El Huracán
By Charise Castro Smith
Directed by Daniel Jáquez
Low-priced Previews Jan 25 - Jan 28, 2023
An epic hurricane threatens Miami. A mother and daughter ready themselves for the storm as Abuela takes shelter in a world of memory, music, and magic. A powerful tale of family and forgiveness, El Huracán reveals what can be rebuilt in the aftermath of life’s most devastating tempests––and what can never be replaced. Receiving its third ever production at Cygnet Theatre after the World Premiere at Yale Rep in 2018; El Huracán is an exquisite lyrical drama that places four generations of Latina women at the center of a universal tale.
Run Time: This show runs approximately 1 hour and 35 minutes with no intermission.
Digital Program
Cast
Amalia Alarcón MorrisAmalia Alarcón Morris
ValeriaAmalia is a Cuban-Ecuadorian actress, who lives in the Republic of Panama. Amalia was last seen as Edna Brown in The Oldest Profession at Profile Theater and Consuelo in Watsonville at Teatro Milagro, both in Portland, Oregon. She majored in theater at the University of Miami and has studied Shakespeare with Elizabeth Huffman. She is fluent in Spanish and English and a lifelong salsa dancer. When she is not on stage she is soaking up the Central American sunshine with her husband James and their dogs. Their love and support make everything possible.
Christopher CruzChristopher Cruz
Fernando/TheoChris has worked on Thinking Shakespeare Love, directed by Barry Edelstein, Oedipus Rex dir. Ray Chambers,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream dir. Sam White, Measure for Measure dir. Sofia Gomez, The Promise dir. James Vasquez, and one of his all time favorites’ Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, directed by the one and only Jesse J. Perez! In New York privileged to work with The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in 2015, under the direction of Zack Fine, in SO PLEASE YOU. Davis McCallum in Measure for Measure, and GT Upchurch in As You Like It. MFA USD Old Globe Shiley Classical Acting Graduate Program/MFA UIOWA/BA UT Austin. He is a Naval Veteran, once working with 1st BN, 8th Marines out of Camp Lejeune as a Hospital Corpsman. He would like to thank his Mother, his Manager and those who have supported him on his creative journey!
Manny FernandesManny Fernandes
AlonsoManny (he/him) previously appeared at Cygnet in The Great Leap, The Last Wife (SD Critics Circle nomination), Gypsy, True West (SDCC nomination), Private Lives, Travesties, Mauritius, Communicating Doors, Escanaba in da Moonlight, and many more. Elsewhere: Baskerville, Chaps, Ring Round the Moon, Once (Lamb’s); Outside Mullingar, A Christmas Carol, Death of a Salesman, Cabaret. (San Diego Rep); The Secret Garden, The Buddy Holly Story, Big River, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men (SDCC Award), Golden Boy (SDCC Award) (New Village Arts); Jeffrey, Boys in the Band, Never the Sinner, Fifth of July (Diversionary Theatre); Arcadia (North Coast Rep).
Amalia Alarcón Morris
Amalia is a Cuban-Ecuadorian actress, who lives in the Republic of Panama. Amalia was last seen as Edna Brown in The Oldest Profession at Profile Theater and Consuelo in Watsonville at Teatro Milagro, both in Portland, Oregon. She majored in theater at the University of Miami and has studied Shakespeare with Elizabeth Huffman. She is fluent in Spanish and English and a lifelong salsa dancer. When she is not on stage she is soaking up the Central American sunshine with her husband James and their dogs. Their love and support make everything possible.
Christopher Cruz
Chris has worked on Thinking Shakespeare Love, directed by Barry Edelstein, Oedipus Rex dir. Ray Chambers,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream dir. Sam White, Measure for Measure dir. Sofia Gomez, The Promise dir. James Vasquez, and one of his all time favorites’ Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, directed by the one and only Jesse J. Perez! In New York privileged to work with The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in 2015, under the direction of Zack Fine, in SO PLEASE YOU. Davis McCallum in Measure for Measure, and GT Upchurch in As You Like It. MFA USD Old Globe Shiley Classical Acting Graduate Program/MFA UIOWA/BA UT Austin. He is a Naval Veteran, once working with 1st BN, 8th Marines out of Camp Lejeune as a Hospital Corpsman. He would like to thank his Mother, his Manager and those who have supported him on his creative journey!
