Originally performed in Spanish, "Eva Luna" premiered in English for the first time at the Paul V. Galvin Playhouse Theatre on Sept. 27 in Tempe.
The play, directed by Micha Espinosa, is based off the novel "Eva Luna" by Chilean-American novelist Isabel Allende. The show was adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Caridad Svich and choreographed by Julia Chacon.
As the play dances between fantasy and reality, the titular character Eva Luna finds her voice as a storyteller and her place in the world during a revolution in an unidentified country in South America. Her journey is accompanied by elaborate music sung in Spanish.
Jeika González Pou, a junior studying theatre acting who transferred to ASU from the University of Puerto Rico, performed in English for the first time as the lead role of Eva Luna.
"There's something with the Spanish that I feel like is a little more strong," González Pou said. "It doesn't matter what language you use to convey it to the public. It's so moving that I feel like the language is just itself a tool."
The play takes the audience into the political turmoil of South America in the late 20th century, through the eyes of an orphaned girl, Eva Luna, as she bounces from place to place meeting and telling stories to people on all sides of the conflict.
"I'm excited to be a storyteller in the show," González Pou said. "There's so many strong characters that people can relate to, not just me. I feel like I'm the medium of those stories that we're trying to convey to people to relate and to identify."
Eva Luna's character as a storyteller is contrasted with the other lead role, Austrian journalist Rolf Carlé played by Fletcher Whittington, a junior studying theatre acting and business tourism. Throughout the play, the two leads undergo parallel experiences, interacting with some of the same characters and confronting similar revolutionary ideas through their unique perspectives.
"The rest of the cast is very based in magical, narrative storytelling," Whittington said. "Rolf is very journalistic, very serious, very (into) real-world facts and truth-based things."
The production phase of the show began last semester, allowing the cast to study lines over the summer. Regular rehearsals start during the school year and actors often balance the work with a full load of classes.
"A bunch of people are flying in from out of the country because 'Eva Luna' is this Venezuelan show and this is the first time that the show is being produced in English," Whittington said. "That's terrifying, but also incredibly exciting."
"What an opportunity it is to be like 'I was a part of this when it was first made in English,'" he said.
The majority of the dialogue in the show is translated, with the exception of a few choice slang words, place names or Spanish expressions.
"I think it's really left an impact on all the actors, because the actors want to make sure that they are portraying something that is as realistic as possible," Whittington said.
As well as the play's impact, "Eva Luna" is pushing the boundaries of the technical side of theater at the Paul V. Galvin Playhouse.
"I love the lighting for this whole entire show," said CharlotteWolter, a freshman studying psychology who was shadowing the stage manager. "It's the most complicated lighting show that they've done here."
"Eva Luna" has a runtime of roughly two hours with a short intermission and will continue to be shown from Oct. 3-6.
"Especially watching the rehearsals, the amount of work the actors have put in is incredible," Wolter said. "The fact that this is the first time that it's ever gonna be performed in English in the U.S. ever, that ASU has the opportunity to put on that production and honor its story."
Edited by Senna James, Abigail Beck, Tiya Talwar and Madeline Schmitke.
Reach the reporter at allipper@asu.edu and follow @lippert_audrey on X.
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Audrey is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in Spanish. This is her first semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Blaze Radio.
