Las Lloronas
by W W. Jacobs, Edgar Allan Poe, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jonathan Josephson, H.P. Lovecraft, Washington Irving, Paul Millet, Jeff Garcia Rack

Las Lloronas Book Cover — Las Lloronas Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

30 mins Unit Set/Multiple Settings

Synopsis

Told through storytelling, dance, and music, this famous Mexican folk legend captures the story of a desperate mother who murders her children by drowning them in a river.

Schools: This play is ambitious for schools.

Some material may be objectionable, and some students (and parents) may be sensitive to central themes and elements within.

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Characters	—	—	—
El Diablo Our dark master of ceremonies. He guides us through this journey in order to dishearten us and convince us to give up on our humanity.	male	—	Our dark master of ceremonies. He guides us through this journey in order to dishearten us and convince us to give up on our humanity.
Doña Marina 20s/30s. A Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, mid-16th century. Inspired by La Malinche– interpreter, advisor, lover, and intermediary for Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés.	female	20s	20s/30s. A Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, mid-16th century. Inspired by La Malinche– interpreter, advisor, lover, and intermediary for Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés.
Araceli Gonzales 20s. A Mexican flower shop girl, early 19th century. Inspired by the iconic representations of the “La Llorona” folkloric protagonist.	female	20s	20s. A Mexican flower shop girl, early 19th century. Inspired by the iconic representations of the “La Llorona” folkloric protagonist.
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. (Singing role.)	female	30s	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. (Singing role.)
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.	female	20s	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.
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 six months to seven years, in the bathtub of her suburban home.	female	30s	30s. Mother of four living in present-day Los Angeles. Loosely inspired by Andrea Yates, a convicted murderer who drowned her five children, ages six months to seven years, in the bathtub of her suburban home.
Casting Note	—	—	—