Photo Flash: Asolo Rep's LAS MENINAS

Asolo Repertory Theatre is thrilled to introduce Florida audiences to Las Meninas, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. The play is directed by Asolo Rep Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards, who directed the World Premiere of Las Meninas at San Jose Rep in 2002. The Asolo Rep production of Las Meninas runs through May 15, 2011 in Asolo Rep's Mertz Theatre; then will travel to Miami to perform as part of the South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center (SMDCAC) soft opening. The SMDCAC performance is hoped to foster a further artistic exchange between the two cities and the two organizations, and lead to more projects. Complete details about the Miami performances will soon be released. Check out images from the production below!

"We are mounting only the second professional production of this important and largely unknown great American play, by a playwright who over the course of the last decade has become one of the most celebrated living American theatre artists. It was, quite simply, an incredibly powerful opportunity to engage with this work once again, and to present it to our audiences. I think people will be surprised at how enjoyable the play is...how touching, how humorous, and how easy it is to relate to the human beings in the world of this play. They'll find that they actually understand them and are touched by them.

Las Meninas roughly translates as "the waiting women" or "ladies in waiting." The title's import lies in the fact that Louise, Nabo, and even Queen Marie-Thérèse have been waiting. Waiting for their stories to be told. And ideally their stories will resonate out into the larger world. We are also thrilled to be able to take this production to Miami and share it with even more people through this new SMDCAC collaboration," explains Michael Donald Edwards.

Set in the glittering court of King Louis XIV, the play is based on the little known true story of Queen Marie-Thérèse and the consequences of her scandalous relationship with Nabo Sensugali, her African servant. Was the mysterious Black Nun of Moret really the illegitimate daughter of Queen Marie- Thérèse, wife of Louis XIV? Was she hidden away in a convent to cover up the queen's illicit love affair with Nabo? Las Meninas offers a dramatic and humorous view as it unravels this historical mystery. Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined has also received an OBIE, the Lucille Lortel Award, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play (Manhattan Theatre Club, Goodman Theatre). Other plays include Intimate Apparel (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play; Roundabout Theatre, CENTERSTAGE, South Coast Repertory); Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine (OBIE Award; Playwrights Horizons, London's Tricycle Theatre); Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Las Meninas; Mud, River, Stone; Por'knockers and Poof! Nottage is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2007 MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant," the National Black Theatre Festival's August Wilson Playwriting Award, the 2004 PEN/Laura Pels Award for Drama, the 2005 Guggenheim Grant for Playwriting, as well as fellowships from the Lucille Lortel Foundation, Manhattan Theatre Club, New Dramatists and New York Foundation for the Arts. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild, an alumna of New Dramatists and a graduate oF Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, where she is a visiting lecturer. www.lynnnottage.net

Performances: Las Meninas previews on March 16 and 17, at 8 p.m. in the Mertz Theatre, Asolo Rep's mainstage. Opening night is Friday, March 18, at 8 p.m., followed by Asolo Rep's mingle-with-the-stars champagne afterparty in the lobby. The play runs through May 15, 2011, in rotating repertory, so days and times alternate. Please consult the website or box office often for more details and news. Subscriptions: Flex-package, Full Season Subscription, Play Pass or $35 Youth Pass; for subscriptions please call 941-351-9010 ext. 4812.

Photo Credit: Frank Atura.