J. Hernandez and Victoria Rose Bonito in "Blood Wedding." Photo by Plate3Photography.com.

"Chilling, tumultuous... an inventive production filled with song, dance, and poetry, it startles in its passion and violence" (Philadelphia Inquirer).

Only two weeks remain to see a rare staging of Federico García Lorca’s “Blood Wedding” as the Philadelphia Artists' Collective (PAC) teams up with students from Drexel University’s Co-Op Theatre Company in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design to present the classic tragedy of revenge and deception. The show will run through Nov. 23 at Drexel’s Mandell Theater (3201 Chestnut St.).

In “Blood Wedding,” a vendetta between two families comes to a head at a wedding when the bride runs away with her former lover, the son of the enemy family. Written in 1932 by the Spanish poet and playwright, the chilling and powerful play has become a classic of 20th century theater. The play addresses universal themes of desire, repression, vengeance, deception, fate and nature.

Mandell Theater has been transformed, as seating was moved onstage for a more intimate performance experience. The distressed beams and arches of the set by set designer Matt Campbell were inspired by Cortijo del Fraile, the true-life setting of the crime of passion that “Blood Wedding” was based on.

The show is directed by Damon Bonetti, co-founding artistic director of the PAC and an adjunct professor at Drexel, and will star regional and New York theater veteran Judith Lightfoot Clarke as well as Victoria Rose Bonito, J. Hernandez and Eric Scotolati as the doomed trio of lovers. Drexel students will perform alongside the nine professional actors, as well as serving in such behind-the-scenes roles such as stage manager, master electrician and prop designer.

Prior to each performance, a pre-show performance takes place in Mandell Lobby, choreographed by Elba Hevia y Vaca, artistic/executive director and founder of Philadelphia’s feminist flamenco company Pasion y Arte Flamenco. Actors, musicians and dancers stage a celebratory wedding procession, which leads into the theater.

Barrymore Award-winning theater artist, composer and guitarist Christopher Colucci composed all of the music to be performed throughout the play, with lyrics based on Lorca’s poetry and prose. Under the musical direction of Michael Kiley, professional musicians Adam Bailey, a percussionist, and Guy West, a guitarist, perform the original scores, as well as cellist Mari Ma, an undergraduate student in Westphal’s Entertainment and Arts Management program. All sound effects also are created live, including a rich forest soundscape.

“The PAC are guests of Drexel and we have cast the Co-Op Theatre actors in some principal and ensemble roles.  They are not incidental to this production but an integral part of the ensemble. Often this play is cast with older actors, but the younger characters should be in their twenties,” said Bonetti. “I often compare this play to ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ which has many similarities - the impulsiveness of youth, the inability of the older characters to reconcile and understand the younger generation and, of course, what should be a happy event a wedding, turning tragic.”

Opening night took place on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. The show will play from Nov. 12 – 15, 17, 20 – 22 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 9, 16 and 23 at 2 p.m. The two-act show includes an intermission and runs approximately two hours and 20 minutes.

Tickets are $5 for Drexel students, faculty and staff with a Drexel ID; $15 for non-Drexel students; and $25 for general admission. They are available for purchase at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/854672.

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