The Gardens of Anuncia

Last updated
The Gardens of Anuncia
Music Michael John LaChiusa
LyricsMichael John LaChiusa
Book Michael John LaChiusa
BasisThe life of Graciela Daniele
Productions2021 San Diego
2023 Off-Broadway

The Gardens of Anuncia is a stage musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Michael John LaChiusa. The show is based on the life of Graciela Daniele, a prolific figure in modern musical theatre. [1] Daniele was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the show is set. It follows her life from a young girl in Argentina during the years of Juan Perón, and her journey that lead her to New York City and eventually becoming an acclaimed dancer, choreographer, and director. [2]

Contents

Production history

Old Globe (2021)

The musical premiered at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego on September 10, 2021, running until October 17, 2021. Daniele served as director and co-choreographer for the production alongside Alex Sanchez. The show, commissioned by the Old Globe, had been in development for several years, with Daniele telling her life story to LaChiusa and creating the work together. Daniele said she wanted to honor the women in her life that helped her get to where she is today, she also looked forward to creating the new piece as she nears retirement. Orchestrations for the show were done by Michael Starobin with musical direction by Deborah Abramson. [3]

Off-Broadway (2023)

The musical was next performed Off-Broadway at the Mitzi E, Newhouse Theatre within Lincoln Center, running from October 19, 2023 until December 31, 2023. [4]

Original cast and characters

CharacterOld GlobeLincoln Center
20212023
Anuncia (older) Priscilla Lopez
Anuncia (younger)Kalyn West
Carmen, her mother Eden Espinosa
Magdalena, her granmama Mary Testa
Aunt Lucia Andréa Burns
Granpapa/VariousEnrique Acevedo
The Deer/VariousTally Sessions

Musical numbers

An original cast recording will be released. [5]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResultRef.
2024
Drama League Awards Distinguished Performance Eden Espinosa Pending [6]
Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical Priscilla Lopez Pending [7]
Outstanding Choreographer Graciela Daniele & Alex SanchezPending [7]

Related Research Articles

Lynn Ahrens is an American songwriter, and librettist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years. She won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for the Broadway musical Ragtime. Together with Flaherty, she has written many musicals, including Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, Ragtime, Seussical, A Man of No Importance, Dessa Rose, The Glorious Ones, Rocky, Little Dancer and, recently on Broadway, Anastasia and Once on This Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlene Phillips</span> English choreographer (born 1943)

Dame Arlene Phillips is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Stroman</span> American theatre director

Susan P. Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director and performer. Her notable theater productions include Oklahoma!, The Music Man, Crazy for You, Contact, The Producers, The Frogs, The Scottsboro Boys, Bullets Over Broadway, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, and New York, New York.

Priscilla Lopez is an American singer, dancer, and actress. She is perhaps best known for creating the role of Diana Morales in A Chorus Line. She has had the distinction of appearing in two Broadway landmarks: one of its greatest hits, the highly acclaimed, long-running A Chorus Line, and, as a teenager, in one of its biggest flops, the infamous musical version of Breakfast at Tiffany's, which closed before opening night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael John LaChiusa</span> American musical theatre and opera composer (born 1962)

Michael John LaChiusa is an American musical theatre and opera composer, lyricist, and librettist. He is best known for musically esoteric shows such as Hello Again, Marie Christine, The Wild Party, and See What I Wanna See. He was nominated for four Tony Awards in 2000 for his score and book for both Marie Christine and The Wild Party and received another nomination in 1996 for his work on the libretto for Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

<i>Marie Christine</i> Musical

Marie Christine is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Michael John LaChiusa. It opened on Broadway in 1999. Set in 1890s New Orleans and then 5 years later in Chicago; the story is loosely based on the Greek play Medea, and uses elements of voodoo rituals and practices. The title character was based in part on the historical figure of Marie Laveau – specifically, her daughter, who took the same name – and the myths surrounding them.

