Playwright to Host Q&A for ‘An Enemy of the Pueblo’

Josefina López, the award-winning playwright, screenwriter and founding artistic director of CASA 0101 Theater, will host question and answer sessions after the Sunday, Nov. 5 and Nov. 12 performances of her new critically acclaimed play, “An Enemy of the Pueblo,” a modern adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People.” The Q&As will be held on the main stage of CASA 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights.

In “An Enemy of the Pueblo” a curandera (shaman woman) warns the people in the border town of Milagros of the poisoning of the water, but no one wants to believe her because their economic futures depend on the water in the springs attracting the “gringos” back to the town

“Josefina López, justly famous for her breakout play ‘Real Women Have Curves,ˆ’ has taken inspiration from (Henrik) Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy of the People,’ changing one word that shifts the story of the play from frosty Norway to the warmth of a Mexican village called Milagros (‘miracles’ in English) with ‘An Enemy of the People.’  [Josefina López] gives the tale of public corruption a feminist spin by making the hero a woman named Magdalena Del Rio (played with charismatic passion by Zilah Mendoza),” wrote theatre critic Paul Mryvold.

“Water. Greed. Betrayal. Fracking. These are part of the plot of Josefina López’s latest play ‘An Enemy of the Pueblo.’ The message of the play was quite clear: All of us have a moral responsibility to care for earth. It’s the only place we have. If we allow it to be destroyed, then where will we go?” wrote Dave Martin of The Collegian.

The play is currently being presented on the main stage at CASA 0101 Theater, 2012 E. First St. (at St. Louis Street across the street from the Hollenbeck Police Station) in Boyle Heights on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. through Nov. 12.

Tickets are $20 per person for general admission; $17 per person for students and seniors; and $15 per person for Boyle Heights residents. This show is recommended for all audiences.  

Advance reservations are highly recommended. For tickets, please call the CASA 0101 Theater Box Office at (323) 263-7684, email tickets@casa0101.org, or buy online at www.casa0101.org.   

Concurrently with the run of Josefina López’s “An Enemy of the People” is the first art exhibition in the new Boyle Heights Museum, co-founded by López and Dr. George J. Sanchez, a USC professor of history and American studies. The exhibit, curated by Dr. Sanchez, is entitled, “Aqui Estamos Y No Nos Vamos (We Are Here and We Won’t Leave): Fighting Mexican Removal Since the 1930s.” The art exhibit is in the Jean Deleage Art Gallery in the lobby of CASA 0101 Theater. The exhibit can be viewed Mondays through Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. All other times are by appointment only.

To learn more, visit https://www.boyleheightsmuseum.org.