ROJA
Un Nuevo Musical
Written by Jaime Lozano and Tommy Newman
Directed by Florencia Cuenca
Fusing traditional Mexican folk music and Mestizo folklore, ROJA offers a new twist on the Little Red Riding Hood story. At the edge of the desert in Northern Mexico, Roja rescues a mischievous, magical coyote who offers her the chance to see her father again. What follows is an enchanting journey of love, loss and resilience.
Jaime Lozano
(Composer)
JAIME LOZANO is a Mexican multi-hyphenate musical theatre storyteller considered by Lin-Manuel Miranda as the “next big thing” on Broadway. American Theatre Wing’s Jonathan Larson Grant 2022. Joe’s Pub Working Group 2020-2022. The Civilians R&D Group 2020-2021. JACK Resident Artist 2021. Lincoln Center Resident Artist 2023. Selected works: El Otro Oz (Off-Broadway & National Tour), Carmen La Cubana (European Tour), Children of Salt (NYMF 2016 “Best of Fest” Production), A Never-Ending Line (Off-Broadway), Desaparecidas (JACK). Albums: “A Never-Ending Line,” “Jaime Lozano and the Familia: Songs by an Immigrant” released by Broadway Records. “Songs by an Immigrant Vol. 2,” released by Concord Theatricals Recordings. Film: “In The Heights” (orchestrations), “Tick, Tick… Boom!” (cameo in Broadway composers scene). Currently working on “Broadway en Spanglish,” ROJA and Frida, The Musical. BFA: Music & Composition, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; MFA: NYU/Tisch, Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program; part of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, AFM Local 802, BMI and GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY member.
Florencia Cuenca
(Director)
FLORENCIA CUENCA is a Mexican immigrant actress, singer, writer and director based in New York City. She entered the artistic world at the age of three acting alongside her father in stadiums and theaters throughout Mexico and the USA. Back in Mexico she is known for telenovelas such as “De que te quiero te quiero,” “Muchachitas como tú,” “Te Sigo Amando,” and for being part of the successful Mexican musical Si Nos Dejan, the Mexican premiere of Shrek the Musical and Selena the Musical. Her first album “Aquí - The New Standards”, made her tour all around Mexico, Latin America and New York City, being awarded with the Hot House Jazz Award 2016 for Best New Jazz Artist. She has performed Off-Broadway in shows such as Children of Salt (NYMF 2016 Best of Fest) and A Never-Ending Line (album available at Broadway Records) and more recently she was part of the World Premiere of the musical Real Women Have Curves at American Repertory Theater. As a singer-songwriter she has performed in prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center, Joe's Pub, Feinstein's/54 Below and others. Currently with her husband Jaime Lozano they are on her new album "Broadway in Spanglish." She is interested in developing projects that celebrate diversity and especially women and the Latinx and Hispanic community. @flowcuenca
Courtney Wigderson
(PSM)
Courtney Wigderson is thrilled to be back for her second year at the festival as PSM of Roja. Favorite credits include: Beautiful, Cats (Suncoast Broadway), Rocky Horror, Jersey Boys, Matilda, Spamalot (Forestburgh Playhouse) Six, Jersey Boys, Kinky Boots (Norwegian Cruise Line), Newsies, Kinky Boots, Elf (Gateway Playhouse). She is a proud graduate of the University of New Hampshire. Lots of love and thanks to Mom and Dad for the constant love and support!
Mario Tadeo
(Coyote / Father)
Max Cervantes
(Don Seco / Crow)
Max Cervantes (he/him) National Tour: On Your Feet! (Jose Fajardo, Emilio u/s), Other credits: Playwright Horizons, Ogunquit Playhouse, La Mirada Theater, Broadway Palm, Firebrand, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Paramount Theater. First generation Chicano. Love to his family and Ralphie! IG: @maxjcervantes
Daniela Delahuerta
(Mama / Senora)
DANIELA DELAHUERTA (MAMÁ/LA SEÑORA DE LOS HUESOS) is so excited to be a part of the In The Works series at Forestburgh Playhouse! Select credits include- Off Broadway: Nightclub Cantata (Swing). National Tour: Nick Jr. Live! (Dora The Explorer). Regional: On Your Feet (Rebecca, Gloria u/s), West Side Story (Anita), A Chorus Line (Diana Morales). “Special thanks to The Hell’s Kitchen Agency! A big gracias to Jaime and Florencia for making art for and by Mexicans. Para el resto del mundo- sueña, sueña tu.” @aiaiaiDaniela
Tommy Newman
(Bookwriter)
