pass Sunset Blvd. When you reach Rice Blvd., go one more block to Times Blvd. (there's no traffic light). Turn left onto Times. MST is the third business on the left (next to Ovations).