Lucio's Blog: July 2014

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Comfort

"Comfort"

a New Play... exposing abuse against women

(New York, NY) The Hudson Fine Arts Foundation & The Grace Theatre Workshop, Inc. will be presenting the provocative new play, "Comfort", opening on Friday, July 18, 2014 at The Jewel Box Theatre in New York City and running through Friday, August 8th with a Special Gala Performance at Lincoln Center.

"Comfort" deals with the horrific acts of violence towards "Comfort Women" or "sex slaves" by the Japanese during World War II. The Japanese government would kidnap young girls as young as 14 years old from various countries including China and Korea and send them to their soldiers in the battlefield to "comfort" them. Details from some survivors attest to being raped fifty to two hundred times a day. But, more so, the play dares to bring forth the difficult subject of sex trafficking and physical abuse of women world-wide. The current political issues around this topic are expressed through movement and straight dialogue. In the play, the leading character "Peter" must produce a documentary film about Comfort Women, but his boss disagrees with Peter's chosen subject matter. In the meantime, Peter meets "Roksun", a comfort woman, in his dream. With a great mix between experimental movement & poetry about serious political matter the play presents an important subject in a palpable artistic way.

"Comfort" is Written & Directed by Jung Han Kim; Produced by Megan Fernandez; Lighting Design by James Vitale; Costume Design by Ashley Rogers; Ou Hyuk Im, Production Manager; and Luis Camacho Dilorenzi, Stage Manager. It stars Lucio Fernandez, Shannon Kelly, Taylor Schramm, David Couter, Josh Tucker, Audrey Smith, Kelsey Knight, Cat J. Lane, Ian Jesse Curtis, and Pallavi Seth.

"Comfort"

presented by

Hudson Fine Arts Foundation, Jahye Kim, President

& The Grace Theatre Workshop, Inc., Megan Fernandez, Artistic Director

Jewel Box Theatre

@WorkShop Theatre Company

312 West 36th Street, 4th Floor

NYC

Friday, July 18th @ 6:00 PM

Saturday, July 19th @ 7:00 PM

Saturday, July 26th @ 1:00 PM

Sunday, July 27th @ 6:30 PM

Friday, August 1st @ 7:30 PM

Admission: $18.00

For tickets, please visit: www.midtownfestival.org

or call: 866-811-4111

***

Special Gala Performances of "Comfort" on Monday, August 4th and Friday, August 8th, 2014 at The Bruno Walter Auditorium @ Lincoln Center, NYC. Special guests at the Gala Performances will be South Korean victims from World War II ("Comfort Women") as well as other dignitaries.

The Bruno Walter Auditorium

@ Lincoln Center, NYC

40 Lincoln Center Plaza

Entrance at 111 Amsterdam Avenue, just below 65th Street

NYC

Gala Performances - "Comfort"

Monday, August 4th @ 7:00 PM

Friday, August 8th @ 7:00 PM

Admission: $18.00

For tickets, please visit: http://www.smarttix.com/Show.aspx?ShowCode=COM94

or call: 212-868-4444

For further information, please visit: www.HudsonFoundation.org or www.GraceTheatre.com

Producer/Actor

Lucio Fernandez has had a varied and successful career working extensively as an actor, singer, director, and producer. In 2014 he appeared in the play "Comfort" at Lincoln Center in NYC; and in 2013, Lucio appeared Off Broadway in the plays "Till Death" and "Busco Amigo"; and prior to that he starred and produced the Off Broadway play "Cuba: Punto X" to great critical acclaim, and which garnered two ACE Awards, two HOLA Awards, and one ATI Award. He performed his one-man show entitled "Lucio... Less Cuban Than Ever" for a sold-out run at The Laurie Beechman Theatre in NYC, which received rave reviews. His previous one-man show "The Cuban Kid" played in NYC and received stellar reviews as well as several awards, including a MAC Award nomination.

As a vocalist, he has recorded the music CD's entitled "Enamorado" and "Volver a Ti", as well as a poetry CD featuring his own poetry entitled "Lucio Fernandez, Poetry". He just released a new CD, "American Mambo". Lucio just returned from a concert tour in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, followed by a concert at Lincoln Center in NYC.

