Temple of the SOULS Sept 16-28th Theatre for the New City, NYC - (212) 868-4444

Two worlds collide in this new musical of forbidden love. A Theatre for the New City, September 16 - 28.

MULTISTAGES is pleased to announce the new musical by award-winning Anita Velez-Mitchell, platinum-winning composers Dean Landon and Anika Paris, TEMPLE OF THE SOULS, with musical direction by Bruce Baumer and directed by Artistic Director Lorca Peress. TEMPLE OF THE SOULS will play a limited engagement at Theater for the New City - Johnson Theater (155 First Avenue, btw 9th/10th, NYC). Performances begin Tuesday, September 16 and continue through Sunday, September 28. Opening Night is Thursday, September 18 (8 p.m.).

In honor of National Latino Heritage Month, MultiStages presents TEMPLE OF THE SOULS, an epic new musical of secrets, lies and forbidden love… set deep in the magical rain forest of Puerto Rico. Two worlds collide when Amada, the beautiful daughter of a Conquistador, and Guario, a young Taíno, run away to the mountain top to escape the intolerant world below. In this mythical romance, our young lovers find themselves at the TEMPLE OF THE SOULS where nightmares and dreams come true.

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Temple Of The Souls is an epic Romeo and Juliet tale of love, hate, and prejudice set on the island of Puerto Rico during the Spanish conquest. Amada, daughter of a Spanish Conquistador, and Guario, one of the last surviving Taínos, are fated to fall in love in a time when such relationships can lead to death. This new work is the first musical drama written by a Puerto Rican about the struggles and colonization of Puerto Rico. The book is written in English with Spanish and Taíno text.

In less than forty years of Spanish conquest, the peaceful indigenous Taíno population fell from 60,000 to under 1,000 inhabitants; and scores of Taínos committed mass suicide to avoid enslavement. The current Taíno tribe is a blended race that is proud of its heritage, but indigenous peoples of the Americas have a unique cultural history that is absent from most text books and classrooms. Author Anita Velez-Mitchell worked with Taíno Cacique Cibanakan (Taíno chief) on cultural authenticity, and illustrates this magnificent nation and explores racial divides that affects us all. Over 900,000 Puerto Rican descendants and immigrants live in NYC; it’s time this history was brought to the stage.

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Thank you to our fantastic 2011 CAST: Jen Anaya, Kenneth Kyle Martinez, Robmariel Olea, Ricardo Puente, with Theresa Burns, Victor Cervantes, Raquel Faria, Giselle Gastell, Laura Riveros, and ARTISTIC COMPANY: Milteri Tucker, Choreographer; Yanko Bakulik, Set Design; Alex Moore, Lighting Design; Lorca Peress, Gigante Puppets!

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