The Camille Playhouse has reopened its doors to the public, kicking off its 58th season.

Next on the list of productions is Our Lady of the Tortilla, which opens on Friday with additional performances scheduled over several days during October.

Our Lady of the Tortilla is about conflict, resolve, love and family, said Martie DiGregorio, president of the Camille Playhouse board of directors.

The cast consists of two brothers Eddy and Nelson, two sisters, Dolores and Dahlia, and Beverly, Nelson’s girlfriend .

The play focuses on the day that Dolores is making tortillas and sees the image of the Virgin Mary on one of them.

“She sees it and she totally buys into it and she believes that it’s a miracle, it’s a miracle. … The brother Eddy is the manipulative one and see the opportunity to make money. The other brother, Nelson is mortified. He doesn’t want his girlfriend to get wind of this. What is she going to say, people are going to laugh at him,” DiGregorio said.

The public finds out about the image and everyone camps outside the house, including the media trying to get a photo of the image and a statement of what has happened.

“The family struggles with belief and conflict old and new but the endurance of family love reveals itself to be the real miracle at the end,” DiGregorio said.

“It’s a comedy but it’s got its little message. I think people will enjoy it,”DiGregorio said.

And although it is a comedy, the play contains a couple foul words.

The play was written by Cuban playwright Luis Santeiro and has been altered slightly to reflect the Brownsville culture. It originally took place in New Jersey and was first published in 1987.

With Nelson Cruz’s gringo girlfriend Beverly Barnes (Natalia Garza) about to learn about his father, Nelson ( Jaime Menchaca) distracts his mother Dahlia (Sigrid Razo Moreno) with a beer as older brother Eddy (Guillermo Hernandez) watches from the couch Thursday during dress rehearsal for the upcoming production of “Our Lady of the Tortilla” at Camille Playhouse. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)

“Instead of going into the A&P to buy tortillas, Dolores is going to go to the La Michoacana. We hope that people will laugh about it and bring it closer to our local life and local culture,” DiGregorio said.

Bobby Torres is directing Our Lady of the Tortilla. He is a graduate of the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre.

According to his biography, Torres has worked with UNT’s Opera Theatre, The Vestige Group, The Vortex Theatre and as a company member of Aztlan Dance Company in Austin. He has also performed with the Denton Community Theatre, Harlingen Community Theatre and many seasons with The Camille Playhouse.

Our Lady of the Tortilla opens on Friday, with performances scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Additional performances are scheduled for Oct. 22, 23 and 24. Friday and Saturday performances are scheduled at 8 p.m. and Sunday performances are at 2 p.m. The cost is $20 per person.

COVID-19 guidelines are still in place with the public strongly encouraged to wear face masks, and there will be social distancing between seats. All seats are sanitized before the performances. Also, the concession stand remains closed until further notice.

 

Single tickets may be purchased online 24/7 or by calling the box office from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at (956) 542- 8900. Tickets may also be purchased one hour before the performance.

Other productions for the 58th season include Humbug, which will open in December, Sweet Charity in February, Jekyll & Hyde in April and Lucky Stiff in May.

“Come out and help us celebrate Hispanic Culture Month. We just welcome everybody back. We have been so humbled by the response we have had since we reopened our doors. We miss your laughter, your smiles, your feedback,” DiGregorio said.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on in the world right now so go for two hours and forget your troubles and come spend them at Camille,” she said.

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