Celia and Fidel

EDUARDO MACHADO

Playwright

EDUARDO MACHADO (Playwright) was born in Cuba and came to the United States when he was nine. He is the author of over 40 plays, including The Cook, Havana is Waiting, The Modern Ladies of Guanabacoa, Fabiola, Broken Eggs and Stevie Wants to Play the Blues. His plays have been produced at Seattle Repertory, The Goodman, Hartford Stage, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf, Hampstead Theatre in London, The Cherry Lane Theatre, Theater for the New City and Repertorio Español, among many others. He was formerly artistic director of INTAR Theatre in NY and has been a Professor of Playwriting at NYU Tisch and Columbia. He is the co-author of Tastes Like Cuba: An Exile’s Hunger for Home and his plays are published by Samuel French and TCG.

MOLLY SMITH

Director

MOLLY SMITH (Director) has served as Artistic Director since 1998. Her more than 30 directing credits at Arena Stage include large-scale musicals, like Anything Goes, Disney’s Newsies, Carousel, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Cabaret, South Pacific; new plays, like Sovereignty, The Originalist, Camp David, Legacy of Light, The Women of Brewster Place, How I Learned to Drive; and classics like Mother Courage and Her Children, A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Great White Hope and All My Sons. Her directorial work has also been seen Off-Broadway at 59E59 in New York, Portland Center Stage, Canada’s Shaw Festival, The Court Theatre, The Old Globe, Asolo Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Trinity Repertory, Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre, Montreal’s Centaur Theatre and Perseverance Theater in Juneau, Alaska, which she founded and ran from 1979-1998. Molly has been a leader in new play development for over 40 years. She is a great believer in first, second and third productions of new work and has championed projects, including Dear Evan Hansen; Next to Normal; Passion Play, a cycle; and How I Learned to Drive. She led the re-invention of Arena Stage, focusing on the architecture and creation of the Mead Center for American Theater and positioning Arena Stage as a national center for American artists through its artistic programming. During her time with the company, Arena Stage has workshopped more than 100 productions, produced 39 world premieres, staged numerous second and third productions, and been an important part of nurturing nine projects that went on to have a life on Broadway. In 2014, Molly made her Broadway debut directing The Velocity of Autumn, following its critically acclaimed run at Arena Stage. She was awarded honorary doctorates from American University and Towson University. In 2018, she was honored as Person of the Year by the National Theatre Conference and inducted into the Washington DC Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was awarded the Director of Distinction in Cairo, Egypt, from the Academy of Arts. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she developed the concept for two online films, May 22, 2020 and The 51^st State, overseeing the production direction as well as directing pieces within the films. She also spearheaded a variety of other new online content, including a weekly talk show Molly’s Salon, during the live performance hiatus.

RICCARDO HERNÁNDEZ

Set Designer

RICCARDO HERNÁNDEZ (Set Designer)’s Broadway credits include: Jagged Little Pill; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Indecent; The Gin Game; The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess; The People in the Picture; Caroline, or Change (National Theater London); Elaine Stritch at Liberty (Old Vic London); Topdog/Underdog (Royal Court); Bells Are Ringing; Parade (Hal Prince director, Tony and Drama Desk nominations); Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk; and The Tempest. Recent: Claudia Rankine’s The White Card (Diane Paulus director, ART); Lempicka (Rachel Chavkin director, WTF); Admissions (LCT); La Dame aux Camélias (France); and The Invisible Hand (NYTW – Henry Hewes Outstanding Set Design Award). He has designed over 250 productions in the U.S. and internationally. Awards include: OBIE Award Sustained Excellence; Yale School of Drama Design Faculty.

ALEJO VIETTI

Costume Designer

ALEJO VIETTI (Costume Designer)’sArena Stage credits include: Ella, The Pajama Game, Anything Goes (Helen Hayes Award) and Disney’s Newsies. New York credits include: Broadway’s Holiday Inn, Allegiance (Drama Desk nomination) and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (U.S. tour, West End – Olivier Award nomination, Australia, Japan and UK tour). He has designed for City Center Encores!, Radio City Rockettes, Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Atlantic Theatre, among others. Opera credits include: New York City Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Minnesota Opera, Wolf Trap Opera andDonesk Opera (Ukraine). Selected regional work includes: Alley Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, Ford’s, Signature, Goodspeed, Guthrie, Hartford Stage, Paper Mill Playhouse and The Old Globe. Other credits include:Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. TDF Irene Sharaff Young Master Award recipient.

