For Odalys Nanin, it has been twenty months since she performed on stage with her last play FRIDA – Stroke of Passion. With the return of stage theater, Nanin is back with her play The Nun and the Countess at CASA 0101 Theater in Los Angeles.

The Macha Theatre Co. has its opening premiere tonight after months of preparation.

Here’s the synopsis of the stage play:

The Nun and The Countess – based on the novel “Sor Juana’s Second Dream” by Alicia Gaspar de Alba and co-directed by Corky Dominguez. This is a story of the passionate romance between Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, a 17th-century Mexican nun, and the Countess Maria Luisa de Paredes, Vicereine of Mexico. Odalys Nanin stars as legendary Mexican nun Sor Juana, who wowed a Countess (played by Genevieve Joy and alternate Lee Ann Gutierrez) with poems that still live today.

Sor  Juana is considered the most prolific poet of the golden age and the first feminist of the new world. She was named the tenth muse (the Sappho of the Americas). She was a musician, playwright, and a lesbian trapped in a nun’s habit. The poems to Lysi (Countess de Paredes) are woven into the dialogue of the play offering the audience a window into their intimate relationship in the confined world in which they lived. These are soul mates who are in a predicament where society’s rules forbid the consummation of their love.

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Other stage actors included Graciela Valderrama as the Mother Superior, Armando Rey as the Bishop of Puebla, Delfin Toro as Father Miranda, Paul Cascante as the Archbishop, Vanessa Diego as Concepcion, Nakasha Norwood as Francisca, and Chelsea McIntosh as Francisca. The set design is by Marco de Leon. The light design is by Sammie Wayne. And the sound design is by Scott Nikoley.

The Nun and The Countess has a limited run from Friday, October 22 through Sunday, November 7 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm. and on Sundays at 5 p.m.

Tickets for advanced admission are $30 or regular price at the door for $40. More ticketing information at www.machatheatre.org.

LRM Online’s Gig Patta spoke with actress and playwright Odalys Nanin before the premiere of The Nun and The Countess. We talked about the origination, the story, taking fictional liberties, the poems, and the preparations during the pandemic.

Odalys Nanin is the founder of Macha Theatre/Films, the first and only Lesbian/Latinx Theater company in California. She has a recurring role as Brenda in BET’s Games People Play co-starring with Sarunas Jackson. Also, she co-starred with A.J. Cook and Shemar Moore in Criminal Minds and guest-starred on Jane the Virgin with Gina Rodriguez. She wrote ten plays to date including FRIDA – Stroke of Passion, Love Struck, Garbo’s Cuban Lover, The Nun and The Countess, Beyond Love, Skin of Honey, The Adventures of the Lieutenant Nun, Naked in the Tropics, Lavender Love, and Marilyn: My Secret. She’s also a filmmaker who wrote three screenplays, produced three short films, and two documentaries.

Watch the exclusive interview with Odalys Nanin below. Let us know what you think.

Source: LRM Online Exclusive, Macha Theatre/Films