October 6-29, 2022

An Original Pregones/PRTT Music Theater Production

The history-making encounter of Black and Puerto Rican musician-soldiers in 1917

Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater’s 2022-23 Mainstage Season kicks off with a new staging of Harlem Hellfighters on a Latin Beat, a rousing Latinx musical play developed under the leadership of award-winning director and dramaturg Rosalba Rolón and composer Desmar Guevara. It is the story of extraordinary valor and musicianship that made the 369th Infantry of the New York Army National Guard the most celebrated regiment of the World War One era. As the U.S. prepares to enter armed struggle, genius bandleader and conductor James Reese Europe assembles an all-Black regimental band of unprecedent high caliber. Now firmly established as a point of pride in African American history, it is less known that Lieut. Europe recruited 17 of his illustrious musician-soldiers in Puerto Rico, among them the great Rafael Hernández and Rafael Duchesne.

“A main source for the dramatic through-line came from the memoirs written by Noble Sissle, who was James Reese Europe’s good friend,” says Rolón. “It gave me cues for a framing story and two important musical numbers. My expertise is in adaptations, and I believe that a good adaptation has to contribute something new. Lifting the Puerto Rican lives that played such a central role in the Harlem Hellfighters’ regimental band and their history tour of duty and back is that innovation. The new staging is heartful and joyous, abundant with the plural forces and meanings that shape real lives.”

CAST & CHARACTERS:
José Joaquín García is Rafael Hernández
Anna Malavé is Victoria Hernández
Jesús E. Martínez is Rafael Duchesne
Claudia Ramos Jordán is Diana Yager
Pat D. Robinson is Col. Hayward / Gov. Yager
Calvin M. Thompson is James Reese Europe

THE HELLFIGHTERS BAND:
Charles Barber on trumpet
Álvaro Benavides on bass
Anthony Carrillo on percussion
Desmar Guevara on piano
Camilo Molina-Gaetán on drums
Raymond Flores on trombone
Jonathan Cosme on clarinet

Harlem Hellfighters on a Latin Beat is one of a series of original works developed by Pregones/PRTT to rescue important but insufficiently known episodes in Puerto Rican history.

Performed in English and Spanish with titles.
Duration: 105 minutes, including one intermission.

In-person performances at
THE PUERTO RICAN TRAVELING THEATER
304 W 47th St, between 8th & 9th Avenues
in Manhattan

Buy your tickets early online. Link below or at top of page.

GENERAL TICKETS: Starting at $30

ONLINE or by PHONE at 718-585-1202

Detailed Ticket Information – Click To Open

BEST PRICESBECOME A MEMBER and get deep savings for the entire season! When you buy a one year $45 tax-deductible membership to Pregones/PRTT you obtain 25% discount for up to two (2) tickets per event this season.

New! TICKET BUNDLES: See each of the remaining shows and save — available online or by phone 718-585-1202.

  • Previews Bundle – priced based on remaining shows: 1 (one) Orchestra Ticket for each of the remaining Mainstage productions on the first week of performances; total tickets based on the number of shows remaining.
  • Premium Bundle – priced based on remaining shows: 1 (one) Premium Orchestra Ticket for each of the remaining Mainstage productions on any other week of performances; total tickets based on the number of shows remaining.

Please note: Bundles are not tax deductible. Other offers and discounts do not apply.

GROUPS of 10 or more: $20 per ticket! Phone reservations/purchases only. Some date restrictions may apply. 718-585-1202

OTHER OFFERS AND DISCOUNTS: Zip Tickets—in person purchase and proof of residence required, Seniors, Students

For more details call us at 718-585-1202

More About The Artists – Click To Open

ROSALBA ROLÓN, Artistic Director of Pregones/PRTT, is an accomplished actor, director, and dramaturg specializing in the adaptation of literary and non-literary texts for stage performance with live music. Distinctions include United States Artists Fellowship, Ford Foundation Visionaries Fellowship, Doris Duke Artist Award, and Creative Capital Award (with Paul Flores and Yosvany Terry). Rolón’s numerous theater credits include We Have IRÉ with Paul Flores, Betsy! with Roadside Theater, Dancing In My Cockroach Killers with Magdalena Gómez, Harlem Hellfigthers on a Latin Beat based on the Puerto Rican presence in the all-Black 369th Regiment of the US Army, El bolero fue mi ruina adapted from a story by Manuel Ramos Otero, Quíntuples by Luis Rafael Sánchez, and many others. She is a member of The American Thatre Wing’s Tony Awards Nominating Committee.

DESMAR GUEVARA, Resident Composer and Musical Director of Pregones/PRTT, is a recognized champion of new music idioms in Latin jazz, a composer of experimental and non-traditional music for live theater and film, and an in-demand pianist with numerous concert, touring, and recording credits. He has composed, arranged, and music directed dozens of ensemble theater productions of varying scale, from chamber to Off-Broadway. He is founding director of chamber jazz ensemble Taller Sicá, founding member of Afro Puerto Rican ensemble Viento de Agua, and has collaborated with many musical luminaries including Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Tito Nieves, Xiomara Fortuna, Andy Montañez, Soledad Bravo, and Danny Rivera. Recent premieres include Grados Inefables, which delves into the esoteric symbolism and philosophies of Freemasonry, co-commissioned by arts presenters in New York, Colorado, and California.

More About Pregones PRTT – Click To Open

Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (aka Pregones/PRTT) is a multigenerational performing ensemble, multidiscipline arts presenter, and owner/steward of bilingual arts facilities in The Bronx and Manhattan. Our mission is to champion a Puerto Rican/Latinx cultural legacy of universal value through creation and performance of original plays and musicals, exchange and partnership with other artists of merit, and engagement of diverse audiences.

COVID-19 Visitor Safety Info – Click To Open

PLEASE NOTE: We require all audience members to wear a face mask at all times. By purchasing a ticket or asking for entry to our events, you agree to abide by this rule.
Mask must be worn at all times in the building and must cover nose and mouth. Masks should fit snuggly against the sides of the face.

Our Esteemed Funders – Click To Open

The 2022 production of Harlem Hellfighters on a Latin Beat is made possible, in part, by a grant from Axe-Houghton Foundation. Pregones/PRTT’s Mainstage is also generously funded by Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Shubert Foundation, and Scherman Foundation. Programs also made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; and New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For a full list of our funders, please visit www.pregonesprtt.org.

Directions to the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater – Click To Open

Puerto Rican Traveling Theater
304 W 47th St 
(b/w 8th & 9th Avenues)
New York, NY 1036

Trains # 1, C, E to 50th Street

For more information call us at 718-585-1202

GET TICKETS!

Event Details

  • Location

    The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater
    304 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036

  • Date & Time

    October 6-29, 2022
    Thu-Fri @ 8:00PM
    Sat @ 3:00PM & 8:00PM
    Sun @ 3:00PM

  • Collaborators

    Conceived and Directed by
    Rosalba Rolón

    Musical Direction by
    Desmar Guevara

    Lighting Design
    Lucrecia Briceño

    Costume Design
    Oriana Sophia

    Digital Projection Design
    Eamonn Farrell

    Set Design
    Raul Abrego

    Production Photos
    Krystal Pagán

    Graphic Design
    Jeison Rivera

    Sound Design
    Milton Ruíz

    Production Manager
    Jessica Moya