Manny Fernandes
Manny (he/him) previously appeared at Cygnet in The Great Leap, The Last Wife (SD Critics Circle nomination), Gypsy, True West (SDCC nomination), Private Lives, Travesties, Mauritius, Communicating Doors, Escanaba in da Moonlight, and many more. Elsewhere: Baskerville, Chaps, Ring Round the Moon, Once (Lamb’s); Outside Mullingar, A Christmas Carol, Death of a Salesman, Cabaret. (San Diego Rep); The Secret Garden, The Buddy Holly Story, Big River, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men (SDCC Award), Golden Boy (SDCC Award) (New Village Arts); Jeffrey, Boys in the Band, Never the Sinner, Fifth of July (Diversionary Theatre); Arcadia (North Coast Rep).
Catalina MaynardCatalina Maynard
XimenaPreviously at Cygnet: Water by the Spoonful. Locally, she has worked at the San Diego REP, Moonlight Theatre, North Coast Rep, New Village Arts, La Jolla Playhouse, the Old Globe, and iON Theatre as a company member for eight years. Regional work: Mark Taper Forum, Yale Rep, Denver Center, PCPA, TheatreWorks, Mixed Blood Theatre, The Children’s Theatre Minneapolis, Arizona Theatre Co., and Off-Broadway at the Peter J. Sharp Theatre, to name a few. Catalina is a former Marshall Artist in Residency at UC San Diego, focusing on social justice work for the stage, and a two-time recipient of the Craig Noel Critics Circle Award for acting. Currently, she is a Learning Specialist in Narrative Medicine for the University Link Medical Science program at the University of California San Diego.
Carla NavarroCarla Navarro
Alicia/Dr. KemplerCarla (she/her) is thrilled to make her Cygnet debut. Carla is a Latin-American actress who thrives on art that encompasses experimentation and awareness. She earned her theatre degree in Santiago, Chile where she ran her theatre company until relocating to San Diego. Local credits: Turning Off the Morning News, Drowning Girls, A Bright New Boise, A Piece of My Heart (Craig Noel nomination) (OnStage Playhouse); WOW Festival: Written in Stone (La Jolla Playhouse/Backyard Renaissance); G.E.W. (Moxie); Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (Innermission); Letters from the Wall, From Saints to Stars (Amigos del Rep), and multiple Zoom readings locally and nationally.
Sandra RuizSandra Ruiz
MirandaSandra (she/her) is ecstatic to return to Cygnet. Some of her favorite credits include: The Motherf**ker with the Hat (Cygnet); Drowning Girls, Venus in Fur (Craig Noel Nomination), Our Lady of the Tortilla, As Bees in Honey Drown (OnStage Playhouse); A Permanent Image (Pt. Loma Playhouse); Dance Nation, The Madres, Enron, Expecting Isabel (Moxie); In the Time of the Butterflies, Corridos/ Remix, Earthquake Sun (San Diego Rep.); Lydia (Ion); James & the Giant Peach (Coronado Playhouse), 4.48 Psychosis, & A Midsummer Night’s Dream (UCSD). Born and raised in San Diego, Sandra received her BAs in Theatre & Human Development from UCSD.
Catalina Maynard
Previously at Cygnet: Water by the Spoonful. Locally, she has worked at the San Diego REP, Moonlight Theatre, North Coast Rep, New Village Arts, La Jolla Playhouse, the Old Globe, and iON Theatre as a company member for eight years. Regional work: Mark Taper Forum, Yale Rep, Denver Center, PCPA, TheatreWorks, Mixed Blood Theatre, The Children’s Theatre Minneapolis, Arizona Theatre Co., and Off-Broadway at the Peter J. Sharp Theatre, to name a few. Catalina is a former Marshall Artist in Residency at UC San Diego, focusing on social justice work for the stage, and a two-time recipient of the Craig Noel Critics Circle Award for acting. Currently, she is a Learning Specialist in Narrative Medicine for the University Link Medical Science program at the University of California San Diego.