Little Fish is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Michael John LaChiusa. The musical is suggested by two short stories by Deborah Eisenberg, Days and Flotsam. It concerns a group of friends living in New York City, one of whom, Charlotte, decides to stop smoking and then swims to compensate for the lack of nicotine. LaChiusa has said that he sees Little Fish as a "parable of sorts" for New York after the September 11 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eden Espinosa</span> American actress and singer (born 1978)

Eden Erica Espinosa is an American actress and singer who is best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles, and San Francisco productions of the musical Wicked. In 2022, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role as the Queen of Hearts in Alice's Wonderland Bakery. In 2024, Espinosa received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Lempicka.

<i>Chita Rivera: The Dancers Life</i> Broadway musical

Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life is a musical revue based on the life of Chita Rivera, with a book by Terrence McNally, original songs by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, and additional songs from various other composers' catalogs. It earned Rivera her ninth Tony Award nomination.

<i>Hello Again</i> (musical) Musical by Michael John LaChiusa

Hello Again is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Michael John LaChiusa. It is based on the 1897 play La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler. It focuses on a series of love affairs among ten characters during the ten different decades of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Testa</span> American actress

Mary Testa is an American stage and film actress. She is a three-time Tony Award nominee, for performances in revivals of Leonard Bernstein's On the Town (1998), 42nd Street (2001) and Oklahoma (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillian Lynne</span> English dancer, choreographer (1926–2018)

Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre-television director, noted for her theatre choreography associated with two of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. At age 87, she was made a DBE in the 2014 New Year Honours List.

<i>Dancin</i> 1978 musical by Bob Fosse

Dancin' is a musical revue created, directed, and choreographed by Bob Fosse and originally produced on Broadway in 1978. The plotless, dance-driven revue is a tribute to the art of dance, and the music is a collection of mostly American songs, many with a dance theme, from a wide variety of styles, from operetta to jazz to classical to marches to pop. The original production received seven 1978 Tony Award nominations, with Fosse winning for best choreography.

Graciela Daniele is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.

Soara-Joye Ross, previously known as Joy Ross, Joye Ross, Joy E. T. Ross, and also known as Soara-Joyce Ross is an American actress and singer.

Barbara Walsh is an American musical theatre actress who has appeared in several prominent Broadway productions. Walsh is known for her Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nominated role as Trina in the original Broadway production of Falsettos, as well as her turn as Joanne in the 2006 Broadway Revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company.

Bernarda Alba is a one-act musical with music, lyrics and book by Michael John LaChiusa, based on Federico García Lorca's 1936 play The House of Bernarda Alba. Bernarda Alba tells the story of a controlling, newly widowed mother who is challenged by her five rebellious daughters. The musical opened Off Broadway at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in 2006, to mixed reviews.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a musical with a book and lyrics by Graciela Daniele and Jim Lewis and music by Bob Telson. It is based on Gabriel García Márquez's 1981 novella of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanca Li</span> Spanish dancer, actress, director (born 1964)

Blanca Li, originally Blanca María Gutiérrez Ortiz is a Spanish choreographer, film director, dancer, and actress.

Lorin Latarro is a Broadway Director/Choreographer whose work can be seen on Broadway, The Metropolitan Opera, and in dance companies internationally. She began her career as a dancer who performed in fourteen Broadway shows and toured with world renowned dance companies.

References

  1. Yuma, Jennifer (29 July 2021). "Tonys to Honor Director and Choreographer Graciela Daniele with Lifetime Achievement Award (EXCLUSIVE)". Yahoo! News . Archived from the original on 28 April 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  2. "The Gardens Of Anuncia". Playbill . Archived from the original on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  3. "The Gardens of Anuncia". The Old Globe. Archived from the original on 2024-04-28. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  4. "The Gardens of Anuncia". Lincoln Center Theater . Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  5. "Announcing THE GARDENS OF ANUNCIA Cast Recording!". Lincoln Center Theater . 4 December 2023. Archived from the original on 28 April 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  6. Gordon, David (22 April 2024). "2024 Drama League Award Nominations announced". Theatermania. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  7. 1 2 "2024 Nominees : Lucille Lortel Awards". Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.