The Classic Theatre in San Antonio has operated for a time without an actual theater. Jimmy Moore is their Artistic Director, a San Antonian who returned from New York to run the company that was housed for years right next to the Woodlawn Theater.
“During COVID we let that space go, And we were at one point the only San Antonio theater that was producing live during the pandemic,” Moore said. “And we were able to do that through a really wonderful partnership with the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.”
Their open-air performances at the Botanical Gardens have now enabled the company to branch out even more widely.
“This season, season 15, is called New Places, New Faces, and we're taking our shows to several site specific locations around downtown and San Antonio,” he said.
The idea is to present the masterworks in pop-up fashion in places you might not expect them. Their first production is called Roosters, and it'll be performed at La Zona, the new performance space downtown on West Commerce Street next to TPR’s headquarters.
“It is a found space where we're really going to install a theater into a courtyard and perform this really great classic of Chicano literature,” Moore said. “And it's a story about a father and son in a cockfighting business. And they're really battling for supremacy within their family. It's a great story with magical realism. We have dancers that portray the roosters.”
Moore is also excited about La Zona location itself.
“It's really shady and nice. In the evenings, you're going to have nice theater seating,” he said. “You're going to be able to have some great, cool Aguas Frescas while you're with us. And I think you're going to be able to really enjoy this really amazing American tale about an American family and what they're dealing with.”
Roosters plays Thursdays through Sundays, from Sept. 8 through the 25.