Carla Navarro
Carla (she/her) is thrilled to make her Cygnet debut. Carla is a Latin-American actress who thrives on art that encompasses experimentation and awareness. She earned her theatre degree in Santiago, Chile where she ran her theatre company until relocating to San Diego. Local credits: Turning Off the Morning News, Drowning Girls, A Bright New Boise, A Piece of My Heart (Craig Noel nomination) (OnStage Playhouse); WOW Festival: Written in Stone (La Jolla Playhouse/Backyard Renaissance); G.E.W. (Moxie); Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (Innermission); Letters from the Wall, From Saints to Stars (Amigos del Rep), and multiple Zoom readings locally and nationally.
Sandra Ruiz
Sandra (she/her) is ecstatic to return to Cygnet. Some of her favorite credits include: The Motherf**ker with the Hat (Cygnet); Drowning Girls, Venus in Fur (Craig Noel Nomination), Our Lady of the Tortilla, As Bees in Honey Drown (OnStage Playhouse); A Permanent Image (Pt. Loma Playhouse); Dance Nation, The Madres, Enron, Expecting Isabel (Moxie); In the Time of the Butterflies, Corridos/ Remix, Earthquake Sun (San Diego Rep.); Lydia (Ion); James & the Giant Peach (Coronado Playhouse), 4.48 Psychosis, & A Midsummer Night’s Dream (UCSD). Born and raised in San Diego, Sandra received her BAs in Theatre & Human Development from UCSD.
Creative Team
Charise Castro Smith
Charise is a Latinx playwright and writer originally from Miami. She spent the last two years co-writing and co-directing the theatrical Disney animated film Encanto which features music written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. She has staffed on many tv series including The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, Sweetbitter on Starz, and The Exorcist for Fox. Her pilot The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez was shot at ABC. She is a prolific playwright whose plays include El Huracán (premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre), Estrella Cruz: The Junkyard Queen (Ars Nova/Halcyon Theatre), The Hunchback Of Seville (Washington Ensemble Theatre/Trinity Repertory Company), Washeteria (Soho Rep), and Boomcracklefly (Miracle Theatre). She is a recipient of a Van Lier Fellowship at New Dramatists and is an alumna of Ars Novas Play Group and The New Georges Jam. She holds an M.F.A from Yale School of Drama.
Daniel Jáquez
Daniel Jáquez is an award-winning director. He has directed and produced shows Off and Off-Off Broadway, across the United States, and internationally. Jáquez has premiered work by renowned playwrights Karen Zacarías, Marisela Treviño, Migdalia Cruz, Magdalena Gómez, Mariana Carreño, and Carmen Rivera. He has developed plays by Andrea Thome, Quiara Hudes, Virginia Grise among others. He has also collaborated with composers Arturo O’Farrill, Sinuhé Padilla, and Ernesto Villalobos on new performance theatre pieces. Jáquez is Co-Founder of TuYo Theatre, a San Diego company that creates and produces theatre from a diverse Latinx perspective. He is an Associate Artist with Bocón Arts, for which recently directed a dual language production of Mía by Award-wining Mexican playwright, Amaranta Leyva in Barrio Logan. Jáquez directed the Globe for All tour of The Winter’s Tale and devised La Muerte Descansa en Paz (Death Rests in Peace) and Hermanas (Sisters) for The Old Globe’s Arts Engagement program. He was a participant in Barry Edelstein’s first Classical Directing Fellowship and has directed at The Old Globe’s Powers New Voices Festival and at Cygnet’s Bill and Judy Garrett Finish Line Commission. Jáquez served for over 10 years as a member of The Lark’s México/U.S. Playwright Exchange Program and has translated plays by award-winning Mexican playwrights. His translations are published in NoPassport Press, The Mercurian, and Asymptote and have been produced in New York City. His most recent, Rarámuri Dreams, was selected for the 2020 Columbia University School of the Arts International Play Festival. Jáquez is a Trustee of Diversionary Theatre, a member of the Latinx Theatre Commons Steering Committee, the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, The Fence, and NoPassport: a Pan-American theatre coalition. In New York City, he worked as Director and Co-Founder of Unit52 (Intar), Director of INTAR/Jerome Foundation NewWorks Lab, Co-Founder of Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, and Interim Artistic Director of Milagro Theatre (Portland, OR). Jáquez earned an MFA in Directing from the American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theater Institute at Harvard University and a BS in Mathematics from the University of Texas.
January 2023