Don Cristóbal

freely adapted from El Retablillo de Don Cristóbal by Federico García Lorca
Directed by Rachel Menyuk and Eric Swartz
Original Translation by Eric Swartz
Original Adaptation by Patti Kalil, Rachel Menyuk, and Eric Swartz, with contributions by the Ensemble
Produced by Pointless Theatre Company
World Premiere

Featuring: Thais Menendez, Páz López, Scott Whalen, Vanessa Chapoy, Matthew Sparacino, Adrián Iglesias, and Adrienne Knapp
Scenic Design: Mel Bieler
Costume Design: Frank Labovitz
Lighting Design: Niomi Collard
Sound Design: Evan Cook
Properties Design: Amy Kellett
Puppet Design: Francisco Benavides
Stage Manager: Hayden Morrissett
ASM: Antenella Perez Ferrero
Production Manager: Navid Azeez
Venue: Dance Loft on 14

Press & Recognition

“a performance that entertains in the moment but keeps unfolding hours after one leaves the theater.” —DCist

“Co-Directors Rachel Menyuk and Eric Swartz keep the pace of the show rolling along, making sure that their actors drove the action forward with each scene…This is a piece that feels like it embodies its own lesson, wherein it is more fun to build a show with friends and community whom you love, rather than the directorial dictatorships often present in the rehearsal rooms.” — DC Theatre Scene

“If one opts to take great liberties with a classic, this is the way to do it—and one hopes that Kalil, Menyuk, and Swartz's script has a life beyond this production, in the hands of other similarly adventurous companies.” — Washington City Paper

“At first an obscene and outrageous puppet show (yes, adult-only content), this production unexpectedly metamorphosizes into something much more, as we drop into the fevered unconscious of a Cuban-American theater director (a radiant Thais Menendez) and her reckoning with her artistic and collaborative failures…Don Cristóbal’s second act opens up into a multi-setting journey with some truly inventive stage direction (specifically, the escape from prison when the multi-purpose set piece is moved and tilted around the stage to convey a progressive sense of running and hiding)…an evocative production, born of the lyrical energy of Lorca but then expanded to convey a much more personal exploration of the plight of the artist. ” —DC Metro Theater Arts

2019 Helen Hayes Awards
Nominated Outstanding New Play or Musical Adaptation

Photos by Mark Williams Hoelscher