NICOLE PEARCE

Lighting Designer

NICOLE PEARCE (Lighting Designer) is an international lighting designer for dance, theater and opera based out of Queens, New York. Her work has been seen across the United States, Europe, Siberia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Cuba. New York credits include: The Playwrights Realm, The Play Company, The Asia Society and The Mint Theater Company. Regional credits include: Long Wharf, McCarter Theater, Hartford Stage, Philadelphia Theater Company, Williamstown Theater Festival, Resident Ensemble Players and Pittsburgh Public Theater. Selected dance credits include: Joffrey Ballet, Houston Ballet, Hubbard Street, Mark Morris Dance Group, Jessica Lang Dance, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Nederland’s Dance Theater, Malpaso and American Ballet Theater. Opera credits include: Arizona Opera, L.A. Opera, The Juilliard School, Opera de Montreal and Minnesota Opera. Nicole's installation of 1,000 paintings entitled Tiny Paintings for Big Hearts will be open to doctors, nurses, staff and patients of Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst, NY in September 2021 (@nicolepearceart). www.nicolepearcedesgin.com 

ROC LEE

Original Music and Sound Design

ROC LEE (Original Music and Sound Design) is a Helen Hayes Award-winning D.C.-based composer/sound designer. He holds a Master of Music in stage music composition from CUA. Credits include: Snowchild, The Price, Mother Courage (Arena Stage); Crossing Mnissose (Portland Centerstage); Small Mouth Sounds, Doll House 2 (Roundhouse); Kid Prince and Pablo (Kennedy Center TYA); Fairview, Describe the Night (Woolly Mammoth Theatre); The Lathe of Heaven (Spooky Action Theater); Admissions, Curve of Departure (Studio Theatre); CHARM, Ulysses On Bottles, Oh God! (Mosaic Theater); Aubergine, The Importance of Being Earnest (Everyman Theatre); Singin' In The Rain, Matilda The Musical, Tiger Style!, The Invisible Hand, On The Town, Aubergine (Olney Theater Center); AIDA (Constellation Theatre); Hello My Name Is... (Welders); [410]Gone (Rorschach Theatre); FAME!; In the Heights (GALA Hispanic Theater). https://roclee.net

LISA NATHANS

Dialect and Vocal Coach

LISA NATHANS (Dialect and Vocal Coach) is thrilled to be coaching again for Arena Stage after coaching Disney’s Newsies and Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise. Other D.C. credits include various productions with the Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center, Signature Theatre, Theater Alliance, Keegan Theatre and MetroStage. Regional credits include: Guthrie Theater, The 5th Avenue and Theatricum Botanicum. TV credits include: National Geographic’s Elemental: Hydrogen vs. Hindenburg. Teaching (USA and UK): University of Maryland: TDPS (Assistant Professor, Voice, Speech, and Acting); CalArts; Stella Adler Academy; RADA; Royal Welsh; Royal Central; University of Washington (PATP MFA); and University of Minnesota (Guthrie BFA). Training: Royal Central School of Speech and Drama: MFA (Voice Studies); Boston University: BFA (Acting); Linklater Voice Designation; and Colaianni Speech Practitioner. Break legs all!

SUSAN R. WHITE

Stage Manager

SUSAN R. WHITE (Stage Manager), for Martha.

RICKY RAMÓN

Assistant Stage Manager

RICKY RAMÓN (Assistant Stage Manager) has directed and stage-managed over 60 plays and musicals at Adventure Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company (NYC), Rep Stage, Theater Alliance, Imagination Stage, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and Teatro Vivo (Austin). This is his Arena Stage debut. Ricky earned a Master of Education in Arts in Education from Harvard University, a Master of Fine Arts in Acting and Directing from Texas Tech University, and a Master of Arts in Performance Studies from NYU-Tisch School of the Arts.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and English from the University of Notre Dame. Ricky currently teaches theatre at Howard University, New York University, and the Atlantic Acting School. He is originally from Pearsall, Texas.