A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

El Nogalar

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  4f, 1m

Tanya Saracho

A modern adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, set in modern-day Northern Mexico.

El Nogalar

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4f, 1m
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptations (Stage & Screen)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
In present-day Northern Mexico, the Galvan family returns to reclaim their pecan orchard after matriarch Maité has squandered the family's money. Tragically, the land they once knew has slowly been taken over by a drug war. This modern adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard explores the complex relationships among a mother and her daughters as four women face the challenges of a dangerous and rapidly changing environment.
History
El Nogalar premiered in a production by Teatro Vista at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois in March 2011, under the direction of Cecilie D. Keenan.
Keywords
Performing Groups

MAITE – a landowner
ANITA – Maite’s daughter, twenty-three
VALERIA – Maite’s eldest daughter, thirty-three
DUNIA – a maid
LOPEZ – a “merchant”

  • Time Period New Millennium/21st Century
  • Setting A pecan orchard in Northern Mexico at the dawn of the takeover by the Northern Cartels
  • Additional Features No intermission
  • Duration 105 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Tells an important story... [Saracho] leverages a literary classic to spotlight the wrenching effects of Mexico’s drug wars.” – Austin 360

“El Nogalar provides a strikingly intimate and welcoming bilingual context for examining social class in contemporary Mexico, paralleling the themes explored by Chekhov in The Cherry Orchard's Russia more than a century ago.” – The Austin Chronicle, Read More 

“El Nogalar lives both in Cekhov’s world and Saracho’s world, where class pressure and social turmoil threatens traditional families' land and lifestyle in contemporary Mexico.” – Chicago Critic, Read More 

“Marvelous!...Tanya Saracho is a very detailed writer, and one who brings the Mexican flavor to her work as well as a look from the female perspective.” – Around the Town Chicago, Read More 

“Tanya Saracho’s reworking of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard as El Nogalar (“The Pecan Orchard”) crafts a more complex and colorful picture of a nation not only in a constant struggle to come to terms with its neighbor to the north, for sure, but also with its own troubled past and present.” – New City Stage

Videos

  • Behind the scenes of Teatro Vista's El Nogalar

  • Teatro Vista's El Nogalar

  • Tanya Saracho discusses her play El Nogalar

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Tanya Saracho

Tanya Saracho

Tanya Saracho was born in Sinaloa, México. She is a playwright and television writer who's worked on How To Get Away With Murder and HBO's Looking, among other shows. Currently, she serves as the creator and showrunner of the series VIDA on Starz. She is also developing a tel ...

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