Cristina Luzárraga is a playwright and teacher from New Jersey who, until recently, lived in Minneapolis where she was a Jerome and McKnight Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center and recognized by American Theatre Magazine as a Twin Cities Theatre Artist to Watch. She's a current Core Writer at Playwrights' Center and a member of INKubator at Art House is Jersey City. She wrote the book for I Am Betty, a musical about Betty Crocker (lyrics and music by Denise Prosek), and has developed new work with Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory, and Teatro LATEA. Her play La Mujer Barbuda (Blank Theatre) was a Princess Grace Award Finalist. She has taught playwriting at Macalester and in high schools. BA: Princeton; MFA: Ohio University. When she’s not writing dark comedies about unruly women, she’s usually taking care of her two little kids.
Free
Playwrights’ Center
October 25 at 7:00 p.m.
About the play
The wives of President Bashar Al-Assad and Senator Rand Paul are trapped in an autorefractor (that machine you squint into when you get your eyes checked) and are trying to piece together how they wound up where they are and if there’s any escape. Do their husbands have something in common? Well, they were both mild-mannered eye doctors before they succumbed to the lure of power and followed in their fathers’ footsteps—but is that all? Are these two women caught in their husbands’ gravitational pull, or does a shared desire ensnare them? Autorefract is a dark-bordering-on-blind comedy about marital complicity.
Attend a pre-show chat
Join us for Prologue: a pre-show chat with playwright Cristina Luzárraga and Jerome Fellow Sharifa Yazmeen.
The conversation will start at 6:15 p.m. prior to the reading at 7:00 p.m. No RSVP necessary to attend this conversation.
Asma Al-Assad has been on my radar since 2011 when Vogue published a glowing article about her titled “A Rose in the Desert,” only to scrub the story from the Internet weeks later following public outcry. I’d be reminded of that attempt to whitewash a dictatorship in the years to come. As a glasses-wearer, I get my prescription checked yearly with an autorefractor, which features a technicolor image of a farmhouse or hot air balloon. It always feels delightfully surreal, like peering into Oz. I love how playwriting allows me to connect disparate fascinations. In this case, the connective tissue is, weirdly, Rand Paul. Who’d a thunk it? Strange times call for strange plays!
Making your reservation
The sign up link below is for the in-person reading on Saturday, October 25. If you need to reserve your spot for Friday, October 31 instead, you can do so here.»
Walkups are welcome, but we cannot guarantee there will be available seating without a reservation.
This reading will be recorded and made available to view online November 10–16. You can sign up to watch that recording here.»
If you have any questions about making your reservation, please email us at rsvp@pwcenter.org.
Planning your visit
All seating is general admission. We recommend arriving 10-15 minutes prior to the reading to check in and find your seat.
Visit our About page to learn more about parking and accessibility.
Large groups
If you are making a reservation for more than six people, please email rsvp@pwcenter.org to arrange. If you make a reservation for more than six, a member of our Advancement team may be in touch closer to the reading date to confirm final numbers for your group.
Cristina Luzárraga
