Actor, screenwriter and playwright Christina Pumariega's ¡VOS! makes its world premiere debut at Two River Theater in Red Bank from April 5 through April 27.
In ¡VOS!, directed by Nicole A Watson,"Annie" (played by Pumariega) returns to her estranged birthplace of Buenos Aires, Argentina to undergo IVF treatments from the famed Dr. Cossi. But her motherhood journey brings to light the lives of two women lost to the Dirty War decades ago. Past and present intertwine as four women hunt down their destiny. ¡VOS!, is an exhilarating quest for justice, family and home.
Pumariega is described as the powerful new voice in American Theater. Her new play is already the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.
Christina Pumariega joined WBGO's Doug Doyle to talk about the play. Pumariega and her husband moved to South America for a while and that's where she got the idea to write ¡VOS!.
"It was affordable to live there. We were very privileged coming with minimal U.S. dollars. In so much as walking around the streets everyday in the little neighborhood of Palermo (Buenos Aires) where we lived, which is very beautiful and filled with gardens and so much incredible Argentine history through the centuries, I just to stay longer and know these people. And then I learned about The Dirty War."
Born in Nashville and raised all over the Southern US in Texas, South Carolina and Tennessee, Christina was raised on the cultural hyphen. Her father is Cuban, her mother is Italian-American. She attended Indiana University's School of Journalism and after a fellowship in Cuba received her MFA from the NYU Graduate Acting Program at Tisch School of the Arts.
Pumariega is thrilled to be working with director Nicole A. Watson and the team at Two River Theater.
"Nicole really understood what I was trying to do on many levels. She has a very fascinating and complicated relationship to her own cultural history. She's Jamaican-American. We've many conversation about motherhood as well. Nicole also understands the trappings of what I playwright's mind can do while at the same time reminding me not to forget that I'm an actor. She knew me as an actor first."
An accomplished stage actress, Pumariega made her Broadway debut opposite Jeff Goldblum in Seminar, and has performed at New York's Public Theater and various Off Broadway venues, in theaters across the US and in film, television and national commercials.
Pumeriega shares the stage with actress Alexandra Silber who plays Dr. Cossi in ¡VOS!.
"Al is a master at the top of her game. She is kind, brilliant and understands new plays."
You can SEE Doug Doyle's entire interview with Christina Pumariega here.
