DESAPARECIDAS

A New Mexican Musical

Music by Jaime Lozano

Lyrics by Jaime Lozano & Florencia Cuenca

Book by Georgina Escobar

Concieved by Jaime Lozano, Florencia Cuenca & Rachel M. Stevens

LO QUE SE RECUERDA NUNCA SE OLVIDA, LO QUE SE CELEBRA NUNCA SE PIERDE

“What is remembered never dies, what is celebrated is never lost”

Rising musical theatre composer Jaime Lozano – named “the next big thing” by Lin-Manuel Miranda – shares the premiere of this Spanish-language musical about the death and disappearance of hundreds of women and girls in Ciudad Juárez, México. Told through the lens of Mexican folklore and music, the piece explores the psychology behind suppression and the strategic erasure of female voices in the fight to end gender-based violence and the killing of women and girls.

Desaparecidas is a new state-fair concert musical inspired by the theatrical frames of Mexican playwright, Rodolfo Usigli whose work worked to tell the truth about society and was known for his strong representation of women in plays, Escobar's book uses Lozano and Cuenca's songs to weave the diverse stories of women from the borderlands; specifically, those who have disappeared. From the missing, to the socially invisible, to the forgotten, Desaparecidas takes place in a classic and timeless Mexican state fair (a Palenque) where the audience will experience an "appearance" of the stories of the missing as their stories, along with some of the audiences', are picked out by our narrator.

The team of DESAPARECIDAS, supported by the Latine Musical Theatre Lab, is raising funds to cover the costs of a self-produced Development Workshop of this musical, one that is already breaking grounds in the industry with:

An all-Latine cast, creative, and producing team
Songs and lyrics fully in Spanish, with supertitles (following in the long tradition of Opera)
A story centering and giving voice to womxn of color

This is the kind of story we always ask for but never see. Help be a part of bringing this story to life for the very first time.

All donations are tax-deductible. For investment opportunities, please contact Chema Verduzco at chema@chemaverduzco.com.

Performance Dates & Times:

Click here to purchase tickets. All donations above $500 will receive tickets to the production as part of their contribution.

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Friday, December 2 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, December 3 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, December 4 at 2:00 pm

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Friday, December 9 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, December 11 at 2:00 pm

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Friday, December 16 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, December 17 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, December 18 at 2:00 pm

About the artists:

Chema Verduzco

(Producer) ACPT winner for BEST DIRECTOR and BEST MUSICAL for thePROM Mexico, producer and director Chema Verduzco decides to venture producing in New York. Starting his Producing and Directing career at the young age of 18, his titles include: CATS (2011), Elton John & Tim Rice's: AIDA (2011, 2012), West Side Story (2013), Pippin (2018), Once On This Island (2019), and thePROM (2021-2022). His most current production, thePROM, received 25 nominations in two Award Shows (ACPT & Los Metro) including two nominations for BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL and two nominations for BEST MUSICAL in their 2021 season, winning both categories in the Asociacion de Criticos y Periodistas de Teatro (ACPT) Awards in 2022. Chema also works for the Disneyland Resort in California and has choreographed two films for NYFA, Cinderpumpkin (2014) and Film School Musical (2015, official selection of Indienight Film Festival 2016).

Jaime Lozano

(Music and Lyrics) Considered by Lin-Manuel Miranda as the "next big thing" on Broadway. Joe's Pub Working Group 2020-2022. The Civilians R&D Group 2020-2021. JACK Resident Artist 2021. Selected works: Tlatelolco (Mexican Premiere), Myths (Mexican Premiere), El Otro Oz - formerly The Yellow Brick Road (Off-Broadway & National Tour), Carmen La Cubana (European Tour), Children of Salt(NYMF 2016 "Best of Fest" Production), A Never-Ending Line (Comédie Nation in Paris, France & Off-Broadway), Savage (UAB atBirmingham), Present Perfect (Live & In Color). Albums: Tlatelolco, R.Evolución Latina's Dare to Go Beyond, Doreen Montalvo's American Soul/Latin Heart, A Never-Ending Line, Jaime Lozano & The Familia: Songs by an Immigrant with liner notes by Lin-Manuel Miranda; these last three released by Broadway Records. Film: In The Heights (orchestrations). Currently working on: Songs by an Immigrant Vol. 2, Broadway in Spanglish and Desaparecidas. Jaime can be seen in Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial feature film debut Tick, Tick... Boom! alongside other celebrated Broadway composers. BFA: Music & Composition, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; MFA: NYU/Tisch, Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program (Full Tuition Scholarship); part of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, AFM Local 802, BMI and GRAMMY and LatinGRAMMY voting member.

Florencia Cuenca

(Director) Mexican actress, singer, writer and director based in New York City. She entered the artistic world at the age of three acting alongside her father in stadiums and theaters throughout Mexico and the USA. Back in Mexico she is known for telenovelas such as "De que te quiero te quiero," "Muchachitas como tú," "De Pocas, Pocas Pulgas," "Te Sigo Amando," "La Rosa de Guadalupe," "Como Dice el Dicho" and for being part of the successful Mexican musical Si Nos Dejan, the Mexican premiere of Shrek the Musical and Selena the Musical. Her first album Aquí - The New Standards, made her tour all around Mexico, Latin America and New York City, being awarded with the Hot House Jazz Award 2016 for Best New Jazz Artist. She has performed Off-Broadway in shows such as Children of Salt (NYMF 2016 Best of Fest) and A Never-Ending Line (album available at Broadway Records). Director selected credits: Estocolmo (Festival Alfonsino in Mexico), Tlatelolco (Teatro de los Héroes, Mexico), A Never-Ending Line (Mexico City). Currently she is working on her new album Broadway in Spanglish. She Is interested in developing projects that celebrate diversity and especially the Latinx and Hispanic community.

Georgina H. Escobar

(Book) Escobar is a queer Mexican playwright and maker of sci-femme narratives, ultra-humanistic mythos, and frontera-funk stories. She works textually and visually with plasticity, the impossible, and the Latin American perspective to create genre pieces with heart. Residencies include MacDowell, Djerassi, Fornés Workshop, and she is the recipient of the Darrell Ayers Playwriting and Outstanding Service to Women on the Border national awards. Her work has been featured in the Kilroy's List, 50PP, The Mix, and on print in The Texas Review, Lxs Bárbarxs, McSweeney's, and New Passport Press; appears in Scenes for Latinx Actors, Lighting The Way, and El Fuego: Fueling the American Theatre with Latinx Plays; and have been performed in México, US, UK, Sweden, Denmark and Italy. Her plays include Then they forgot about the Rest (Off-Broadway INTAR), Sweep (Lincoln Centers Director's Lab), StoneHeart (Kilroy's 2019), and Ash Tree (Darrel Ayers Award; ASSITEJ), and musicals including All Strings Considered (New York Children's Theatre), Firerock (LittleGlobe), and Little Duende (National Musical Theatre Conference at the O'Neill, NAMT). Artistic homes and presenters include INTAR, New York Children's Theatre, Dixon Place, Clubbed Thumb, Lincoln Center, Bushwick Starr, Two Rivers, Milagro, Aurora Theatre, and Marfa Live Arts. Escobar is represented by 3Arts Entertainment in Los Angeles and Bret Adams in NY.

DESAPARECIDAS: A New Mexican Musical

By The Tank

DESAPARECIDAS: A New Mexican Musical

LO QUE SE RECUERDA NUNCA SE OLVIDA, LO QUE SE CELEBRA NUNCA SE PIERDE “What is remembered never dies, what is celebrated is never lost”