A critically-acclaimed adaptation of the Greek classic drama “Medea” set in modern times in Boyle Heights is ending its run at the Getty Villa in Malibu this weekend.
“Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles” is playwright Luis Alfaro’s reimagining of the work by Euripides transported to Los Angeles’ Eastside. Euripides’ work, originally staged in Athens in 431 BC, tells the tragic tale of the legendary sorceress Medea, princess of Colchis, who deceives her family by helping Jason steal the Golden Fleece. She is forced into exile in Corinth with Jason and their two children.
In Alfaro’s retelling, Medea takes the name of Mojada –a pejorative term for an undocumented immigrant. She is a seamstress in a Boyle Heights sweatshop, struggling to adapt with her husband and children in Los Angeles.
Alfaro, a Los Angeles native whose work deals with cultural assimilation and working class struggles and are often set in urban barrios, has previously adapted the Greek classic plays Oedipus Rex and Elektra.
“This is a playwright who deeply cares for his characters and their culture, and in this sweeping rhythmic drama, he makes us care about them, too,” wrote the L.A. Weekly’s Deborah Klugman.
In “Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles,” playwright Luis Alfaro transforms Euripides’ drama into an immigrant tale that exposes the soul-destroying costs of assimilation”, wrote Charles McNulty for the Los Angeles Times.
Produced by Pasadena’s The Theatre @ Boston Court and directed by that company’s Jessica Kubzansky, the West Coast premiere production of “Mojada” is being staged at the Fleischman Theater at the Getty Villa in Malibu.
The production’s last three performances are Thursday through Saturday (Oct. 1-3) at 8:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $40-$45, with discounts for students and seniors on Thursday only. Parking is $10. Tickets and information at (310) 440-7300 or www.getty.edu. The Getty Villa is at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway. Directions here.
Photo above: The cast of “Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles” at the Getty Villa. From left to right: Marlene Forte (Armida), Anthony Gonzalez (Acan), Sabina Zuniga (Medea), Justin Huen (Hason), Vivis Colombetti (Tita), Zilah Mendoza (Josefina). © 2015 Craig Schwartz
