Bold new play tells story of the ‘Empress of Paraguay’
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
During the so-called Irish
Potato Famine or the Great
Hunger, a period of mass death
and starvation between 1845
and 1852, about one million
people died and a million more
emigrated from Ireland.
The play, “MADAME
LYNCH,” brings to life the
little-known story of Eliza
Lynch, a feisty Irish woman
whose fortunes took her
from potato famine refugee,
to French courtesan, to the
self-proclaimed “Empress of
Paraguay.” Her extraordinary
beauty and intelligence won
the attention of the soonto
be dictator of Paraguay,
Francisco Solano Lopez and
she became that country’s
unofficial first lady during
his reign.
You can experience
the colorful adventures of
this remarkable feminist
on stage through June 15,
thanks to this edgy and
irreverent music spectacle
now running at Manhattan’s
New Ohio Theatre, located
at 154 Christopher Street
between Greenwich and
Washington Streets.
“The directors of the
play have done a great job at
bringing together the elements
to deliver an in-depth historical
portrayal of Madame Lynch’s
inner struggles and the reality
that changed Paraguay as a
nation,” said Elmhurst-based
choreographer Iliana Gauto,
who was born in Asunción,
Paraguay and moved to the US
when she was 4.
Gauto’s Paraguayan
folkloric dance group Ballet
Panambí Vera and The
Drunkard’s Wife, a theater
company led by Normandy
Sherwood and Craig Flanagin
that creates darkly comic
theatrical and experimental
musical spectacles in NYC,
have joined forces to create
this bold and unexpected play.
“The audience will
experience beauty in the
costumes, set designs, live
band and dance numbers.
They will understand the story
of the protagonist’s attempt to
build a nation, her moments
of defeat and her efforts to
rebuild again,” Gauto noted.
Tues. & Wed. $1895
1 1/4 lb. Lobster, Clams, and Mussels
Served with Corn on the Cob
and Baked Potato
with Purchase of 2 Cocktails,
2 Wines or 2 Beers
Photos by Russ Rowland
The show also reaches
peaks of horror with real
and imagined scenes from La
Lynch’s life as an adventuress,
cultural doyenne, femme fatale
and microfinance pioneer.
“Madame Lynch handled
many duties as female leader.
Although the Paraguayans
at the time didn’t agree with
her methods, she was able to
introduce ideas like ‘Microfinance’
to a society that wore
no shoes. As a result, Paraguay
developed into a growing
nation but that was soon taken
away after the Triple Alliance
War between Argentina,
Bolivia and Brazil was set in
place,” Gauto explained.
“Even after the war was
over and Paraguay defeated
three nations, Madame Lynch
continued her efforts to aid
Paraguay back to stability. She
was powerful and unstable.
She was cultured and savage.”
So, how does this enigmatic
“heroine” reflect today’s
feminist mindset?
Gauto said it was “her
ways of conquering a society”
as a female leader. “Madame
Lynch offered financial
assistance to other women
in society known as the Gold
Comb Girls. She allowed for
this collective of women to
hold power. After the war
she gathered a group of
women to help repopulate
the nation.”
P e r f o r m a n c e s :
Thursdays to Saturdays at 8
p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m.;
Wednesday, May 29, 8 p.m.
No show on Sunday, June 2.
Tickets are $25. Purchase
at NewOhioTheatre.org or
212-352-3101.
Read more at QNS.com
TIMESLEDGER,32 MAY 31-JUNE 6, 2019 BT QNS.COM
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