Category:

El Paraiso

created by Rude Mechs

“…a raucous, sweet, funny, fanciful meditation on heaven, as embodied in this mysterious stretch of land between the Big Bend and Big Thicket, the rios Grande and Rojo, and the people and legends living within its borders.” – Robert Faires, Austin Chronicle Review 2003

About The Show

El Paraiso is an elegiac hoedown, a humiliation of pleasures and a tribute to Texas, Our Texas. James Dean has died and finds himself in a limbo that looks remarkably like a Texas whiskey bar where he lingers with three women who embody the Texas towns named for them – Marfa, Mercedes, and Lily Langtry – and the music of the spheres is replaced with some rousing original karaoke. A few drinks in, you might find yourself pondering whether you’ve been in paradise all along and just didn’t know it. If this sounds confusing, fret not desperado, Ludwig Wittgenstein explains it all with text and ideas from his posthumous opus, Philosophical Investigations! All this plus barroom brawls, too much whiskey, live music from Peter Stopschinski & Graham Reynolds and, of course, those mysterious Marfa lights.

“When I die I may not go to heaven…I don’t know if they let cowboys in…If they don’t just let me go to Texas, Boy!…Texas is as close as I’ve been.” – from Tanya Tucker’s “Texas When I Die”.

Press

Reviews:

“…a raucous, sweet, funny, fanciful meditation on heaven, as embodied in this mysterious stretch of land between the Big Bend and Big Thicket, the rios Grande and Rojo, and the people and legends living within its borders.” – Robert Faires, Austin Chronicle Review 2003

Can’t locate the Austin American-Statesman review

Production History

April 25 – May 26, 2002 at The Off Center, Austin, TX

Writing: Kirk Lynn

Direction: Shawn Sides

Scenic Design: Leilah Stewart

Lighting Design: Brian Scott

Costume Design: Star Costume and Clothier

Sound Design: Jeremy Lee

Video Design: Michael T. Mergen

Props Design: Natalie George

Original Music performed live by: Peter Stopschinski and Graham Reynolds

Production Stage Manager: Jose Hernandez

Production Manager: Tamara Klindt

FEATURING:

Rene Alvarado, Harvey Guion, E. Jason Liebrecht, Lana Lesley, Carra Martinez, Sarah Richardson, Graham Reynolds, Peter Stopschinski

Support Rude Mechs

Production Stills

El Paraiso 2002

Production Support

El Paraiso was made possible by support from The Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund