MARFA –– Marfa Live Arts in association with the Marfa Chamber of Commerce presents Juice Joint Criminal by Caitlynn Almance during the Marfa Lights Festival this weekend. Local actors include: Alyn Covington, Dillon Orr, Cristain Sanchez, John Aguero, Yaritza Corona, Austin McClure, Sabine Blaese, and Abby Boyd.
In homage to the first Marfa Lights Festival and the melodrama play that was presented there, local playwright Almance wanted to pay homage to this extremely over-dramatic genre. Written especially for Marfa Lights Festival 2022, Juice Joint Criminal is a murder mystery melodrama set in Far West Texas in the 1920s — imagine Sherlock Holmes meets Vampire Diaries and The Great Gatsby.
When asked the reason of adding a theatrical piece to the line-up of Marfa Lights this year, Marfa Chamber of Commerce President Abby Boyd replied, “Doing research in the archives of the Big Bend at Sul Ross for our 35th anniversary, we discovered that a play was performed at the first Marfa Lights Festival in 1987. Marfa Lights Festival came to be because of a need to entertain locals, and in those first years everyone in town got involved. Obviously, music is a big attraction and an important part of Marfa Lights, but we thought having different types of entertainment and ways for locals to get involved would be a good way to celebrate both the history of the festival and those in our community today.”
Boyd continued, “Marfa Live Arts was a natural partner because community theatre is what they do. We are so excited to showcase the work of a local playwright, with a play set in West Texas, and see locals perform the roles.”
Juice Joint Criminal will debut on the Main Stage during the 35 th annual Marfa Lights Festival at both 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 3, 2022.