Downey man stars in Boyle Heights production

DOWNEY - Downey resident Alistair Hunter stars in "The Imaginary Life of the Street Sweeper, August G.," now playing through May 13 at the New Casa 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights.The story recounts the life of August G., a World War I veteran and street sweeper, destined by fate to a meaningless existence. As a marathon of memories flash before his eyes, he travels through time and space for one last rendezvous with his friends and enemies. The play features a cast of 31, with live music and video projections. "This is our most costly production to date because it is a period piece, although timeless, with beautiful costumes, singing, dancing, fighting and a live band on stage," said artistic director Josefina Lopez. "We had to hire a professional choreographer, costume designer, fight choreographer, musical director, video designer and projectionist, but our ticket prices don't reflect that. Our community deserves to see an amazing show, for a low price, so they too can be inspired and feel like they had a night out on the town in their own neighborhood." The play originally premiered in France in 1962 and has been translated for American audiences. "The play is a story with many stories," Lopez said. "A garbage man on strike gets hit on the head and his life flashes before his eyes as he lays in a coma on the verge of death trying to decide if the revolution and his life amounted to something. That's the plot line, but the story is about the many selves of August G. retelling his life story from their different points of view of memory as it tries to make sense of a working class life rich with emotion, desire and experience." Hunter resides in Downey and is active with the Downey Arts Coalition. Tickets to see "The Imaginary Life of the Street Sweeper" are $20 general admission, $17 for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 5 p.m. The New Casa 0101 Theatre is located at 2102 E. First St. in Boyle Heights. For more information, call the box office at (323) 263-7684 or e-mail tickets@casa0101.org.

********** Published: May 03, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 03