By: Special to The Laredo Sun
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The show will run two weekends with performances Thursday, July 26, Friday July 27 and Saturday, July 28 at 8 p.m. and a matinee performance on Sunday, July 29 at 3:00 PM.
Performances for the following week will mirror with 8 p.m. shows on Friday, August 3 at 8 p.m. with a special After-the-Show Cast Party with live music by Austin Band Agent Ribbons and Saturday, August 4 at 8 p.m and a final matinee performance on Sunday, August 5 at 3 p.m.
The play will be held at the Laredo Center For the Arts located at 500 San Agustin with general admission only $10.00 and tables of six on the stage for $200.
The play is intended for mature audiences.
“ The show’ s underlying theme deals with our right for freedom of expression, ” said Orduña.
He continued, “This is something that continues to be an issue, not as drastic in art as we have seen in the past, but currently in our criticism of government and politics. ”
This docudrama/ poetry slam/ music jam session written by Kelly Groves follows the unconventional life of Allen Ginsburg and his collaborators as he experiences a nation on the verge of literary metamorphosis.
After being suspended from Columbia University under false accusation, Ginsburg finds himself at ends with society’s views on what is acceptable and what is actual.
He, together with Jack Kerouac, Lucien Carr, Neal Cassidy, and William Burroughs, embark to experience and expose the underbelly of the United States from their perspective.
Ginsberg’s work “Howl and other Poems” was placed under particular scrutiny for its alleged “obscenity. ” This lead to one of the most controversial court hearings whose outcome would effect the tolerance of not only Ginsburg ’ s work, but the work of acclaimed authors such as Voltaire, Balzac, Sigmund Freud, and many others.
Even today its verdict continues to have an impact on what is permitted not only literarily, but visually.
During the play, you can simultaneously experience the heated trial alongside Ginsburg’s personal trials which include the derangement of his mother, his drug usage and addiction, and his search for closure with his sexual identity.
Using a thrust stage format as opposed to a proscenium stage will allow the production to be viewable from three different perspectives.
“I think the play will really push what Laredo audiences are used to, not just because of the subject matter, which has been heavily documented since the time of the beat generation, but because of the format of the play and they way we are presenting it,” said Orduña.
“We've really tried to blur the lines between stage, actor, and audience.”
These experiences inspired several books and hit movies that aim to reveal the true meaning behind Ginsburg ’ s life and writings. This particular playwright has received glowing commendations from major organizations including New York Magazine, The New York Times, Broadway.com, and TheatreMania.
The cast includes Bobby Batey, Marco Gonzalez, Mark Andrew Garner, John Sabas Perez, Oscar O. Pena and M. Robert Orduna, and Richard Resendez
L.I.T.E. productions will donate all proceeds to scholarships for the benefit of Laredo’s high school students that have volunteered their time working on community theatre.
For tickets or more information call the Laredo Center For The Arts at (956) 725-1715. All major credit cards accepted.
“The theme that this show portrays is that you don't have to agree with everything you see, hear, read, but people have the right to express it if we are ever truly going to live a free society, ” said Orduña.
Edited by: C.R.
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