World Premiere of Celia and Fidel Is Announced at Arena Stage

Arena Stage has announced full casting for the world premiere of Eduardo Machado's Celia and Fidel. Directed by Molly Smith, the production runs February 28-April 12 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.

Celia and Fidel is described as follows: "It's 1980 and Cuba is dealing with a failing economy. As Fidel Castro ponders on how to move his country forward, his political partner, Celia Sánchez, is never far from his side. Imbued with magical realism, Celia and Fidel is the dynamic story of radical change in Cuba featuring the country's most notorious political figure and Cuba's most influential female revolutionary."

Making his Arena Stage debut and stepping into the role of Fidel Castro is Robert M. Jimenez (Take Me Out on Broadway), alongside Marian Licha (Arena's Anna in the Tropics) as Celia Sánchez, Liam Torres (INTAR's Locusts Have No King) as Manolo Ruiz, and Heather Velazquez (Lincoln Center Theater's Pipeline) as Consuelo.

The creative team includes set designer Riccardo Hernández, costume designer Alejo Vietti, lighting designer Nicole Pearce, sound designer Roc Lee, and dialect and vocal coach Lisa Nathans.

Celia and Fidel is the seventh commissioned production to debut as part of Arena Stage's Power Plays, an initiative commissioning and developing 25 new plays and musicals from 25 writers over the course of 10 years. The series features one story per decade, beginning with 1776 and extending through present day.