AN ENEMY OF THE PUEBLO

By Josefina López

Directed by ESTRELLA ESPARZA-JOHNSON & MELISSA CHIN-PARKER

Assistant Director JEFFREY T. HEYER

AUGUST 10 – SEPTEMBER 1, 2024

STUDIO THEATER, THE WESTERN STAGE www.westernstage.com

In An Enemy of the Pueblo a curandera (shaman woman) warns the people in the border town of Milagros of the poisoning of the water, but no one wants to believe her because their economic futures depend on the water in the springs attracting the “gringos” back to the town. Josefina López, famous for her breakout play Real Women Have Curves, has taken inspiration from Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy of the People,’ changing one word of the title and shifting the story from frosty Norway to the warmth of a Mexican village

called Milagros (miracles) in An Enemy of the Pueblo.

El Sapo’s Ghost (Bryan Torrez) torments Magda (Jovita Molina) in An Enemy of the Pueblo, dir. by Estrella Esparza-Johnson, Asst. Dir. JTHeyer, The Western Stage 2025, photo by Richard Green

Migrant workers return to the Pueblo L-R: Magda Del Rio (Jovita Molina), Dona Campeche (Leti Contreras), Pedro Del Rio (Aleah Aguilar), Laura’s Husband (Quentin Gutierrez), Laura (Misha Martinez), Arturo (Bryan Torrez), behind: Clarita Del Rio (Milly De La Vara), Petra del Rio (Kiara Plaza), O’Connor (Ethan Stocks), in front: Townswoman (Monica Romero), Elvia (Margarita Covarrubias) in An Enemy of the Pueblo, dir. by Estrella Esparza-Johnson, Asst. Dir. JTHeyer, The Western Stage 2025, photo by Richard Green

Man in Black (Deanalis Arocho Resto by courtesy of AEA), L-R behind: Elvia (Margarita Covarrubias), Townswoman (Monica Romero), Laura (Misha Martinez) in An Enemy of the Pueblo, dir. by Estrella Esparza-Johnson, Asst. Dir. JTHeyer, The Western Stage 2025, photo by Richard Green

Magda (Jovita Molina) dreams of poisoned rain, Dona Campeche (Leti Contreras), Laura (Misha Martinez) in An Enemy of the Pueblo, dir. by Estrella Esparza-Johnson, Asst. Dir. JTHeyer, The Western Stage 2025, photo by Richard Green

Eugenio Del Rio (Leonard Maestas) goes to kill El Sapo, Magda Del Rio (Jovita Molina) and Petra del Rio (Kiara Plaza) try to stop him in An Enemy of the Pueblo dir. by Estrella Esparza-Johnson, Asst. Dir. JTHeyer, The Western Stage 2025, photo by Richard Green

Pedro Del Rio (Aleah Aguilar) argues for keeping the springs open, while Magda Del Rio (Jovita Molina) assures him the water has been poisoned by fracking in An Enemy of the Pueblo, dir. by Estrella Esparza-Johnson, Asst. Dir. JTHeyer, The Western Stage 2025, photo by Richard Green

O’Connor (Ethan Stocks) tells Magda Del Rio (Jovita Molina) she must flee the pueblo with Petra del Rio (Kiara Plaza) in An Enemy of the Pueblo, dir. by Estrella Esparza-Johnson, Asst. Dir. JTHeyer, The Western Stage 2025, photo by Richard Green