He has traveled the world with several Broadway shows including "West Side Story", "Guys And Dolls", "A Chorus Line", "Jesus Christ Superstar", and "On The Town". He has worked with many of Broadway's leading directors and choreographers, including Jerome Robbins, Jerry Zaks, Michael Peters, Robert Longbottom, and Alan Johnson. For three and a half years, he was a principal actor with Repertorio Español in NYC where he performed in such plays as "Strawberry and Chocolate", "Vieques", "Luminaria", "El Publico" by Federico Garcia Lorca, "El Cano", "Te Juro Juana Que Tengo Ganas", and "The Next Stop". Lucio also starred in the Off Broadway play "Speedo & The Straight Man" at the Kraine Theater in NYC for which he received much critical acclaim. Broadway Workshops include "Tropicana" (Chita Rivera, Artistic Director), "Strides" (Michele Assaf, Choreographer), and "El Shaddai".

Lucio has performed alongside many great artists including Marc Anthony, Shirley MacLaine, Gene Kelly, The Pointer Sisters, Tommy Tune, Susan Lucci, Shirley Verrett, Lupita Ferrer, and Lorna Luft. Recently he has appeared in concert alongside such notable Latin recording artists as Jon Secada, Jose Luis Rodriguez "El Puma", Sophy De Puerto Rico, Elio Roca, Malena Burke, and Roberto Ledesma. He has performed at many of the world's finest theaters including Lincoln Center in New York City, the Chatelet in Paris, and the Berlin Opera House. Recently he was invited by the Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra in Guayaquil, Ecuador to perform a solo concert; as well as performed multiple concerts throughout Mexico.

He has made appearances on many television shows including a recurring role as an "orderly" on the daytime series "All My Children". Most recently he was seen on the Emmy Award winning show "30 Rock" on NBC, "Louie" on FX, and "The Jimmy Fallon Show" on NBC. Presently, he is the host of the television show "Live On Stage" airing on Cablevision, ComCast, Time Warner Cable, RCN, and Verizon FiOS. Lucio has appeared in many television and radio commercials for products such as Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Sprite, Panasonic, Kudos, Verizon, etc. He has worked extensively as a voice-over artist, and did the looping for the role of "Lazaro" in the award winning feature film "Before Night Falls", and on the feature film "Che" starring Benicio Del Toro. Lucio is the author of "Union City in Pictures", two poetry books, two children's books, and a dozen plays.

He has directed, choreographed, and produced many shows, from big musicals to one character plays, from children's performances to benefit concerts. His comedy "Till Death Do Us Part" premiered at The Grace Theatre in 2001, and then played at Newark Symphony Hall, followed by a run at The Gramercy Arts Theatre in NYC. His family musical "Friend Wanted" also premiered at The Grace Theatre before touring through many of New Jersey's best theaters. His original production, "Havana Moon, The Musical" played to a sold-out audience at Newark Symphony Hall, then at the Park Performing Arts Center. As an artist, he has exhibited his work at many galleries and museums, including Queens Museum of Art, Union City Museum of Art, Pace University, and MasterCard World Headquarters.

He is founder of MeLu Communications Group, a full service production and public relations company, dedicated to producing for theatre, television, and film. The company has produced several films including "Vampire in Union City" and "The Death of April"; as well as many short films such as "Massacre in the Woods", "Under a City Tree", "Blink", "Cubanoson: The Story", "Pissin", "The Embroidery Industry in Union City, NJ", “Sal”, and most recently the documentary “Bahia de Cochinos, Nuestra Perspectiva”.

Lucio was co-founder and Artistic Director of The Grace Theatre Workshop, Inc., the premiere presenter of bilingual and Spanish language theatre in the State of New Jersey. He has taught dance, drama, and playwriting, as well as participated in many school career days, and lectured at many organizations.

He has received many awards including the distinguished "STAR" at the Walk of Fame at Celia Cruz Park; also the HOLA Award, ACE Award, ATI Award, ARTE Award, ITRA Award, STAR Award, State Proclamation from Governor Chris Christie, United States Senate Proclamation from US Senator Robert Menendez, and many other proclamations, citations, and awards for his artistic achievements and contributions to the community.

Lucio is presently Commissioner of the City of Union City. He has served as Chairman of the Union City Redevelopment Board, Trustee of the Union City Board of Education, Commissioner for the Union City Housing Authority, President of the Union City Public Library Friends, Inc., and President of the Union City Day Care Program. Lucio is a graduate of Rutgers University, and studied acting in New York City with the legendary acting teacher Bobby Lewis. He is an advocate for the arts and is always trying to promote and support artists and the arts in general, as well as stress the importance of the arts in every community.

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Saturday, July 12, 2014

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Vampire in Union City

Bahia de Cochinos, Nuestra Perspectiva

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