Bishop Arts Theatre Center Announces The World Premiere of
World Classic by Nelson Diaz-Marcano
The Bishop Arts Theatre Center is excited to announce the upcoming production
of World Classic by award-winning Puerto Rican-born playwright Nelson Diaz-Marcano, directed
by Dr. Marta Torres beginning May 4 – 21, 2023. A moving and searing exploration of a family
pushed to the brink over one night, World Classic takes the hallmarks of the quintessential
American family drama and passes it through the lens of a multigenerational Puerto Rican family
with various perspectives falling apart on the day of Roberto Clemente’s legendary 3,000th hit.
“We have followed Nelson’s career for a while. It’s an honor to deepen our relationship
with this playwright and invest in his work on our stage, especially with such universal
storytelling,” shared Executive Artistic Director, Teresa Coleman Wash while playwright-
in-residence Franky D. Gonzalez commented, “Nelson is a fast-rising, vital voice in both
to the Latinx theatrical community but more specifically to Puerto Rican diaspora
globally. His work is compelling, proudly Puerto Rican, at once hilarious and
devastating, all while using familiar tropes to deliver subversion and the unexpected.
Nelson creates unforgettable larger-than-life characters whom we come to care for
despite their obvious flaws and mistakes. Bringing his work to the Bishop Arts Theatre
Center stands as one of the great highlights of my work in advocating for new and
exciting playwrights.”
Regarding the upcoming production, the playwright shared, “World Classic is a play
very dear to my heart. A love letter to me and many other families living in the diaspora,
I’ve been excited about this play being produced one day since before I finished writing
it. So, imagine how excited I am that I get to have my debut in Texas with this play and
with an amazing company like Bishop Arts Theatre Center who have handled this whole
process with incredible care.”
Nelson Diaz-Marcano is a Puerto Rican playwright based in New York City. His plays
have been developed by Milagro Theatre, the William Inge Theatre Festival,
Wordsmyth, Classical Theatre of Harlem, and The Parsnip Ship among others. His work
has received awards from the Samuel French OOB FEstival (Rabiosa) the Fresh Fruit
Festival (The Diplomats, now published by OWP) and the Downtown Urban Arts
Festival (Radical). Other recent credits include: Paper Towels (INTAR,), I Saw Jesus in
Toa Baja (William Inge Theatre Festival), Revolt (World Premiere - Vision Latino
Theatre Company), El Yunque in English (Citi Theatre Shorts Finalist,) Into The River I
Went (Step 1 Theatre Project), and Prison Song (Downtown Urban Arts Festival 2013).
World Classic has also been developed and read at Ingenio Milagro 2018, The Parsnip
Ship, and The Classical Theatre of Harlem. Nelson's main artistic mission is to raise
awareness about the contrasting cultures that form the communities of this nation and in
doing so, explore how they all fit together in the American experiment.
World Classic will be directed by Dr. Marta Torres who identifies as Afro-Latina and
MexiRican raised in Cayey, Puerto Rico. Making her return to the Bishop Arts Theatre
Center stage, Dr. Torres previously directed Curse of the Puerto Ricans by Rosa
Fernandez.
TICKETING INFORMATION
The performance will be held in person at the Bishop Arts Theatre Center located at 215
S. Tyler Street, Dallas, TX 75208. Tickets can be purchased online anytime
at www.bishopartstheatre.org or by calling the box office at (214) 948-0716, Monday
through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Individual tickets range from $18 to
$40. Discount tickets are available for groups of 15 or more and may be purchased by
calling the box office. BATC’s 2022/2023 season is made possible by the generosity of
our sponsors: City of Dallas Office of Arts & Culture, National Endowment for the Arts,
Embrey Family Foundation, George & Fay Young Foundation, Eugene McDermott
Foundation, Dallas Public Improvement District, Texas Commission on the Arts,
Communities Foundation of Texas, and the Rainwater Charitable Foundation.
