Fiery Power Play

Celia and Fidel

October 8 - November 21, 2021

We have had a wild and wonderful ride while putting together this explosive play. I have so many associations with Fidel and Cuba, and now even more since Celia and Fidel opened and closed on one fateful night, March 13, 2020, when live performance was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A mere 18 months later and we are back! I know that this time away has meant that the play has lived more inside of us, that the actors work is deeper and Eduardo Machado has done some amazing rewrites. The story happening in Cuba today in this moment is a continuation of the story you will see in this performance—people are desperate for food, vaccines, freedom—and have taken to streets. The song “Patria y Vida”, which means Country and Life as opposed to Castro’s slogan, Country or Death, has spurred the new revolution this summer. Artists always lead.

Castro loomed large in my imagination for many years, as he did for all Americans. In his tiny island 600 miles long, he was able to bring the U.S. to its knees with the help of Russia. My mother was a social worker, and she flew to Miami in 1961 to pick up 250 Cuban children (“the Pedro Pan movement”) who were escaping the country under the belief that their parents would come to pick them up within weeks. I remember in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis going with my grandmother to the basement looking for places to hide in the fruit cellar if a nuclear bomb went off. Twenty years ago, my partner Suzanne and I travelled to Cuba with the Washington Ballet, and we went to Cuba again with an Arena group in January 2020. We soaked up the joy and pain that is contemporary Cuba. We delved into the culture of the island, seeing theater, dance, music, and of course eating wonderful food. We went to the Nationale and Ambos Mundos—both places mentioned in the play. We walked the streets and corridors that Fidel and Celia and our fictional characters Manolo and Consuelo walked. I was heartbroken to see the effects of the embargo—Cuban people didn’t have basic items, like cooking oil. The trip was profound.

Very few stories about Castro have been put on stage; mostly we know him through documentaries. Eduardo Machado is an important voice in the American theater and his understanding of Cuba, and its people is moving. In this Power Play, Eduardo illuminates the story of Celia Sánchez, whose history has been hidden from many of us. She was called the Mother of the Revolution and was Castro’s closest confidant. Eduardo activates it all, thrusting us into the Mariel Boatlift in 1980 and the conflict that must have been happening behind the closed doors of Fidel’s office about the thousands of people wanting to flee Cuba.

Celia and Fidel is a political play which deftly moves from the politics of socialism and communism to the push and pull of legacy, power, the new generation, and countries colliding. What happens when a revolution runs out of steam? What happens when people want more? This is very much a play about today: the question of embargos and who really gets hurt and the need for more effective immigration policies. The fierce arguments around socialism that are swirling around the American democratic party are contained in Celia and Fidel from a different perspective.

I’m so glad we are back together with the fierce original company to complete our work! Enjoy this deep, dark, dangerous and provocative story.

Molly Smith, Artistic Director

In a New York Times review, Ben Brantley noted that Eduardo Machado’s work “delves, with equal parts wistfulness and anger, into the knotty confusions of the political relations between Cuba and the United States; Communism and capitalism as bedfellows in Cuban ideology; and the tortured ties between those who fled that island country and those who stayed behind.” For the last 70 years, Cuba has been looming in the American consciousness and it is easy to see why Eduardo is an essential voice in the American theater. What he has managed to unearth in Celia and Fidel is a testament to his skill and we are honored to have commissioned him as one of our Power Play writers.

Eduardo comes to Arena not only as one of our nation’s leading playwrights, but as a leader, full of ideas, stories and insight. He has worked across the country in some of our leading resident theaters and has found time to test the boundaries of his artistry in film, television and literature. He was the head of playwriting at Columbia University, and in 2004 he succeeded founder Max Ferrá as the artistic director of INTAR — one of the nation’s longest-running companies dedicated to Latinx artists. You can see glimpses of his career as an educator and as a producer in his manner. He’s soft-spoken, intuitive and has a story for every occasion. He leans into the feedback and embraces the journey that is new play development with wit and grace.

Throughout the process of finessing the play, Eduardo has been an ambassador for his piece. He has willingly leapt into participating in donor events, marketing videos and anything to engage with the community. His experience as an artistic leader is evident in how he ebbs and flows through conversations with patrons and the press. In the fall, he and I attended a dinner at Castas Rum Bar with our friends from GALA Hispanic Theatre and before rehearsals began, Molly and Eduardo led a trip to Cuba with members from our Board, staff and patron community. His participation in all facets of Arena’s ecosystem has enriched both the artistic process and the culture of our workplace.

I have an abundance of admiration for artists like Eduardo who take a moment to step away from their process to engage with our community. Arena is at the crossroads of the American theater, with artists and companies coming and going on a weekly basis. When they have a moment to speak with a group of students, participate in a talkback or lead a donor experience, it only furthers the idea that theater can — and should — elevate one’s community.

Thanks for listening,

Edgar Dobie
Executive Producer
President of the Corporation

Setting
April 1980, Fidel Castro's Office, Havana, Cuba.

Cast
Celia Sánchez...................Marian Licha
Fidel Castro...................Andhy Mendez
Manolo Ruiz........................Liam Torres
Consuelo.................Heather Velazquez

Celia and Fidel is a fictional play inspired by historic events.

Celia and Fidel runs approximately two hours, including one 15-minute intermission.

The video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever is strictly prohibited. Please turn off all electronic devices. Eating and drinking are not permitted inside the theater.

Masks must be worn at all times during the performance.

Assistant Set Designer.................Riw Rakkulchon
Original Production Dramaturg.......Soyica Colbert
Stage Management Assistant..Niew Bharyaguntra
Production Assistant....................Dayne Sundman
Assistant Director...............Gregory Keng Strasser
Wardrobe Supervisor......................Adelle Gresock
Audio Engineer................................Drew Moberley
Light Board Operator..........................Scott Folsom
Props.................................................Regina Vitale

Acknowledgements
The Director thanks the following people for the expertise they shared as we developed this production: Dr. Aisha Z. Cort, Emilio Cueto, Peter Kornbluh and tobacconist W. Curtis Draper.

Cast

MARIAN LICHA

Celia Sánchez

ANDHY MENDEZ

Fidel Castro

LIAM TORRES

Manolo Ruiz

HEATHER VELAZQUEZ

Consuelo

Creative

EDUARDO MACHADO

Playwright

MOLLY SMITH

Director

RICCARDO HERNÁNDEZ

Set Designer

ALEJO VIETTI

Costume Designer

NICOLE PEARCE

Lighting Designer

ROC LEE

Original Music and Sound Design

CHARLES G. LAPOINTE

Hair and Wig Designer

JENNY MALE

Fight and Intimacy Consultant

LISA NATHANS

Dialect and Vocal Coach

VICTOR VAZQUEZ, C.S.A.

Casting

JOCELYN CLARKE

Dramaturg

SOYICA COLBERT

Original Production Dramaturg

RIW RAKKULCHON

Assistant Set Designer

SUSAN R. WHITE

Stage Manager

This theater operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors' Equity Association.

The actors and stage managers are members of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.

The Director and Choreographer are members of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

Arena Stage is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theater.

Supporting Sponsorship for Arena Stage’s program is generously provided by a lifelong Washingtonian in honor of Anne Paine West, Arena Stage's longtime Director of Board and Donor Relations who retired in 2020.

Arena Stage Full Circle Society

Arena Stage Annual Fund Individual Supporters

Arena Stage Annual Fund Foundation Donors

Arena Stage Annual Fund Corporate Donors

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