Following a betrayal by her crush Julio, 13-year-old Sarita Fernandez quickly learns how fickle love can be. Her teenage years are marked by men coming and going from her life, an early pregnancy, and a volatile love affair with Julio that continues into adulthood. Eventually, Sarita’s attempts to find personal agency in these relationships manifest in brutal ways, with far-reaching consequences for herself and her loved ones.

One of prolific writer, director, and teacher María Irene Fornés’s lesser-known plays, Sarita first premiered in 1984 at INTAR in New York City in a production that she directed. Though her pioneering voice has inspired and influenced many contemporary theatre artists, her works are not frequently revived onstage. In the words of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, “She’s the most original of us all. In the work of every American playwright at the end of the 20th century, there are only two stages: before she has read María Irene Fornés and after.”

Theatre Talk: Sarita 

Learn more about the history of the production and its creators through a lively discussion with Director Rebecca Aparicio and Teaching Artist Leah Reddy.

Leadership support for The Refocus Project is generously provided by the Ford Foundation.

Additional funding provided by Eugene and Joann Bissell and the Lillian Lincoln Foundation, R. Martin Chavez and by Bank of America.

The Refocus Project is made possible by the Champions for Inclusive Theatre and Roundabout’s Forward Fund. We acknowledge the generous friends who support our many efforts to increase representation and inclusion in all aspects of theatre: Elizabeth Armstrong, Eugene and Joann Bissell and the Lillian Lincoln Foundation, Bank of America, R. Martin Chavez, Herbert W. Engert Jr. and Timothy Miller, EY, the Ford Foundation, Kenny Leon, Gina Maria Leonetti, Beryl Snyder, Denise Littlefield Sobel, and Charles Randolph-Wright.