INWOOD — Don't forget to pack your eyeglasses, uptown theater-goers — Inwood Hill Park's latest play requires some reading.
Inwood's Moose Hall Theater Company will use English and Spanish subtitles for their new show, a production of "Zapata! Tiger of Morelos," which debuted Wednesday night at the Inwood Hill Park peninsula.
The dual-language play, which is free to the public and runs until Aug. 3, will feature several scenes in Spanish, with English translations projected onto a screen behind the actors. In the English scenes, Spanish subtitles will be projected.
"Zapata!" tells the story of Emiliano Zapata, a pivotal figure in the Mexican revolution, Moose Hall founder Ted Minos said. Zapata's heritage, along with the demographics of Northern Manhattan, led Minos to strive for an authentic production, which resulted in a bilingual cast and the Spanish scenes.
"This is such a diverse area, said Minos, who founded Moose Hall in 2000. "Over the years I've tried to incorporate that element into our plays."
This isn't Moose Hall's first experiment with subtitles, either. Minos, said that the company dabbled in projection during an opera production in the park last year.
"The director wanted us to have the projections and I didn't think we could do it," said Minos. "But it worked out. This year we tried to emulate it on a larger scale."
Moose Hall is best known for its annual Shakespeare performances in Inwood Hill Park. However, the company has also put on productions of "Dracula," "The Golem" and "Arabian Nights." Minos said the company likes to follow Shakespeare with more daring plays to draw in visitors who may not have a lot of experience with theater.
"People do come," Minos said, adding that more than 38,000 spectators have watched performances over the years. "They'll find the experience so interesting that the following year they'll check out the Shakespeare."
"Zapata! Tiger of Morelos" will run Wednesday to Saturday from July 17 to Aug. 3. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit the Moose Hall Theater Company website.
