Supernatural Love Story is Set to Music of Blues Legend Howlin’ Wolf
By Mando Alvarado and Directed by Alfred Preisser
Music Direction & Composition By Tomás Doncker
Diablo Love Runs From August 2 – August 24
Various Locations/Times
New York, NY- City Parks Foundation presents a new theater/music commission Diablo Love, playing at SummerStage presented by AT&T, New York City’s largest free performing arts festival taking place in 17 parks throughout all 5 boroughs. The full season of SummerStage runs from June 4 – August 29.
Diablo Love is a fantastical love story featuring re-imaginings of songs made famous by American Blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player Howlin’ Wolf along with original compositions from Tomás Doncker . This production provides audiences with a masterful live soundtrack of Blues/Soul music and sets the stage for a dynamic performance that explores the Faustian bargains that feature so prominently in Blues lore.
CD Review: NYC Artist Tomas Doncker Pays Tribute To Howlin’ Wolf, Brings “GLOBAL SOUL” To The Masses
**Note: This production contains strong language**
Mando Alvarado’s Diablo Love, directed by the award-winning Alfred Preisser, is a supernatural story of sin, the pursuit of fame and the travails of love set to the strains of early Blues and Soul music. Spurred by the desperate scrambling of a soul in limbo, Diablo Love explores both the moral transgression and spirituality that permeates Blues music. Inspired by the “sinful” stories of musicians Robert Johnson, Etta James, Jelly Roll Morton and Howlin’ Wolf (whose music is featured throughout), Alvarado seeks to inject their conflicted character into a cleverly constructed and emotionally resonant tribute. “There’s something sinful about their lives and their music; when you hear their songs you get a sense that they sacrificed something deep within themselves to share that kind of pain and sound with the world. Being an artist isn’t easy and wanting success and fame comes at a price,” says Alvarado.
In enlisting Tomás Doncker to compile a score for the play, Alvarado and Preisser ensured that the play would provide an authentic yet contemporary approach to the art of the Blues. Doncker elected to contribute several “re-imagined” Howlin’ Wolf tunes – along with some original compositions – to “provide the musical spine to drive the plot forward.” The result, available on the Tomás Doncker Band’s Howlin’ Wolf EP, is a fitting tribute to Howlin’ Wolf’s legacy and a triumphant accompaniment to the events of Diablo Love.
Synopsis
What would you do for love? In the dark alleys of Hell’s Kitchen, Smoke, a lost soul, finds himself face to face with Mephi, the demon devil he made a deal with two years prior. She’s there to collect his soul. In order to spare his own horrific demise, Smoke must find a willing person to swap spots with him, and as a result comes upon Emma, a fledgling Harlem Gospel singer from a troubled background with big dreams of fame. As Emma works through the trials and tribulations of erecting a career with her group, Smoke appears with big promises and a plan for fame and fortune. The two embark on a joint quest to achieve both of their missions, and what once began as a task for Smoke to find his replacement quickly takes a complicated turn as he must decide between unconditional love and Diablo love.
With Diablo Love, SummerStage Theatre has created an engrossing theatrical experience that not only pays tribute to Blues music, but expands upon the characters, legends and themes of sin, desperation and redemption that influenced its creation and performance with a fantastical and emphatically executed narrative.
The SummerStage Theater schedule for Diablo Love follows. For the most up-to-date scheduling and line-up for all SummerStage programming, follow us at the below links and visit www.SummerStage.org for festival information.
Twitter: @SummerStage
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SCHEDULE
|
Day |
Date |
Time |
Artist |
Park |
Boro |
Genre |
| Friday-Saturday | Aug. 2 –Aug. 3 | 8:00PM | “Diablo Love” | Von KingPark | BK | Theater |
| Thursday –Friday | Aug. 8 –Aug. 9 | 8:00PM | “Diablo Love” | St. Mary’s Park | BX | Theater |
| Thursday –Friday | Aug. 15 –Aug. 16 | 8:00PM | “Diablo Love” | Marcus Garvey Park | MN | Theater |
| Monday | Aug. 19 | 8:00PM | “Diablo Love” | Central Park | MN | Theater |
| Friday –Saturday | Aug. 23 –Aug. 24 | 8:00PM | “Diablo Love” | East River Park | MN | Theater |
Mando Alvarado is an award-winning playwright/screenwriter from South Texas. Highlights of his career include SummerStage productions of A King of Infinite Space, a Hamlet/Pearl Jam mash-up, and Sangre, an adaptation of Blood Wedding. He also co-wrote the book for the bilingual musical, A Yellow Brick Road, an adaptation of Wizard of Oz for Theaterworks USA which received its critically acclaimed Off-Broadway premiere at The Lortel. His play, Splitting Mamawas selected to participate at the Black Swan Lab at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. His first feature film, Cruzando, which he co-wrote and co-directed with Michael Ray Escamilla is available on DVD and was distributed by Vanguard Cinema.
Tomas Doncker, a prime mover on New York’s downtown “No Wave” scene in the early 1980s, cut his teeth as a guitarist with such genre-busting groups as James Chance & The Contortions, Defunkt, J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz and many more. Eventually he went international, touring and recording in Japan with jazz pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, and producing Boosty Collins, Yoko Ono, jazz saxophonist Sadao Watanabe and Grammy-winning producer Prince Charles Alexander. Other works of his include: Power of The Trinity, a meditation on the legacy of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, released in June 2012, and three albums with singer/songwriter Marla Mase her albums. He is also the musical director of her rock opera, A Brief Night Out, her multi-media show SPEAK, and all her stage performances and tours.
Alfred Preisser is an award winning director, writer and producer of theatre with over 40 professional credits in NYC, regionally and Europe. Highlights include The Classical Theatre of Harlem (Founding Artistic Director, 1999-2009) and his work leading The Harlem School of the Arts Theatre. Upcoming in 2013/14: Street Scene (producer), world premiere ofDiablo Love and King Kong with SummerStage, House of Lear w/ Andre DeShields and the first major revival of The Connection with the world famous Living Theatre.
Cast
Smokestack ……………..…………………………….. Tomás Doncker
Sarge/Keyboards ………………………………………..… Nick Rolfe
Rev/Harmonica …………………………………………. David Barnes
Mama Joe/Girl Group ………………………………. Aurelia Williams
Lady D/Girl Group ……………………………………. Angela Arnold
Debi/Company/Girl Group ……………………………. Danielle James
Smoke …………………………………………………. Charlie Hudson
Mephisto ………………………………….…………. Diomargy Nunez
Emma …………………………………………………… Lizzy Brooks
Crew
Director of Theater Programs, SummerStage .………. Freedome Bradley
Theater Programs Assistant, SummerSta……………… Fernanda Cintra
Director …………………………………………………. Alfred Preisser
Author ………………………………………………… Mando Alvarado
Music Composer/Director …………………………..… Tomás Doncker
Choreographer ………………………………………………… Tracy Jack
Production Stage Manager ……………………………. Lauren Arneson
Costume Designer ………………………………..…… Mia Stephenson
Production Manager ………………………………. Blair Bauerschmidt
Lighting Designer …………………………………..…… Rachel Harris
