Powerful play by 2009 Max Award winning Playwright

“This cool, shattering play…should not be missed!”
- The Sunday Times (London ‘05)
“An original play, thought-provoking!”
– Le Figaro (Paris ’07)
“Powerfully written!”
– The Guardian (London ’05)

"While the world looked, yet refused to see, death camps such as the Way to Heaven were the Nazis' deadliest reality show."
–Independent Weekly (American Premiere, January ’09)

Equilicuá Producciones proudly presents the New York premiere of Spain's National Theater Award recipient, Juan Mayorga’s WAY TO HEAVEN, English translation by David Johnston, directed by award-winning Matthew Earnest. Having been produced worldwide including London, Paris, Madrid, and Buenos Aires, the play will be in a three-week limited engagementat Off-Broadway’s Teatro Circulo (64 East 4th Street). Performances begin Thursday, May 7 and continue through Sunday, May 24. Opening Night is Saturday, May 9 (8 p.m.).

WAY TO HEAVEN (Himmelweg) is based on the notorious true story of the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where the Nazis constructed a fake village to fool international inspectors and quell extermination rumors. Juan Mayorga’s startlingly original play begins years after the fact with an account by the Red Cross employee who was there, then leaps backward in time to show the creation and rehearsal of another very unusual play, one in which the Jewish prisoners are assigned roles (Mayor, Boy #1, etc.) and given lines to say to the inspectors. The façade, written by one of the most ironic figures ever to appear on a stage – a witty, cultured, humanistic Nazi Commandant – and the Jewish prisoner selected to play the Mayor, this “play” will ultimately serve its purpose and the inspector will return with a positive review.

Although based on historic events, WAY TO HEAVEN is not documentary theater. It is a universal story about fear to take action, and our ultimate decision to overcome it or live in the apparent comfort it provides.

“It is an absolutely outstanding piece of writing and not necessarily because it deals (indirectly) with the holocaust, a subject that brings with it an inevitable yet all-too-exploited emotional response, but more for the fact that it pushes the usage of the theatrical medium, through its structure, dialogue and general storytelling, into compelling territory; and thus by doing so it also brings a new angle to the historical content on which it is ‘loosely’ based.”
-- londontheatreblog.co.uk

Starring Mark Farr, Trae Hicks, Shawn Parr, Emily Pote, Samantha Rahn, Francisco Reyes, and Jennifer Vega. Costume and sound design by Patrick Johnson.

WAY TO HEAVEN (95 minutes, no intermission) plays Thursdays at 8 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $18 General Admission / $16 Students and Seniors and are now available online at www.smarttix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre’s Box Office, 1⁄2 hour prior to the performance.

How much courage is required to take responsibility for what you see?