TOMMY NEWMAN is a published playwright, composer and lyricist and a 2013 ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award Winner. Three of his shows have participated in the annual NAMT Festival in New York. He is a recipient of an Anna Sosenko Assist Trust Grant, and a 2014 Kennedy Center ACTF National Musical Theatre Award Winner. Productions include: Band Geeks! (Published by MTI, Goodspeed Musicals, NAMT Fest '09). The Single Girl's Guide with Gordon Greenberg, (Capital Repertory Theatre and NAMT Fest '13). Tinyard Hill with Mark Allen (Theatreworks Silicon Valley, NAMT Fest ‘07). Off Broadway: We the People: America Rocks (Theatreworks, USA, NY Times Critic Pick, Lortel Nomination 2010), "29" with Gaby Alter (NYU Steinhart, directed by John Simpkins), The Yellow Brick Road with Jaime Lozano and Mando Alvarado (Theatreworks, USA, 2010 NY Times Critic Pick), and El Otro Oz with Jaime Lozano and Mando Alvarado (Theatreworks, USA and The Atlantic Theatre Company, 2024 NY Times Critic Pick and winner of The Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Musical 2023-24); The Teacher from the Black Lagoon and Other Stories (Theatreworks, USA). Recent works include: With Bells On (Theatre Network, Edmonton, Canada— created with Dev Janki and Darrin Hagen, developed with Live and In Color, Sterling Award Nominations 2023-24 for Best Original Score and Best Musical), Savage (created with Karla Koskinen, Quinton Cockrell, and Jaime Lozano, commissioned by UAB), Jenny's Damned Ex (with Jessica Mazaheri), and Roja: A Nueva Musical (Created with Jaime Lozano, Forestburgh Playhouse, 2024), Our Lady of 7-Eleven (with Devanand Janki). He holds a BS in Music Education from Troy University and an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU Tisch.
Yahir Montes
(Co-Arranger/AMD)
Yahir Montes is a New York City based musician known for his work as a guitarist, composer and arranger. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, Yahir has created music with artists working across a variety of media, including collaborations on theatre, dance and film. In 2022, he released his debut EP, Vivencias, which he has performed live in various venues throughout Mexico and the United States. He is currently producing the debut album for Two in Love––an album of duets with his wife Dilia––as well as her album De donde vengo, featuring new arrangements of classic American songs in a mariachi style. Yahir has been actively studying and teaching music since the age of 14, when he entered Colima’s Instituto Universitario de Bellas Artes. After receiving a Bachelors in Music (with an honorable mention) he studied at the Universidad Tito Puente in Puebla, where he was awarded a Masters degree in Composition and Arrangement. Yahir has trained with a variety of internationally renowned musicians, including Alfonso Aguirre, Marco de Santi, Alberto Vingiano, Carlos Larrauri, Dúo Kupinski, and Giuliano Bellotti. Particularly influential was his time under the tutelage of Italian guitarist and composer Simone Iannarelli. As part of the the Universidad de Guanajuato’s Laboratorio Sonoro (2019), he worked with renowned composers such as Víctor Ibarra, Ricardo Zohn, David Hernández and Jorge Torres. Since moving to the United States, he has worked on various projects, including Venezuelan artist Miguel Anggelo’s LatinXOXO, Jaime Lozano’s Frida, The Musical and Broadway in Spanglish, and with Calpulli, a dance company who brings Mexican folk dance to audiences in New York City. This has allowed him to perform at classic venues such as Lincoln Center, in Times Square as part of Times Square Live, at the Public Theatre’s Joe’s Pub, and MASS MoCA, among others. Internationally, he has performed original compositions throughout Costa Rica and Guatemala as part of the project Nostalgias Dúo, with pianist Tomás Olivares Rojo, as well as playing his own original work in venues throughout Mexico. He worked closely with Linda Briceño, the first woman to ever win the Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year. As as an arranger, Yahir has worked on projects including the Netflix film New York Christmas Wedding (2020), for which he arranged and produced two songs; new works for tenor Felipe Castellanos Mendoza including (Boleros, Una Noche Para Recordar [2016]; Los Tres Tenores Colimenses [2018]); and the premier of an hour of unpublished original classical music for different ensembles and instrumental configurations, as part of the inaugural Jornada de la Musica, which he organized at the Pinacoteca Universitaria del Estado de Colima. He has received various accolade for his work, including the José Rolón award from the Instituto Universitario de Bellas Artes, which recognized him as the best student of his generation and the award for "Mejor Interprete Local" (2014) at Colima’s international Guitarromanía festival. In 2021, Yahir was awarded a PECDA Grant to produce original classical compositions inspired by the history and culture of Colima, Mexico.
Mayelah Barrera
(Roja)
Mayelah Barrera is a singer, actress from Monterrey, México. She earned her acting degree from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts NY and has since debuted in the NY theater scene in the TheaterWorks production of El Otro Oz, in both the summer and national tour. You could have also seen her as 'Fátima' in the limited sold out run of Desaparecidas at JACK which was nominated for Best Musical at the HOLA Awards. This is her third time at Forestburgh Playhouse and she is so excited to be back with the new musical ROJA. IG: @mayelahbarreram