Reviews
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The Siege of Numantia (2016)​
In XVI century Spanish
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"Original piece by Michael Gómez, and lovely singing by actor Omar Padilla. Cardona brings back a talented cadre of actors. They do the text justice by inflecting a neutral accent, unidentifiable to any particular region. The piece straddles between the classical language of Spain’s Siglo de Oro (Golden Age, approximately 1492-1659) and contemporary gestures and actions. Cardona wanted to show the timelessness of their humanity, which includes sexual desire, particularly in times of pending death. This timeless piece draws our attention to the cost of human lives provoked by the impulse towards empire and conquest. Cardona’s mise en scene opens with large-scale color projections. The projections also mark the passing of time, which includes a stunning solar eclipse”
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-Teresa Marrero, Theater Jones-
Feather and the Tempest (2016)
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"This play is a delight for those who thrive in the interstices of the ambiguity possible between poetic language, imagery and rational irrationality. It does not matter if you know anything about Argentinean history. The piece offers a universal perspective on the death of innocence, the abuse of power, and survival.“People regain their innocence when they sleep. Sleep is more intense than love"
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-Teresa Marrero, Theater Jones-
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The 16th International Theater Festival (2014)
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"This opening fare felt like a ritual of aperture, firmly grounded in the notion of theater as an act of universal yet specific community in which we all partake. As such, I forgot about my initial concern of kicking off a theater festival without any theater, and gave in to the pure pleasure that the most ancient of the arts, music, poetry and dance can offer a group of people sharing a moment in time."
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-Teresa Marrero, Theater Jones-
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Santos A Wandering Soul (2013)
by Victor Hugo Rascón Banda, Carlos Morton and the ensemble.
"All in all, like another tradition, that of toasting with a good shot of 100 percent agave añejo (aged) tequila, Santos, a Wandering Soul hits the spot: for the sake of a fine performance, for remembering the departed, and for the memory of the racial history of our city."
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-Teresa Marrero, Theater Jones-
La Mica (2013)
by Carmen Lyra.
With simple but effective set (background paintings by Sara Cardona) and lighting design by Jeff Hurst, relevant and well-made costumes (Michael Robinson), the weight of the show falls upon the actors under the expert direction by Cardona. In this respect, Marbella Barreto shines as the Mica. Spending almost the entire hour-long show hunched low to the ground, her monkey utterances and whimpers were as articulate as any spoken oratory. Barreto excels in the physical demands of this role."
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Days of the Dead (2012)
"The Elegant Ghost" by DGDG and "The Scar" by Jorge Díaz
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"The Elegant Ghost"
"The Danielle Georgiou Dance Group (DGD) Opens at Teatro Dallas a macabre waltz. Nanci Mendoza, Sara Dye and Gabril King almost defy gravity as they lunge, lurch and glide in zombie like fashion."
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"The Scar"
“The Scar”, a political allegory about the persecution, torture and repression of Latin Americans under the cruel dictatorship of Chilean General Augusto Pinochet. Haunting and suspenseful, this play provides ample opportunity for a skilled, talented actor to weave a complex, heart-wrenching tale about relationship and betrayal under Pinochet’s rule, while he celebrates a friend’s passing with a crude “wake.” "Under the direction of Cora Cardona Garza gives a gripping performance in his Teatro Dallas debut. It’s a noteworthy triumph of actor’s craft and creativity, directed and adapted by Teatro Dallas’ Artistic Director Cora Cardona."
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William Duckorth, -Theater Jones-
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The Maiden of the Used Books (2011)
By Arístides Vargas, Directed by Cora Cardona
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"This play enjoys the benefit of Cardona’s long experience with the absurd, her understanding of both the original, historical and cultural context (the Latin American) and the current surrounding context (Dallas, Texas, United States, today) make this play work."​
-Terea Marrero, Professor of Latin American Theater at University of North Texas
"Perfectly encapsulating the Maiden of the Used Books makes its U. S. premier at Teatro Dallas Maiden is an engrossing well-produced ode to Argentinean oppression."
- Kris Noteboom, Theater Jones
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"Artistic Director Cora Cardona and lighting designer Jeff Hurst make clever use of minimalist techniques to ramp up the drama. Maiden takes on an emotional resonance that transcends its indirect style."
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-Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News​
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Breath of Death (2010)
Japanese Ghost Stories- compiled by Lafcadio Hearn Directed by Cora Cardona.
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"Nick Brethauer designed a beautiful abstract setting, and Jeff Hurst's lightng lends it an often spooky frisson atmosphere, especially for the many nightime scenes in which ghosts walk the stage. Under the direction of Cora Cardona the play offers mementos of evocative physical poetry. Most of the actors do their jobs gracefully, in a production, elegantly imagined."
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Lawson Taitte, Dallas Morning News
"Breath Taken Away"
Teatro Finds Poetry in the Inevitable . Cardona’s interpretation is musical, poetic and dreamlike. East meets West in a beautifully lyrical collection of Japanese ghost stories in Teatro Dallas’ Days of the Dead production The Breath of Death. Jeff Hurst’s lighting is appropriately ethereal for the spooky action on stage, casting stark shadows and intensifying the actors’ faces. Cora Cardona adapted author Lafcadio Hearn’s Ghostly Japan, a series of Japanese folk tales as a commemoration of Mexico’s annual celebration of the memory of and prayer for deceased loved ones, and as a fitting tribute to the 65th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nick Brethauer’s set design evokes a Japanese woodblock print in its Zen-like simplicity that allows the actors to create their own artistic images through their stylized movements and Edo period costumes.
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M Lance Lusk - Theater Jones
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Come’ on Raúl Write me a Monologue
by Tomás Urtusástegui.
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Mentioned as “Best Festival Play” -Elena Hurst was the cherry on the cake- at Actúa the Festival Scénes Hispaniques Contemporaines” in Strasbourg, France.
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Teatro of the absurd
Chilean playwright Jorge Díaz’, The Toothbrush ,leaps onto the stage like the latest thing. Written in 1961 but not seen in this country until 1982, this howlingly funny absurdist play, dealing with the lunatic fringe of domestic quarrelling, is given a nearly perfect production, directed with great panache by Cora Cardona. Mark Brogan’s clever set looked so elegant! Phyllis Cicero as the wife is a powerhouse of driving energy, sleek movement and inspired comic timing, is absolutely superb. Anthony Ramírez too, is riding the crest of a high comic wave, completely in tune with Diaz’s brilliant writing. The actors, like Cardona, display an amazing ease with the challenging material, sustaining the play’s propulsive energy from beginning to end in an inspired balance of stylization and spontaneity. Diaz should fly from his present home in Madrid and see this presentation of The Toothbrush; he would surely be thrilled with both Teatro Dallas’ excellent production and the gales of laughter that greet it.
-Tom Sime The Dallas Observer-
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Invaders make delicious meal of the rich
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The Invaders, Chilean playwright Egon Wolf’s 1962 play, presents the scenario of a rich, cushy capitalist family brought to their knees by an increasingly large number of tramps from “the other side of the river”. Director Cora Cardona and her ensemble give that sentiment a genuine edge, both funny and sinister. Cardona delivers a tight, nicely detailed production, one playing into the strengths of her cast and establishing a subtly menacing comic atmosphere. Jack Willis, a regular at the Dallas Theater Center, delivers a shrewd, very canny performance as Meyer. Emilio Ruiz as China, who along with Dolores Godínez likewise work the varying levels of the material with ease. The Invaders is attractively designed by Mark Brogan, and more importantly Cardona and company know how to put over a tricky acting assignment.
– Michael Phyllips Times Herald-
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