LAS LLORONAS – the Wicked Lit adaptation of “La Llorona”

by Jonathan Josephson
Cast: 8 (5 W, 3M) with doubling,
– up to 16 featured roles
– up to 25 with an ensemble
One act: 30-35 minutes
Rating: Mature high school and up
Freely adapted from the legend “La Llorona” and historical events. The Mexican legend “La Llorona” tells the story of a scorned woman who drowns her children and then haunts the earth searching for their souls. The play “Las Lloronas” examines this myth as it has evolved through the ages – from the days of La Malinche and the conquest of Mexico through present day events. El Diablo guides us through five unique stories – some literal, some theatrical, some abstract – that reflect the horror and regret embodied by this timeless tale.

“Plays like gangbusters”
– Terry Morgan, Stage Raw
If you are interested in getting more information about how to license this play, please contact Steele Spring Stage Rights.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Note: When specified, as each of the monologues are performed, the non-speaking characters step into the scene and enact the story with incidental dialogue, movement, pantomime, and dance.

El Diablo: our all-knowing, devious, vindictive master of ceremonies.
Doña Marina: 20s/30s, a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, mid 16th Century. Inspired by La Malinche – interpreter, adviser, lover, and intermediary for Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés.
– Happy Maria – Witch
Araceli Gonzales: 20s, a Mexican flower-shop girl, early 19th century. Inspired by the iconic representations of the “La Llorona” folkloric protagonist
– The Weeping Woman
– Prostitute
– Spanish Lady
– Soldier
– Pia’s Daughter

Lady Amélie: 30s, European royalty living in mid-19th Century Mexico. Inspired by Carlota of Mexico, empress consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, the former Archduke of Austria.
– Attendant – Maria’s Mother
– Prostitute
– Council of Aztecs
– Midwife
– Soldier
– Vain Maria
Leigh Wilson: 20s, mother of two living in 1990s New Mexico. Inspired by Susan Smith who was found guilty of murder in the drowning deaths of her two sons by strapping them in their car seats and rolling the car into a lake. – Young Maria
– Council of Aztecs
– Queen of Spain
– Soldier
Pia Faye Thomas: 30s, mother of four living in present day Los Angeles. Loosely inspired by Andrea Yates, a convicted murderer who drowned her five children, ages 6 months to 7 years, in the bathtub of her suburban home.
– Lady of the House
– Attendant
– Prostitute
– Council of Aztecs
– Midwife
– Soldier
– Pious Maria

The Men: ensemble characters who plays many parts throughout the play of varying ages and time periods.
– Maria’s Father
– Young Lord
– Council of Aztecs
– King of Spain
– Soldier
– Maria’s Love
– Soldier – Mayan Slave Trader – Hernán Cortés
– Emperor Frederick III
– Pia’s Husband
The structure and feel of the play should be fluid and lyrical, not choppy and sectionized.