In the Time of the Butterflies

In the Time of the Butterflies remains a widely admired best-selling novel. Written by the graceful artist Julia Alvarez, the novel has been successfully translated and adapted to other art forms, such as dance. Writer Caridad Svich, a graduate of UCSD and recipient of numerous prizes, has written a play based on the novel, which tells the moving story of the four Mirabal sisters (code name “butterflies”) and their brave resistance to the Dominican Republic’s Generalisimo Rafael Trujillo. The brutal ruler was in full control in 1960, but the willingness of the sisters to fight for freedom was a powerful force against him.

This San Diego Repertory Theatre production is the English language world premiere of the play, In the Time of the Butterflies. It runs from January 11-26 in the Lyceum Space. Todd Salovey, no novice to San Diego Repertory Theatre, is co-director, along with Herbert Siguenza. Salovey is in his 24th season as Rep associate director and, during that time, he has directed amazingly varied work. Now, he has tackled the task of staging this gripping story. Co-director Siguenza brings a rich cultural background to this project, having been a founding member of the celebrated group Culture Clash and also having acted in many Rep productions. His recent film credit is Larry Crowne, directed by Tom Hanks.

 

Rich collections of Surround Events for In the Time of the Butterflies are offered this month, from January 4-23. All are free and take place in the lobby of the Lyceum Theatre. (619.544.1000, www.sdrep.org)   
DARLENE G. DAVIES