In the Time of the Butterflies
by Caridad Svich based on Julia Alvarez's novel
Directed by Ricardo Gutierrez


​Teatro Vista
Victory Gardens Theatre - Richard Christiansen Theatre
​April 16th, 2016 - May 22nd, 2016

Scenic Design: Andrei Onegin
Costume Design: Uriel Gomez
Lighting Design: Richard Norwood
Sound Design: Brandon Wayne Reed
Projection Design: Liviu Pasare
Props Design: Jamie Karas
Photos taken courtesy of Joel Masionet

About The Play

Based on Julia Álvarez’s popular novel, In The Time of the Butterflies, is a fictionalized account of the story of the courageous Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic. The sisters inspired resistance cells throughout the country against the dictatorial regime of Gen. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. The ‘butterflies’, their secret code name, were brutally murdered by the regime in 1960. With immersive video and animation dispersed across the stage, the piece paints a visual dreamscape of the interior lives of the activist sisters, the beauty and ferocity of the natural world, and the music heard on the radio of the time.

The Sound Design


​​Merengue Dance

In the opening of the show, we see the sisters at a young age, but the seed has been planted of their revolution to come. I wanted to right away establish what the audience was in for, so I provided a Merengue dance for them, that started as a memory in their thoughts, that would eventually become real. Then as they wondered offstage, would slowly crossfade into a foreboding tone, with Minerva alone to contemplate what is to come.


​​​A Movement Is Born

Later in the story Mate decides to join the revolution, while Patria chooses to be a stay-at-home mom. They both look in horror as Trujillo's regime demolishes an entire town while they deliver powerful monologues.


​Sounds of Torture

Eventually, Mate and Minerva are captured and treated as prisoners of war till they are later freed. However, we first must watch them be tortured both mentally and physically before that time comes. Done in a tableaux like style, this was one of the most powerful moments of the performance.


The Last Roadtrip

During one of the final scenes of the show, we learn how the Mirabal sisters as well as their driver were murdered. An innocent car ride during a thunderstorm is eventually stopped, before they are chased and clubbed to death.

The Flowers of Santo Domingo

Lyrics by Caridad Svich, Music by Gabe Ruiz
In the very last scene, we are treated to an original song that the sisters sing to the audience, in which despite their murder, justice was eventually served and the country was able to raise above the evil of Trujillo's regime.