by Federico García Lorca
María Josefa
Directed by Brian Jennings at the Hartford Theatre of Performing Arts.
La casa de Bernarda Alba (or, in English, The House of Bernarda Alba) is a dramatic Spanish play written by Federico García Lorca shortly before his death in 1936. The play was first staged in 1945. The entire play takes place within the eponymous house after the death of Bernarda’s second husband, the father of four of Bernarda’s five daughters. To adhere to the local custom, the Albas must mourn for several years and stay within the eponymous house. Tensions within the house grow as Angustias, the eldest daughter, born from Bernarda’s first marriage, is courted by Pepe El Romano, and it is soon revealed that Angustias is not the only daughter who interests Pepe. As the play is an allegory for totalitarianism, it’s not hard to see why the play’s content got Lorca murdered by Franco’s Nationals.
Allie Grace Furlong 
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