Magic Theatre's 48th Season Concludes with Luis Alfaro's THE GOLDEN STATE - PART ONE, Beginning Tonight

In the first play of a trilogy marking Magic's historic co-commission with Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Luis Alfaro (Oedipus el Rey, Bruja), returns to Magic Theatre to tell the sweeping story of a multi-generational Latino family's California odyssey. This Golden State -- Part One: Delano begins tonight, May 20th at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

Pastor Elias and his wife Esther have returned to Delano to take over a congregation that is struggling: crumbling traditions, broken marriages and somebody keeps forgetting the salt for the tamales. In Part One of the This Golden State Trilogy, co-commissioned with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Magic's beloved Luis Alfaro (Oedipus el Rey, Bruja) uses music, myth, and his undeniable mix of humor and heart to look at our search for meaning of faith and community.

According to Mr. Alfaro, each part of This Golden State will examine a different "great American theme"-religion, politics, and identity -- through the experiences of an extended Latino family with deep multi-generational roots in the Western United States.

"I really want to write about Latinos as Americans," Mr. Alfaro said. "What does it mean to be 'American' for a family whose ancestors were indigenous to this land long before it was part of the United States? In a way, that's the great American story. I see this as one big American story told in three plays," Mr. Alfaro continued. "It's an ambitious idea that rises to the ambitions of these two outstanding American theatre companies."

Magic Theatre's Artistic Director Loretta Greco said, "It is with great passion that we come together with our friends at OSF to celebrate a writer we have both heralded over the years and to support his next groundbreaking cycle of work. Our community was transported by Luis' Oedipus el Rey and Bruja and looks forward to experiencing his one-of-a kind lens on America within This Golden State. This is probably an unprecedented collaboration between theaters of such varying size and I couldn't be happier to be cross-pollinating with such a spirit of possibility."

The cast features Wilma Bonet* as Hermana Cantu, Carla Gallardo as Romie, Rod Gnapp* as Brother Abel, Sara Nina Hayon* as Ester, Armando Rodriguez* as Moises and Sean San Jose* as Elias. Carla makes her Magic theatrical debut with This Golden State while Bonet, Gnapp, Hayon, Rodriguez and San Jose rejoin Magic after having appeared in a multitude of celebrated Magic Theatre productions including: Bruja, Buried Child, se Llama Christina, Every Five Minutes, and more.

This Golden State -- Part One: Delano will feature set design by Andrew Boyce, costume design by Alex Jaeger, sound design by Jake Rodriguez and musical direction Christopher Winslow. Tickets are on sale now. For more information or to purchase tickets, go online to www.magictheatre.org or call the box office at 415-441-8822.

Now in its 48th year, Magic Theatre is dedicated to the cultivation of bold new plays, playwrights, and audiences - and to producing explosive, entertaining, and ideologically robust stories that ask substantive questions about our place in humanity. Magic provides a nurturing yet rigorous artistic home where innovative writers can create a body of work. We believe that developing an evolved artistic vocabulary with the playwright at our side, over a long period of time, greatly improves a playwright's chances to thrive.

The list of playwrights cultivated and premiered at Magic Theatre is a veritable who's who of American theatre: Sam Shepard, Michael McClure, Octavio Solis, Nilo Cruz, Paula Vogel, Rebecca Gilman, Lloyd Suh, Taylor Mac, Theresa Rebeck, Sharr White, and Luis Alfaro, to name a few.

With its intimate thrust stage, it is the perfect venue for audiences to experience new work up close. This intimacy extends beyond the stage through a number of special events -Friday night TalkBACKs, Magic Next Gen, New Work Development Dialogues with playwrights and directors, and the Martha Heasley Cox Virgin Play Series. Enjoy unparalleled access to new plays, playwrights, and the process of taking a play from the page to the stage at Magic Theatre.

Pictured: Sean San Jose*, Carla Gallardo, Rod Gnapp*, Armando Rodriguez*, Sarah Nina Hayon* and Wilma Bonet* in Luis Alfaro's This Golden State. *Member of Actors Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers