Fuente Ovejuna

Though there is no nudity in TFANA’s production of FUENTE OVEJUNA,
please be advised that there are descriptions and depictions of sexual and physical violence.

This Production is the New York Premiere of Adrian Mitchell’s Translation

Running time: 2 hours plus one intermission

Lope de Vega’s Fuente Ovejuna was written in approximately 1612 and inspired by a real 1476 incident: farmers and peasants of the village of Fuente Ovejuna in the region of Castile, Spain, rose up against a military commander and his soldiers garrisoned in the village, who routinely raped the women and brutalized and oppressed the villagers.

Lope de Vega’s words have rung out for centuries. His genius was to create a powerful theatrical mix of music, singing, dance, humor, and unforgettable drama. Though he wrote his play long before America’s Declaration of Independence, the French Revolution, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution and today’s #MeToo movement, some of its themes are sexual violence, class, collective resistance, and human rights.

Jonathan Kalb, TFANA’s resident dramaturg, observes that “during the Spanish Civil War, Fuente Ovejuna was performed by both sides, the Falangists and the Republicans, each bent on using it to support their own view of the nation. The play was also performed under the Czar and was perfectly credible then as a celebration of Czarist wisdom and power; later it was performed just as successfully by the Bolsheviks. Lope de Vega altered the story in his sources, just as Shakespeare did with many of his plays. Whether the story as Lope de Vega tells it is liberal or conservative, whether it should be understood to endorse revolution or central authority and monarchy, has been disputed for a very long time.”

Click here to view the 360° Viewfinder, TFANA’s free guide featuring imagery, interviews, and writing by scholars and artists offering perspectives on the play and production.

Flordelino Lagundino (Director) is a director, actor, producer, and educator. He is the Producing Artistic Director of Theater Alaska. His directing credits include: Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theater Alaska); Aubergine (Park Square Theatre); FOB (Drama League); Sweeney Todd, Doubt, Yellowman, Cedar House, Animals Out of Paper (Perseverance Theatre); Sweeney Todd (Juneau Symphony); Flipzoids, True West, Shakespeare’s R&J (Generator Theater Company). He participated in the TFANA Actors and Directors Project and received the SDCF Sir John Gielgud Classical Directing Fellowship and Drama League NY Directing Fellowship. Lagundino holds an MFA in directing from Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company, and an MFA in acting from University of Texas at Austin.

“Fuente Ovejuna (Mitchell)” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

This production of Fuente Ovejuna is made possible, in part, by an award from the National Endowment of the Arts.

The production and programming of this production of Fuente Ovejuna is supported by the Consulate General of Spain in New York.

Endowment support for Fuente Ovejuna is provided by The Howard Gilman Foundation Fund for Classic Drama.